EndoCa: RALVH on Tuesday

Hi,

I was diagnosed with hyperplasia 12 years ago, treated with megace and it cleared. Then it came back as Stage 1. Treated with megace again for many years as I still wanted to have a child. Had 5 cancer free years. We were just starting a cycle of IVF and was diagnosed again with Endometrial cancer. The MRI showed possible infiltration of myometrium. At that point no oncologist wanted me to continue on megace nor would they even allow me one cycle to harvest eggs. They insisted on a hysterectomy so with a very, very heavy heart I went ahead with it.

On 10/27 I had a robotic assisted lap hysterectomy (everything - ovaries, uterus, tubes, cervix) and it went extremely well. I was walking around 6 hours after surgery. The only pain I had was in my back -- my sciatica flared up from laying in one position for so long.

The doctor disappointed me by not sending down during the surgery for pathology and also by not doing the sentinel lymph node mapping. He said he couldn't get to the lymph nodes because of my weight. In general he made a fuss about my weight and I asked him "what would you have said a year ago when I weighed 110 lbs. more"!?! I had two previous laps weighing over 100 lbs more and not robotically assisted (gall blader and lapband) without any problems so I have no idea why he made such a fuss.

I am supposed to get the pathology report on Wednesday and hope for the best. The doctor said that everything looked good and clean and not to worry about lymph nodes with a stage 1 tumor???? He also said that the new studies out of Europe show that lymph nodes are not so important???? I would doubt him but this is a doctor in one of the top cancer centers in the US (don't know if I am allowed to mention names). Anyway, we hope for the best.

The robotic surgery is amazing. I cannot believe how good I feel. Walking, bending etc. I am being very careful about not lifting but would love to go back to work! My throat got very sore tonight but I am on antibiotics so hopefully it will not progress further. The only problem I am having is a pretty bad upset stomach. HOpefully that will pass to.

I realize that I am very lucky to have had such a good experience with the hysterectomy and wish everyone here the same ease.

First I would like to say that I am sorry that you were not able to harvest some eggs as planned. The loss of the ability to have a child is hard to take, even for those of us who didn't have any..Somehow the hysterectomy makes it so final.
I am very pleased that everything went well... did you have a gyn/onc do the surgery? I can't imagine them not wanting to do a lymph node sampling or a pelvic wash. That is how you get a complete staging of your cancer.
Please take some time to heal.. even though you are feeling well, there is a tremendous amount of healing that is happening on the inside. Your throat is probably sore from the intubation tube and the anesthetic. It takes several days if not weeks for that to go away.
If you do go back to work, several women here went back for a few hours and then gradually built up to full time.
Best to you.

Thanks for your response. It is kind of lonely being home alone all day!

The surgery was done with a top gyn/onc in one of the most well known hospitals so I am sure he knew what he was doing. He did do a pelvic wash and sent ovaries and uterus for pathology. What he did not do is send part during the surgery or the sentinel lymph node mapping which upset me but he claims he couldn't get to the lymph nodes. So I hope for the best.

I am working from home and getting lots done. This way I can work for a couple of hours and then rest and repeat all over again. I truly think that accomplishing is helping me to recuperate and feel normal.

Glad to hear you are making a good recovery. I had the robotic surgery, too, and am a big fan of the procedure. I am classified as obese and my gyn/onc told me - and the surgical report substantiates this - that my weight caused my sigmoid (sp?) colon to get in his way several times during surgery. He did, however, remove six lymph nodes. Perhaps your doctor had the same issue as mine?

As far as working, my gyn/onc told me to expect to be off work for 1-2 weeks. I returned to work 2 weeks later, after having been released with no restrictions, and worked half days at first, easing into full time over the next three weeks. In retrospect, I should have stayed home another week as I had a very stressful job.

Don't forget to "pamper the Princess," since your body still has a lot of internal healing left to do.

Hi, I am glad you had a successful surgery. My gyn/onc did not remove any lymph nodes either but he did get a preliminary path report during the surgery. He explained that given the size, location, etc of the cancer removed he did not deem it necessary to get a lymph node sampling. He is also a top notch gyn/onc in this area so I felt comfortable with his decision.
I wish you very well with the healing. Pls do try to take it easy early on even if you seem to be feeling very well as sometimes one can overdo and cause a set back. Keep us posted.

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Originally Posted by Bookworm 50 Glad to hear you are making a good recovery. I had the robotic surgery, too, and am a big fan of the procedure. I am classified as obese and my gyn/onc told me - and the surgical report substantiates this - that my weight caused my sigmoid (sp?) colon to get in his way several times during surgery. He did, however, remove six lymph nodes. Perhaps your doctor had the same issue as mine?

No, he had no other issues. He just said that the weight made it hard to get to the lymph nodes. Personally I think he didn't try too hard as he decided it wasn't that important for me. I have to say that this hospital (don't know if I am allowed to mention it) that is a very highly rated hospital specializing in cancer was the ONLY hospital I have ever been with that made an issue about weight. They didn't even have a larger size hospital gown despite the fact that I called before to make sure they did! I was more than 100 lbs. heavier when I had surgery in three other hospitals in Manhattan and one in Brooklyn and weight was never really an issue.

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As far as working, my gyn/onc told me to expect to be off work for 1-2 weeks. I returned to work 2 weeks later, after having been released with no restrictions, and worked half days at first, easing into full time over the next three weeks. In retrospect, I should have stayed home another week as I had a very stressful job.

Wow, that is quick. My doctor wouldn't even talk about it until my 4 week post-op visit. Truth is that I am self employed and I snuck out last night to work. All I did was work at the computer for a couple of hour and watch TV. Since it was night there was no one there and I must say I enjoyed!