Surgery Scheduled

I had a stent placed to protect my ureter during my last surgery - no discomfort or issues from the stent at all.  It made my ureter obvious to my surgeon, who was able to avoid nicking it.  In addition, because some of my tumor was resting against the ureter, the urologist was able to tease it away without damaging the ureter.

As to the chemo; many of us here have had that chemo.  Some people have a very difficult time with it; others have minimal discomforts.  My strongest recommendation is that you tell your dr about any and all side effects, no matter how small.  There are ways to address them without compromising your care, and if addressed early on (when they're "not too bad; I can deal") you can avoid reaching the make-or-break point.

airborne72 said:

Thanks

Abrub:

Thank you.  You provided the type of answers I was seeking. 

I had a radical prostatectomy in 2009 due to prostate cancer.  That procedure resulted in complications and subsequent surgeries to correct the complications.  Consequently, anytime a doctor mentions anything to do with my urinary system I get nervous.  The thought of dealing with yet another medical/surgical challenge in addition to a resection was beginning to unnerve me.

Jim

I don't recall when the stent was removed. (Meds in the hospital mean my memory of my time there is less than fully accurate!) I believe it was after surgery.  I had a catheter for a while, and it may have been removed then.  I do know it was removed, and the only effect of the stent, other than making my ureter solid and visible, was blood in my urine for a while.  A follow-up cystoscopy showed that everything was fully back to normal.

My urologist was very clear in explaining the whys and wherefores of the stent, and what the possible surgical necessities might be.  (We thought he would have to detach and reattach my ureter because of my tumor.  He was able to remove the tumor without affecting the ureter.)  I had a top-notch colorectal surgeon and a top-notch urologic surgeon work on me during surgery last year.  I am intact.

Jim:  Here's to a successful surgery and recovery.  It may be a challenge going into the mop-up chemo, but hopefully you will have a great result.

Good to hear you know the plan.  My surgery is on Oct. 3.  I anticipate a temporary ileostomy.  I am going to discuss mopup with my Onc this Friday.  I will not get a port.  I am opting for IV therapy (Myers cocktail) and Xeloda pills.  I hope my Onc will be agreeable to this.

Sounds like the stents will help avoid surgical mistakes.  I was told they will most likely remove my uters as it's in the way.  This is all so overwhelming.  But...I remain hopeful that I will beat this.  And so will you.

Best, --Beth

Sounds like you have a schedule in place and a good plan ahead.  Good luck on all of it and keep us posted.  Hoping that all goes well.

Kim

airborne72 said:

Mike:

I swear the oncologist said 5-Fu.  I asked why mop-up was needed and he said just in case something resisted the neoadjuvant treatment and escaped the surgical excision.  That was when he said it would be liquid through a port and a different form of chemical to offset the likelihood that my cancer cells developed immunity to the Xeloda.

The topic of urinary system was my initiation.  The surgeon asked about my prostectomy.  I told him the details (when and where and who and how) plus the fact that I had significant post surgery complications (piece of plastic fell into my bladder and eventually migrated through my urinary system to sunshine, scarring me internally all the way).  I also told him that in 2004 I had a double inguinal hernia repair and that surgeon insert mesh into my abdomin to strengthen the wall.  That information piqued his interest and he said that he would have a urologist insert stents because I assume he is anticipating scar tissue, mesh and a more challenging work site.

The port insertion during the surgery is out of convenience.  Sounds like a good idea to me.

Anticipated hospital stay is 4 days, barring any complication or reversion to a traditional surgery.  Recovery at the house is dependent upon my mojo, but on average is 3 to 4 weeks.  After the procedure the critical outcome is a good and tight resection, without any leakage and infection.  Therefore, I will not be doing any crunches for a long time because I do not want to become septic - a bad place to be.

My current physical state is improving.  The effects of chemo are gone.  The effects of radiation linger (mild fatigue, hair loss in my groin).  My current mental state fluctuates between confidence (got a plan firmed up) and fear (surgical outcome, disease progression, mop-up chemo).  But, I am getting ready to go to my parttime job and contribute to the gross national product and my personal bank account.

How about you?  Have you been able to shake off the chemo/radiation effects?

Jim

I'm glad to read that you're improving and that you have a plan with a lot of details worked out.

The broken glass feeling went away on Friday and stuff is fairly soft these days though it sometimes takes a little effort to get it out. I am not taking MiraLax daily, just a few times per week and I'm not really sure if I need it but will take it here and there anyways. I was able to play 55 minutes of tennis including playing a few games. The serve speed has dropped 20-30 MPH but that's likely due to timing as I hadn't served in three months. The rear end skin is still a little rough here and there but I've gone back to wiping instead of using wet paper and I feel that I don't need to keep using the Depends most of the time. I've been transitioning back to a more healthy diet and I need to do some work to get enough calories as the healthier stuff is usually lower in calories.

I stopped at tennis at 55 minutes because I had to get back to work. I did feel that I could have continued. I had cramps that evening which means that I didn't have enough electrolytes in my system. I had been slacking off on them with the relative inactivity but we played on a warm and very humid day so I could see them drained out of me. But at least I know that I worked out hard enough to cause depletion. So I'm working on core, flexibility and stamina until the surgery. I've yet to work out the logistics of recovery - at least the details of it. I'm also working on the "if I don't survive" planning for my family stuff.