Hi Jeni,

You did it!!! If I am right, you are now finished your radiation, right?? I was thinking that you are on the same dates that I was on year ago. In fact, it was one year ago today that I had MY last zap!! What is your surgery date? Did you end up going for the second opinion? Are you going to go for the hysterectomy?

Enjoy your hiatus from hospitals!! Hope you are feeling OK...it took me about 10 days to feel back to my old self after radiation/chemo.

CELEBRATE!!!

Jeni are you there?

Cats, lovey, how are you ? All healed up from you surgery ?

Yes, the last zap was Monday, thanks for remembering. I am at last feeling the affects of the radiation, and do feel burned and chafed some but overall not at all bad and didn't feel much of anything until the weekend.

Surgery should be at the beginning of November.

I am really torn about the hysterectomy issue -- about 1/2 or less of the women who I have heard from, on this site and others, say they had other things removed - ovaries, etc. But of that 1/2, a certain portion already had some problems in the area and the removal was not necessarily done just due to cancer.

If cancer is going to recur in the area, isn't it better to have an organ to remove later, rather than just have it embed it tissue ? Or does it just embed in tissue ? Is the idea that the micromets must be there already, so just take the dang thing out ?

So this is what I would likely get a 2nd opinion on.

This last chunk of chemo did give me mouth sores again, only not at all as many and they didn't last as long. I do have a prescription paste for them, and that helped tremendously.

I am sure I will have more questions as time goes by, as I keep having these wierd surgery dreams.

Thanks for asking about me --

Jeni

Jeni,

I believe the odds of this type of cancer showing up in your female reproductive organs are small, but I will admit I have read of it happening. In my case, I really was trying to advoid a 2nd surgery down the road later. I did have a referral from my GYN. Getting a 2nd opinion regarding this issue sounds like a good ideal.

Good luck,

Lee

Jeni,

I would try to get an appointment with a gynocologist that is also an oncologist. They are the ones that would do that portion of the surgery anyway. They have experience in surgeries w/post-radiation patients.

One thing to consider - have you gone into menopause yet? To me, once I was in menopause from the rad/chemo it was much easier to say take them out...though I would be lying if I didn't say that I am now having to deal w/this all emotionally. For me, it happened so fast...they recommended taking it out, so I did not question it at all...just wanted to do anything to not have to deal w/cancer ever again... NOW, I am secretly wishing there was a way to have one more baby...to have an ounce of sex drive...and I wonder/worry what the effects of being on hormone replacement will have as far as my risks for breast cancer, etc. I think because everything happened SO fast I did not "mourn" the loss of my female organs...so now that I am in "remission" I am realizing the emotional effects of changes in my body...

SO, you are right to think through this carefully...it is not an easy decision. I see both sides to it.

Sorry about the surgery dreams...it is a lot hanging over your head. Please remind me, are you doing post-op chemo? Folfox? Xeloda?

Take care,
Cats

Cats,

Good observations and points. When I got my referral, I was in memopause, had been for sometime (couple of yrs). I did not morn the loss of my reproductive organs, after 10 miscarriages (I have 2 beautiful adopted children today), they were a bother. I did not experience major after effects (mood swings, etc) when they were gone. They tried to put me on hormone replacement, but my primary doctor realized I didn't need them. He asked me to go off of them for awhile and see how I felt. I was fine. I do have hot flashes, and they are worse since my surgery, but that's it all.

I think getting a 2nd opinion with a GYN oncologist is an excellent idea. Good luck, Jeni.

Lee

Lee and Cats, I was not menopausal but was perimenopausal, last period was Memorial Weekend, and had been skipping for about one year.

I am going to get that 2nd opinion. I am still having chimp-with-pruning-shears dreams and also "whoops, what the hell did we do with your kidneys ?"
dreams as well.

And of course, the constant, ever present "will they get it all" ...

I know that some ladies have rec'd hormone suppositories that are used only vaginally, not systemically, to deal with menopausal issues in the vagina - dryness, atrophy.

I intend to meet with someone afterwards to discuss any discomfort issues that have to do with menopause, altho it isn't clear that I will have any or what those might be.

Don't I just assume that my 28 sessions of radiation made my ovaries non-functioning ? If that is true, do they just die off slowly, or is it an issue of them not producing hormones as soon as they get zapped?

Jeni