More medical opinions
I asked a friend for an honest medical opinion. This friend also happens to crew on my boat so she is absolutely trustworthy :)
Notes:
1) The "third-hand' transcript was the one you have read
2) The "colleague" is a GYN oncologist
3) This friend has not seen the pathology reports. All the information that she has to work with is the information that you all have access to.
"I do not know you that well, or how much having a child genetically yours has played into your life plan, but I personally would not be considering, or recommending to you to try to carry a pregnancy. My recommendation would be hysterectomy - as it offers the best chance of completely removing your cancer at the earliest stage possible. Removing all disease before there has been any chance for spread offers you the best chance of cure. The "third-hand" transcript below most closely mirrors what my thoughts on your situation have been. I have been reluctant to state my view in such a bold manner as I am not your physician, I have not reviewed all of your information personally and certainly have not seen a case just like yours.
When I spoke with my colleague, he stated his recommendation would be hysterectomy, with discussion re: pros/cons of oophorectomy. He would be very reluctant to offer a more limited surgery given risk of leaving residual cancer behind, which could spread during a pregnancy, and the fact that getting pregnant, much less carrying to viability, would be low."
***************************
Well, we are not very advanced in the day yet but I am already bored, so I will post something on this blog.
You are getting the first hint.
This blog is USEFUL to me, at least, it gives me something to do when I am not sleeping and not picking up guys, I mean, walking around the block.
I also find this blog extremely therapeutic. It helps me process and express my thoughts and feelings and none of it feels so big since it seems to be distributed over all of you (thanks I hear you say...) and doesn't stay with me. This is why your support, positive thoughts and prayers mean so much to me and why I always enjoy e-mails, comments on the blog, even the silliest thing! Having cancer on a desert island with no Internet access must be really tough.
I consider this little adventure a journey (I know, I am not the first/only one to say that) - I guess that life is - so let me rephrase this it's a special train, the Harry Potter one. It looks daunting at first, but it could be a great ride after all. There must be a reason for it. I don't know what your religious beliefs are and I don't mean to single out anyone with this post. Mine are telling me that God has picked this particular route to teach me something. My learning style is to talk this through, bounce off ideas and iterate on them (after I do a ton of personal research so I feel like I know what I am talking about). This blog is a great professor!
This blog helps me in one other way. I am a very secret person when it comes to personal emotions. So secret that it is sometimes hard to communicate those even to myself. First I started music/writing poetry and short stories, or travel journals, etc...They were all ways I chose to speak. Writing offers a nice safety net.
For this blog to work and help me, I must be totally open and not hide anything about what I might learn, even if it is laughable (I had never heard of a rectal fissure before!!!) or sounds ridiculous (I can't use tampons for another 5 weeks and post-op bleeding have to be dealt with with pads...)
The strangest thing is that I feel super powerful and super vulnerable at the same time...
I don't mean from a disease perspective. I feel vulnerable when I open up that way. You can all pick up anything you want, critique anything you like and realize how clueless or scared ("terrified at the idea of a hysterectomy pre-pregnancy") I am. I feel also powerful in that I have words for all of this, an army of wingless angels called friends (if you have wings, that's a scoop, I want to see them!!), and an infinite number of prayers and thoughts accompanying me. Friends who have gone on similar journeys, friends and family who are travelling with me on this one. Powerful because I don't have to hide from this, I don't have to pretend.
OK, pressure's on now. Better not make this boring...
You - through this blog, thoughts and prayers - are saving me!
Notes:
1) The "third-hand' transcript was the one you have read
2) The "colleague" is a GYN oncologist
3) This friend has not seen the pathology reports. All the information that she has to work with is the information that you all have access to.
"I do not know you that well, or how much having a child genetically yours has played into your life plan, but I personally would not be considering, or recommending to you to try to carry a pregnancy. My recommendation would be hysterectomy - as it offers the best chance of completely removing your cancer at the earliest stage possible. Removing all disease before there has been any chance for spread offers you the best chance of cure. The "third-hand" transcript below most closely mirrors what my thoughts on your situation have been. I have been reluctant to state my view in such a bold manner as I am not your physician, I have not reviewed all of your information personally and certainly have not seen a case just like yours.
When I spoke with my colleague, he stated his recommendation would be hysterectomy, with discussion re: pros/cons of oophorectomy. He would be very reluctant to offer a more limited surgery given risk of leaving residual cancer behind, which could spread during a pregnancy, and the fact that getting pregnant, much less carrying to viability, would be low."
***************************
Well, we are not very advanced in the day yet but I am already bored, so I will post something on this blog.
You are getting the first hint.
This blog is USEFUL to me, at least, it gives me something to do when I am not sleeping and not picking up guys, I mean, walking around the block.
I also find this blog extremely therapeutic. It helps me process and express my thoughts and feelings and none of it feels so big since it seems to be distributed over all of you (thanks I hear you say...) and doesn't stay with me. This is why your support, positive thoughts and prayers mean so much to me and why I always enjoy e-mails, comments on the blog, even the silliest thing! Having cancer on a desert island with no Internet access must be really tough.
I consider this little adventure a journey (I know, I am not the first/only one to say that) - I guess that life is - so let me rephrase this it's a special train, the Harry Potter one. It looks daunting at first, but it could be a great ride after all. There must be a reason for it. I don't know what your religious beliefs are and I don't mean to single out anyone with this post. Mine are telling me that God has picked this particular route to teach me something. My learning style is to talk this through, bounce off ideas and iterate on them (after I do a ton of personal research so I feel like I know what I am talking about). This blog is a great professor!
This blog helps me in one other way. I am a very secret person when it comes to personal emotions. So secret that it is sometimes hard to communicate those even to myself. First I started music/writing poetry and short stories, or travel journals, etc...They were all ways I chose to speak. Writing offers a nice safety net.
For this blog to work and help me, I must be totally open and not hide anything about what I might learn, even if it is laughable (I had never heard of a rectal fissure before!!!) or sounds ridiculous (I can't use tampons for another 5 weeks and post-op bleeding have to be dealt with with pads...)
The strangest thing is that I feel super powerful and super vulnerable at the same time...
I don't mean from a disease perspective. I feel vulnerable when I open up that way. You can all pick up anything you want, critique anything you like and realize how clueless or scared ("terrified at the idea of a hysterectomy pre-pregnancy") I am. I feel also powerful in that I have words for all of this, an army of wingless angels called friends (if you have wings, that's a scoop, I want to see them!!), and an infinite number of prayers and thoughts accompanying me. Friends who have gone on similar journeys, friends and family who are travelling with me on this one. Powerful because I don't have to hide from this, I don't have to pretend.
OK, pressure's on now. Better not make this boring...
You - through this blog, thoughts and prayers - are saving me!
posted by Finance Monkey at 11:33 AM
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