Post Op Pathology Results

Well sisters.....it felt so good to get those staples out of my vertical incision!!!! Just want to itch it now, but I know better.....

GYN/ONC said that my lymph nodes came back with tumors in two. She does not seem to be overly alarmed at all. She said that this does not change the staging of my cancer. It is still a IIIC.

She seems very hopeful that my chemo starting this Thursday will wipe out the lymph node issue. She also stated that they did some chemical testing on the tumor and that it appeared it would do well with the Taxol/Carbo.

Once spot of good news is that my pap smear came back o.k., so no worry that it spread to the vagina. I had a TAH back in 2001. Boy.....in hindsight.....sure wish I would have had the ovaries taken with the TAH in 2001. Oh well......

She said I looked real good.....to come back in 6 weeks......sent me to the lab for another CA125 so i will call for those results tommorow.....

Well, again thanks for all of your support ladies...i am remaining very positive that the chemo starting Thursday will zap all of these remaining cells.........I'm only 43 and in good health, so the doc seems pretty optimistic.

's Lori!

So glad to hear that your visit went well and that your doctor is optimistic about things. How great that they did sensitivity testing on your tumor! That can eliminate a lot of trial and error stuff.

Don't beat yourself up about your ovaries. You were playing the odds, and the odds were that you'd get more benefit from your ovaries than you would have problems. I kept my ovaries in 2001 and they are healthy and working great. So, right now, I feel like I made the right decision. But a person never knows what the future holds. It is simply not possible to know if you're going to fall into the small percentage of women who will develop ovarian cancer.

I will be keeping you in my thoughts and 'ers. I hope chemo is easy on you, but hard on those cancer cells. Just visualize them running like crazy to get out of your body :run3: !

Please keep us posted on how you are getting along!

s Lori

It sounds as though you are continuing to recover smoothly.
I think after a cancer diagnosis we all have regrets. Yours is in leaving your ovaries behind. My own regreat was waiting until my annual exam, which was six months away, when I began to have symptoms.
I do think once treatment begins we leave those regrets behind and focus on the future.
I sure will be thinking of you on Thursday.
Best wishes.

karenann

I am glad to hear your Dr is optimistic, and so glad that you had a gyn/onc do the surgery and all the special testing. I have a strong feeling that you are going to do very well.

Dear Lori:

I feel as the other ladies do that it sounds like you will do very well with the treatment and cancer will run away out of your body.

We all have to make judgment calls and we do what seems right at the time with all our best intentions. In my case I wish that my lymph nodes had been tested because I always have that fear that what if something's going on and I'm not doing agressive treatment but we have to keep a positive outlook and be courageous and do all that we possibly can in the interim.

Stay strong and let us know how the treatment goes - we're here for encouragement and support.

Wishing you strength as you win the fight!!!!

I am so glad to hear that your recovery is going so well and that the pap results were good.....Now i will be praying that the chemo will irradicate all bad cells!!!!!!!!

Dear Lori, Sounds like you are in excellent medical hands. It was good to have the sensitivity testing so that the proper chemo can be used to zap those nasty cells. So glad your pap came back negative. I agree with the other ladies, you cannot blame yourself for earlier decisions; many younger women chose to retain ovaries and thus avoid taking hormones, etc. The fact you are in good health, have a positive outlook and are working with a good gyn/onc all bode well for an excellent outcome. I am keeping you in thought and prayer that you are soon on your way to a full recovery. Please let us know how you are doing.
s, peggiesue

Hi, Lori. It really sounds like you're in good hands. You sound really good, too.

Good luck with the start of your chemo on Thursday. Let us know how you do.

Best,

Lori,
It sounds like you have a great doctor, and it's great he's so positive!
I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.
-Sue

Lori,

A positive medical team makes life so much easier!

I too have a great team, and my oncologist's reaction to finding the big C in 2 para-aaortic lymph nodes seems to be much like yours was...VERY POSITIVE that it will respond to chemo effectively. I don't know a lot about pathology, but I figure if they biopsied over 20 - 30 areas (many lymphs, muscle, fat, etc) and it showed up in only two areas, I think that's pretty good odds. If the surgeon thinks you were optimumly (sp) debulked, that's even better. My team's outlook was, "let's get in there, let the chemo go to work, and get this behind you". I agree!

Congratulations on having a great attitude.
Good luck with your first chemo treatment, I hope it goes well for you and that it does its job!