Finally home... glad that part's over!
Last we spoke I was scheduled for my surgery, which happened Thursday, July 6. The day before when I went to the hospital to meet the surgeon she told me the path reports confirmed cancer and the CT scans showed some possible mets in the liver and an enlarged ovary (I had a hysterectomy five years ago but kept my ovaries).
Next thing I know I am in an MRI machine to get a better look at the liver and then up to ultrasound to take a good look at the ovary. I also had a nice chat with the stoma nurse who would be coming around to see me in the hospital on Friday, in case her services would be needed.
Results were that the liver spots were actually cysts (yeah!) but the ovary was suspicious.
So off to surgery I go. I was in there more than seven hours. It started out laporoscopic and they took the ovaries out, then they removed part of my sigmoid colon (does that officially make me a semi-colon?). They reconnected the two halves but the blood wouldn't flow. So they opened me up and took everything out and snipped off some more and made the connection again. This time it worked! Yeah! No stoma or colostomy was needed.
I had a few scary days when they thought they might have to take me back into surgery, but everything started falling into place and that didn't happen.
They released me home on Wednesday night, with the wrong pain med prescription (I am allergic to morphine) and it took all day Thursday to get it straightened out, but all is well there now.
While my primary doc said no chemo or radiation should be necessary, my surgeon said she wants me to see an oncologist to talk about chemo, even though the lymph nodes they took out were all clear and the edges were clear, too. In addition, the ovary enlargement was due to another cyst, no cancer there (yeah!).
The surgeon still hasn't given me a staging yet but said she will when I see her on Tuesday. What's up with that? She said it was fairly superficial and not through the wall, but for some unknown reason she just won't give me a staging yet. Anyone have any idea why she'd hedge like that? Seems strange to me.
Anyway, I am just glad to be home in my own comfy bed and recovering a little each day. Thanks for all the prayers! God is good, all the time!
Comments
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good morning,
great to see you are home. when i was dx it was stage ll because it started to come thru the wall. i also had clear nodes. i did chemo because of it starting to go thru wall and just wanted to make sure to get any little cell floating around. i did have a bag for 5 months than resected. surgeon said if i were 70ish no chemo but because of my age 46 it was the right thing to do to make sure. glad to see you are hopefully done with this. yes god is good all the time.
be well
all the best
bruce0 -
Patrusha -
Welcome - OFFICIALLY - to the SemiColons!
It was a couple weeks before I got staged as well; they didn't know whether to stage me as a 2 or 3 because of my "significant visceral invasion". Anyway, what's in a number, right? Bottom line is that tey got you cleaned out and re-attached. Did you get a factory warranty with that resection? Hopefully you won't have to go in for any more warranty work!
Cheers
- SpongeBob0 -
Congratulations on getting through it and being back home. They should know the stage from the pathology reports but sometimes they may debate what to call it depending upon how far the tumor is from the margin. Make sure you get at least one oncology consultation if not more. If the tumor is close to the margin or if it is "poorly differentiated" type of cells than the likelihood is that chemo will lessen the chance of recurrance. I recommend that you make your surgeon give you a copy of the pathology and surgical reports. It makes it easier for you to ask questions of your doctor or anyother doctor you may wish to consult.
Happy to hear the good news about the negative nodes and the cysts.
****0 -
Wow. Looks like you had quite the ride these past few days. What an emotional roller coaster; but with a happy ending!
I am glad that the spots on your liver and the ovaries did not show any signs of cancer. That is truely awesome!
As the other's have said, they are probably just making sure they all agree on what to call it and waiting for the pathology results. Either way, sounds like it will be good news. You should still at least consult with an oncologist (or two if it makes you feel better) as this is their specialty.
You know, I never did "officially" get my staging. I didn't even know until much later that there were stages. Maybe I will request all of my path reports and surgery reports now that I am not so scared to learn anything about my cancer.
Happy to hear you're home and doing well,
Tricia0 -
Patrusha,
Congratulations on the successful surgery! I am happy that liver and ovary were all right. And I hope that the recovery will be quick and smooth!
It could be that they are not telling you the stage because they are waiting results from the pathology.
If they removed everything, radiation is not needed. It is used to shrink the tumor. They might suggest chemotherapy but I would recommend that you look into alternative options (like diet, supplements, etc.) before you decide anything. If lymph nodes and margins were clear you might not need it.
Please do let us know how you are doing.
Best wishes and God Bless.
Eleonora0 -
Thanks for all of the input, everyone. I am definitely going to ask for copies of my path reports before I go see an onologist (or two!). My surgeon's reason for me seeing the oncologist is precisely because of my age... there was nothing in the nodes and the margins were deemed clear. But we'll see on Tuesday when we get down to the nitty gritty. I'm gonna go read the posts on chemo now. And I am definitely going to be changing my diet so any links or info anyone has on nutrition, please post them!0
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On whether to do radiation and chemo, after my resection for stage 2 colon cancer, my oncologist gave me some 5 year survival figures: without radiation or chemo, 40%; with radiation (6 weeks), 60%; with both radiation and 2 weeks of chemo, 70%. Where those figures are from or how specific they are to my case, I don't know. They convinced me, though. So, maybe you should ask about 5 year survival rates.0
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Hello Patrusha,
Congratulations on your excellent surgical results. Your case sounds very similar to mine. Prior to my surgery (removal of ascending colon and a few accessories) I had a suspicious spot on my liver that just like yours turned out to be a cyst. My doctors said if it is cancer that it's small enough to be eradicated by chemo. Currently I'm waiting for results of a breast MRI because of new growths found in both breasts, and to round off the whole possible extreme body makeover, during surgery another suspicious cyst was found on my right ovary as well as endometriosis, which could net me a hysterectomy in the future. One thing at a time though...****, ****...well, you know...
I read your earlier posts and just like many of us, you have an unfortunately strong family history for cancer. Have you had or considered having genetic testing? I truly believe knowledge is power.
As for staging, your oncologist will most likely do this upon fully reviewing your case. Although, I encourage you to not over analyze staging and statistics. You are unique, sister.
I thought staging was black and white according to the various staging system charts, but I think because doctors have experience with working through different cancer cases they may opt to stage someone outside the traditional method. According to TNM Staging System I would be a stage II, however my onc said that because my tumor was so large with aggressive moderately differentiated cells that had moved outside the wall of my colon she deemed me stage III. The **** (my tumor), poor thing, is going through microsatellite instability testing to identify my overall cancer risk (see http://www.genetichealth.com/CRC_HNPCC_Microsatellite_Instability_Testing.shtml). Oh, and then there is the question of all my other cysts everywhere. Either way, I refuse to get hung up on staging. My mother through her own fight with cancer taught me staging and statistics are not necessarily applicable to a very tenacious woman.
The question of chemo is a difficult one, and should be considered very carefully between you and your family if appropriate, and you and your ONCOLOGIST (no offense, not your PCP). My onc told me that I could go either way, yes or no, but she strongly recommended it because of my young age (42 with no other risk factors other than an oopsie in my family tree), and the fact that I am otherwise fit, am in good health and should tolerate chemo well. Together my onc and I reviewed my case in detail and decided to go for it. She said that if she were I she would do it and that was enough for me. Bring it on!
Something to keep in mind is since your diagnosis you have become a consumer of medical services, so go ahead and consume! Insist on seeing specialists like oncologists and good diagnostics services like MRI and PET scans. You get peace of mind and you get to speak with really smart people who generally know what they are doing.
Whatever you decide, know that you have lots of support and access to a wealth of good info...and follow your instincts. My prayers and good wishes are yours.
Sorry for being so long winded. KathiM may have a big mouth-meet her counterpart the BLABBER mouth!
Kat0 -
Thanks, Kat, for all the info. I know that staging, and particularly the statistics that they produce, are just a gauge. When my sister was diagnosed with lung cancer they gave her two years to live, at the outside. She lived three and a half and battled to the end...usakat said:Hello Patrusha,
Congratulations on your excellent surgical results. Your case sounds very similar to mine. Prior to my surgery (removal of ascending colon and a few accessories) I had a suspicious spot on my liver that just like yours turned out to be a cyst. My doctors said if it is cancer that it's small enough to be eradicated by chemo. Currently I'm waiting for results of a breast MRI because of new growths found in both breasts, and to round off the whole possible extreme body makeover, during surgery another suspicious cyst was found on my right ovary as well as endometriosis, which could net me a hysterectomy in the future. One thing at a time though...****, ****...well, you know...
I read your earlier posts and just like many of us, you have an unfortunately strong family history for cancer. Have you had or considered having genetic testing? I truly believe knowledge is power.
As for staging, your oncologist will most likely do this upon fully reviewing your case. Although, I encourage you to not over analyze staging and statistics. You are unique, sister.
I thought staging was black and white according to the various staging system charts, but I think because doctors have experience with working through different cancer cases they may opt to stage someone outside the traditional method. According to TNM Staging System I would be a stage II, however my onc said that because my tumor was so large with aggressive moderately differentiated cells that had moved outside the wall of my colon she deemed me stage III. The **** (my tumor), poor thing, is going through microsatellite instability testing to identify my overall cancer risk (see http://www.genetichealth.com/CRC_HNPCC_Microsatellite_Instability_Testing.shtml). Oh, and then there is the question of all my other cysts everywhere. Either way, I refuse to get hung up on staging. My mother through her own fight with cancer taught me staging and statistics are not necessarily applicable to a very tenacious woman.
The question of chemo is a difficult one, and should be considered very carefully between you and your family if appropriate, and you and your ONCOLOGIST (no offense, not your PCP). My onc told me that I could go either way, yes or no, but she strongly recommended it because of my young age (42 with no other risk factors other than an oopsie in my family tree), and the fact that I am otherwise fit, am in good health and should tolerate chemo well. Together my onc and I reviewed my case in detail and decided to go for it. She said that if she were I she would do it and that was enough for me. Bring it on!
Something to keep in mind is since your diagnosis you have become a consumer of medical services, so go ahead and consume! Insist on seeing specialists like oncologists and good diagnostics services like MRI and PET scans. You get peace of mind and you get to speak with really smart people who generally know what they are doing.
Whatever you decide, know that you have lots of support and access to a wealth of good info...and follow your instincts. My prayers and good wishes are yours.
Sorry for being so long winded. KathiM may have a big mouth-meet her counterpart the BLABBER mouth!
Kat
For me, staging is a jump-off point. One consideration in many. Like everyone here I am trying to take a jumble of data and make the best decisions for me, after talking to all of those brilliant people you talked about.
My surgeon also said if it was her in my place she would do the chemotherapy. I might go with that, I guess, if it is said by enough people.
My daughter today came home from work (she's 19) and told me I should take the chemo. Of course, she had talked to a co-worker whose mother did NOT do chemo after ovarian cancer and had a recurrence the doctors said might not have occurred had she done the chemo regimen. Pffft. I'd expect them to say that, right?
I guess I have a lot more reading and researching to do, and lots of prayer. Good thing I'm not working for a while, eh? Plenty of time on my hands to do that!
I'll ask the oncologist about genetic testing. My daughter already has been diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis and that has me worried...
I've already had a CT Scan, MRI, and ultrasound. But should I ask for a total body scan and a PET scan, ya think?0 -
YEA YEA YEA YEA!
Home is sooooo nice!
The BEST part...no one waking you at 2 am to take your temp and bp!!!!
I actually diagnosed my roommate as having sleep apnea...guess how I learned???? SNORED!!!!
Yes, mam, you are a semi-colon!!!!
Just like me....'I came with a colon, left with a semi-colon, and lost my period....so go the punctuations of my life'! Yea for no bag...me, too! Was your surgeon good looking? Mine was...extra bonus!
No one really ever staged me....some said II, some said III....BUT I never had post-surgical anything....not on the abdominal wall, or in the nodes...
Sending BIG hugs to you!
Kathi0 -
There is only one trouble with genetic testing....do it as a Jane Doe, and self-pay...KathiM said:YEA YEA YEA YEA!
Home is sooooo nice!
The BEST part...no one waking you at 2 am to take your temp and bp!!!!
I actually diagnosed my roommate as having sleep apnea...guess how I learned???? SNORED!!!!
Yes, mam, you are a semi-colon!!!!
Just like me....'I came with a colon, left with a semi-colon, and lost my period....so go the punctuations of my life'! Yea for no bag...me, too! Was your surgeon good looking? Mine was...extra bonus!
No one really ever staged me....some said II, some said III....BUT I never had post-surgical anything....not on the abdominal wall, or in the nodes...
Sending BIG hugs to you!
Kathi
This stuff goes into your permanent record...
AND....can be red-lined by insurance (even tho its illegal) and passed up for a job (this, too is illegal). Both have happened to people I know....
Hugs, Kathi0 -
Hi Patrusha,
You certainly have had an emotional few weeks. How wonderful to think you were dealing with mets only to discover that no other organs are involved. You are doing all the right things by gaining information. Knowledge is powerful and I know you will make the decision that is best for you.
Continue healing and keep us posted on your progress.
Hugs,
Kay0
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