question on pathology testing

Hi everyone. I just had my LAH with bilateral oophorectomy & salpingectomy (sorry I forget the acronym). I had a great team of surgeons & received word after waking up from anesthesia that they found no signs of cancer. I finally had a chance to talk with my primary surgeon directly a little while ago today. She gave me more details on the preliminary findings & I was surprised to find out that they reached the "no signs of cancer" prognosis w/o needing to do a frozen section pathology test during surgery. She said the uterine tissue looked normal (I had a previous D&C that removed a polyp which tested positive for complex atypical hyperplasia). So this news sounds even more promising of a positive outcome with the final/permanent pathology.

Thus far my friends & family have been jubilant & I have been more guarded until receiving the final report. Now I feel myself relaxing a bit more; yay. I'm not one to rush into feeling secure with preliminary results...& have been feeling rather tearful & tender...

I'm curious if anyone else has had the experience of getting a "yay no cancer" diagnosis with a fair amount of certainty on the doctors' part only to hear "oops, sorry, we were wrong..."? I don't know why I'm so 'waiting for the other shoe to drop.' Probably post-surgery tenderness & hormonal shifts going on too...

I can understand your concern as I am a champion worrier, and the last three months have been so emotional as my health declined rapidly. While I didn't have the history that you've had, I asked my surgeon if there were any signs of cancer while I was still in the hospital. Even so, I did not relax until I got the report, and then I let out a big sigh of relief.

It is probably all ok. The doctors have seen a lot and probably have great instincts. Try not to think about it, but I know that's hard. Hopefully, you won't have to wait long to get the official good news!

Hi ILuvChocolate

Thanks for your kind reply. I have been feeling blue & confused about how to understand this whole process. Months ago when I had my endometrial biopsy my gynecologist surgeon felt sure that the polyp they removed would be benign, then the report came back showing complex atypical EH. We were both surprised. Now I am trying to trust her instincts on this one, but I think I'm trying to "protect" myself by being skeptical so I don't get hit with another shock. (I love the surgeon & have high regard for her skills; that is not the issue.)

The more I write I realize that this process, though with different outcomes for each one of us, is probably an emotional roller coaster for everyone. Plus going through the inevitable tender feelings following this surgery. On my roller coaster, finding out I likely don't have cancer has me heart-aching over having had to have the hysterectomy at all.

Thanks for your support about riding out the worry. I think you're right; as the surgical pathology information is clarified, I will be able to settle more emotionally & feel that much stronger with my recovery.

Hope your personal process with all this is going well also.