Postby weisssoccermom » Tue Dec 02, 2008 9:02 pm
I am going to elaborate a little more on Gaelen's post. I, too, understand your desire to get this tumor out of your body, but please, let the doctor's make sure that they have the right procedure before just rushing in to operate. As Pat has said, your tumor has most likely been there for quite some time and waiting a few more weeks isn't going to most likely make that much difference.
When I was first diagnosed, I just wanted that thing out of me! I was ready for surgery right after my colonoscopy. Because I am allergic to the sedation that they use, I had my scope in the hospital under general, and when I found out they were pretty sure it was cancer and hadn't been able to remove 'the thing', I wanted my surgeon to just come down and cut it out - right then and there! Good thing no one listened to the rantings of a nutty woman. Obviously I didn't know then what I know now. I had rectal cancer, a cancer that is usually treated neoadjuvantly (before surgery) with chemoradiation to attempt to shrink the tumor in hopes of preserving sphinter function and to minimize the threat of a local recurrence.
I remember being absolutely frustrated by the time it took from diagnosis until my radiation treatments actually started - almost 40 days! Those 5 1/2 weeks seemed to stretch on forever and I was absolutely positive that during that timeframe my cancer would spread to my lymph nodes.
If this is a board certified colorectal surgeon (please make sure that this surgeon is a board certified one and not just a general surgeon) trust him that he knows what he is doing. Taking the time to get all the answers may save you from having another surgery down the road. I know you want this to 'be over' but you need to be prepared that your journey is just beginning. You're quite correct that you will know the stage after surgery but just be prepared that you may be facing chemo and or radiation treatments down the road depending on what the path report shows. I'm not trying to be pessimistic here but I don't want to see you getting depressed if it should happen that you end up needing more treatments.
Since your second post indicated that you haven't had a PET or CT scan done yet, I would take the time to get that done BEFORE you have your surgery. That test is very important to ascertain whether or not the cancer has been caught early. I realize that your doctor has said that he believes it was caught early, but there really is no way to know all of this without having that test.
If you don't have Lynch , you really don't want to have a hysterectomy if you don't need one. I really do understand your concerns, but I would defer to the surgeon on this one. The lab results should be back in another week or so and you might avoid a hysterectomy (particularly if they are taking the ovaries) that you don't need and a medically induced menopause that you won't want to deal with if you don't have to - particuarly on top of everything else you will be going through.
Jaynee
Dx 6/22/2006 IIA rectal cancer
6 wks rad/Xeloda -finished 9/06
1st attempt transanal excision 11/06
11/17/06 XELOX 1 cycle
5 months Xeloda only Dec '06 - April '07
10+ blood clots, 1 DVT 1/07
transanal excision 4/20/07 path-NO CANCER CELLS!
NED now and forever!
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