Deciding when and how

I have been diagnosed with adenocarcinoma in situ and am currently waiting for a cervical cone biopsy on the 12th to figure out the extent of my disease. I will need to have a hysterectomy at some point, hubby and I are discussing whether or not our family is complete. In the meantime I am gather info about hysterectomies...it keeps me busy and distracted from the cancer!

I am curious to know if having a hysterectomy was in the future for you, how did you decide when to have it? I know it's a long recovery so did you schedule it in with other events in your life (ie, holidays, vacations, weddings, etc)?

Also, were you given an option for what type of hysterectomy to have, abdominal, laparoscopic, vaginal? My oncologist and I have not yet begun to discuss hysterectomy options but do know cervix + uterus will be removed. I also know that if the cancer is more invasive than we think, they extent of the hysterectomy will vary.

Thanks for your help!

I was diagnosed with prolapse (no cancer issues), and my 2nd medical opinion suggested TAH, removing cervix AND ovaries. I decided I needed a 3rd opinion, and the verdict was TVH.

I based my *timing* on my mom being able to come from out of state & help with our children so my hubby could focus on taking care of me. I also chose the springtime so that I would have to worst of the recovery behind me by summer break.

I hope you are able to find the right answers. I am sending huge cyberhugs

I am sorry for you that you have been diagnosed with CIS, esp. after you already have gone thru a hard time with cancer before!

I didn't decide for a hysterectomy, but my cerv.ca did for me.
I had been diagnosed with carcinoma in situ in 2006; had a LLETZ-procedure done and afterwards my pap was okay.

I have had a lot (really a lot) of problems over the past years: a small prolapse, several fibroids, heavy bleeding - and as it turned out afterwards: a large cyst grown in the outside of my uterus.

I have been asking for a hysterectomy before, but my gyn didn't approve. Looking at her arguments I could agree with her. I am sorry however, I have waited so long. My pap-smear in April this year was 3b (again); I had another LLETZ (under anesthetic) and it turned out I had adenomacarcinoma stage 1b2.

So for me there was no choice in scheduling or whatever. I do know that if the tumour wouldn't have been smaller and if I wouldn't have had the cyst I probably would have had a vaginal DaVinci procedure. Since that wasn't possible I now had a radical abdominal hysterectomy with a vertical incision.

It is indeed a major surgery, but after six weeks I really felt better than I had for a long time.

I don't blame the gyn; I still trust her, but I should have followed my gutfeeling that told me a year ago already things weren't okay in my body. I have listened to her rational arguments and not to what I felt.
I should have insisted on a hysterectomy. Maybe things wouldn't have gotten so out of hand (but, of course, I don't know for sure if I wouldnt have gotten cancer).

Hang in there, take care of yourself and I am sending you a whole lot of positive thoughts. I hope for you that it can be taken care of before it turns into cancer!

I wasn't given time to think about when. When I was diagnosed it was already 1b1. My doc did allow me about a month between dx and surgery to get some things order. (I was in the process of moving) But I will always wonder if that waiting period allowed the cancer to progress far enough to require the post-op treatments. *sigh*

The doc originally wanted to schedule for a week or two after dx. It was too much for me to wrap my head around at that point though.

The first 3 weeks were the worst of it. The first 5 days I was in the hospital and they maintained my pain very well. Into the third week the internal numbness was beginning to wear off, but by the end of that week I was ok again.

I also didn't have a choice in what type of surgery. I would suggest discussing any travel plans with your doc prior to scheduling surgery. Sometimes they won't release you to fly until a certain point in healing. I have to say if you do schedule it around an event I would make it towards the end of your healing, surgery can really zap your energy and swelly belly makes clothes fit funny.

((2xsurvivor))

You have come to a great place to ask questions! And you are doing the right thing my asking questions and doing some research before you make your final decision!

Depending on our diagnoses, we will each do something different regarding time. I did as ((Twyla)) and waited until my mom could come from out of state to help with my family. But my wait was only a couple weeks and I could have had surgery sooner or later as long as I was prepared to continue dealing with the bleeding.

Having at least a second opinion before making your final decision would be wise and could also help you determine when would be best and what type of surgery would be right for you!

Best wishes for your biopsy this week!

2xsurvivor -

As Anna said "I didn't decide to have the hysterectomy, endometrial cancer decided it for me." My Dr. wanted it done as soon as possible after a D&C unexpectedly found the cancer. It was 3 weeks after my diagnosis.

Initially my gyn told me it could only be abdominal, I found through this site and research that it could be done via the daVinci robotic assisted procedure.

You may want to check out the Resources link. There are some new resources that have diagrams of different stagings of different types of cancer. Even though I'm almost a year from surgery they helped me understand things better. For example if you look under endometrial cancer you will find the resource discussing staging w/ illustrations.

Also on the long recovery front, full recovery is 6 months to a year but you won't be bedridden that entire time. I went back to work at 6 weeks, I was tired but after a few weeks was able to work a full week without being so fatigued.

Sending to you.

G.

In my case the cancer wasn't found until after the hysterectomy, so scheduling wasn't an issue. As far as which method, my doc promised she would try for lavh but couldn't guarantee it. So I found out when I woke up from surgery that I didn't have to have the abdominal. Good luck to you, it's good to get these things done so the healing can get started, eh?

	Quote:
Originally Posted by tauruslady You may want to check out the Resources link. There are some new resources that have diagrams of different stagings of different types of cancer.

Tauruslady, thank you! I thought I had figured this site out during these past few months, but I did find some very interesting information that I hadn't found before!