Devastating News

We met with Dr. Jeffrey Stern, the oncologist today. When I mentioned that the insurance company still had not okayed the PET CT, he said he wasn't surprised; they didn't have definitive proof that it was cancer. However, Dr. Stern is convinced (as is that radiologist, somewhere).

He didn't tell me much that I didn't know. But the way he said it, his demeanor, gave me all the info I needed. It's terrible news, and I'm facing invasive surgery. They'll take out more than just the uterus and ovaries. There is muscle mass plus several locations of lymph nodes in the abdomen and legs to be removed.

Here are Ruth's notes, taken during the meeting with Dr. Stern:

Dr. Stern says that the MRI shows a cancer invading the uterine wall. He recommends a hysterectomy plus removal of any affected lymph nodes in the pelvis and higher if need be. The cancer is uterine cancer.

This surgery will require two surgeons, four hands. Incision will be to the belly button.

They will send the uterus to the pathologist during the surgery, and they will tell us the depth of invasion. Should it be necessary the surgeons will use fatty tissue to rearrange things in the pelvis to make the best arrangement for effective radiation therapy. We won't know about that until they get in there.

Post op radiation therapy will be necessary only if the lymph nodes are positive or if there is cancer close to the margins. He said that this cancer, if it is confined to the uterus, is mostly cured by surgery.

His office will contact Dr. Laura Miller and she will coordinate.

We received pre-op and post-op instructions. He said to bring them to the hospital with us.

One piece of good news: the blood test was OK, which points to a likelihood that the cancer is not pervasive.

The delay on the PET scan is probably due to the fact that before the MRI the cancer diagnosis was somewhat unclear. Now the insurance co's approval should come through shortly.

Shirley, in Dr. Stern's office, will schedule the surgery and notify us by this coming Wednesday.

I signed all the papers. Surgery will be around March 1st. No date yet, but I'll find out when Shirlee is able to match everyone up. I can think about little else.