Recipe for Success, Story Time

A Tale of Two C’s        

Part III

The doctor explained that endometrial tissue is typically only found inside the uterus, not always, as anyone with endometriosis is well aware, but it is usually well contained. She also indicated that the surgeon would strongly recommend taking the ovaries as well. The doctor knew and could refer her to an amazing surgeon that specialized in gynecologic oncology and had an excellent reputation.

After the initial shock wore off, akin to a flash bomb in the brain and a two by four across the chest, she realized that there was an upside to this all. She would be skipping the 5 to 7 years of transition! She would skip directly to the best part of menopause. With that silver lining held firmly in mind, she went about waiting as patiently as she could to get her surgery date.

Some hurdles appeared. This surgeon was amazing, therefore in demand. The office also had a lengthy evaluation and insurance process, up to 10 business days before a consult with the surgeon could even be booked. Then who knows how long until surgery could be scheduled.

Nine business days passed before she finally heard from the surgeon’s office. The doctor had an appointment available in just under eight weeks. Eight weeks! After hanging up she suffered what felt like an out of body experience and then quickly decided to call back. She pleaded with the medical assistant, who was wonderful, and told her that the surgeon would be contacted, and if nothing could be done there, she would be put on the cancelation list. She also thought to ask how long the wait would be for the surgery after that consultation. Two to three weeks was typical. After several deep breaths, she settled in for one of the longest waits of her life.

Fortunately, the next day, the same wonderful medical assistant called her back and informed her that the surgeon was willing to squeeze her in sooner! That shorter wait still felt like forever, but she was about to discover the best news at that appointment. The consultation was on a Thursday, and the surgeon just had a surgery cancellation for Monday!

It was going to be challenging. The surgeon was incredibly thorough and required three tests to be completed before surgery: an EKG, blood work, and a CT scan. She assured her new doctor that she would drive as far as needed if they could get her in anywhere for the CT. She arranged her own EKG and blood work. She didn’t get home until after dark on Thursday and drove, stopping only for appointments and the loo, from 9 am to 9 pm on Friday, but she got it all done!

The CT scan showed that all the surrounding tissue looked good, at least on the large scale, but that the left ovary was quite enlarged. She just hadn’t noticed it with all the other pain and swelling she had been experiencing the previous several months.

Monday surgery went off without a hitch. The staff were lovely, and she had the best recovery from anesthesia she had ever experienced. The day after surgery was such a day of elation and relief. She already felt better even with her six brand new incisions and various tender spots. The healing over the following two weeks felt so fast, in part due to some amazing help from a loved one that flew out to help, and then she was back for her follow up with the surgeon.

The surgeon exclaimed at how well she had healed and was very happy with her progress. Everything that was removed had been tested, which ended up being a little bit more than her gynecologist had indicated. They had biopsied lymph nodes, removing one altogether for testing. They had done a pelvic wash and had poked around having a look at the surrounding structures.

There was great news and not so great news. That darn left ovary. A second cancer. Unbelievable. The great news was that it was a completely different cancer. Yes, that was a good thing. It meant that the first cancer had not spread. Unfortunately, she was told that there was a chance that the second one could have spread to the omentum.

Side Note: What is an omentum? The omentum is a fatty layer that lays like a sheet over the abdominal organs. The greater omentum is attached to the outside of the stomach and along the transverse colon.

There was a ten percent chance that the ovarian cancer could have spread to this omentum which acts like a protective lining and like a lymph node collecting errant cells. Unfortunately, again, there is no way to know if it had spread to this area without removing it. Cancers of the omentum were not good. With a look at her partner who quietly nodded, a second surgery was scheduled.