Surgery day

Monica's surgery went really well it took about 2 1/2 hours to complete from the time they started which was around 7:45 AM. The doctors said that they did some initial tests for cancer while she was in surgery and they did not see or find any cancer. This is great news ! Now they will still have to send everything out to the lab for more extensive tests that take up to a week to find out the results but this is a really great sign and they seem to be pretty confident that she should be OK.

They did say that she did have a bit of endometriosis so overall the doctors still feel confident about their recommendation for Monica to take this aggressive approach in having a full hysterectomy.

Obviously Monica was in quite a bit a pain when I first saw her an hour and a half after the surgery was over as they were asking her on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest of pain where she was and she keep telling them a 10 initially. So they had her on morphine and gave her some other strong pain killer which eventually seemed to really help and control the pain.

So by the time I left to go get the kids off the bus around 3:00 PM and bring them back to see her Monica was feeling much better but they would still not let her eat anything other than clear liquids due to the medicine. So I brought the kids and Monica's mother Kathy back for a quick visit which was nice for her and the kids to get to see each other for a bit. Right before we left Monica had some raspberry juice which unfortunately did not want to stay down for long and ended up come back up. So the nurse said she has to stay on just water or ice chips for awhile more.

The kids and I called her first thing this morning before sending them off to school and she said she was feeling a bit better and was cleared to have some food and had just ordered some breakfast. The doctors told her that she will be able to go home today sometime around noon I plan on going to pick her up.

So now the recovery process begins again which the doctors said it will be a good 2 weeks before she can really move around quite a bit, however knowing Monica just like the last time she had a major surgery she does not like to stay immobile very long. So we will take it slow and she how it goes.

So in closing as Monica's guest blogger today I would just like to say that once again I am absolutely amazed by her with both the physical and mental strength she has shown through this whole process once again. Aside from that first day of being upset about finding out that her blood count marker for Ovarian cancer had been continually rising and that she would have to have this surgery and face the possible prospect of having to fight  yet another battle against cancer she never once said why me or felt sorry for herself. She just seems to have this unbelievable steel resolve that she was not going to let this affect her life and more than she needed it to and that she was prepared to take the aggressive approach to do whatever needed to be done to win one more battle if that was the cards that fate had dealt her. She is an amazing person that I think many of us can draw some level of inspiration from. I am proud of her, love her and so glad that everything has went well with this surgery and that she appears to have finally caught a much deserved break in regards to cancer.

I know I speak for Monica as well when I say thank you all for your never ending continued support, love and friendship you have shown our family. I can not tell you all how much it really makes a difference for us.

Take care and hopefully Monica will be back blogging again shortly with a much more detailed report of her journey.


Gene
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pre-op exam/surgery

I had my pre-op exam on Thursday June 10, 2010. I had to go to the hospital for this exam. I checked in at the admitting office and that's where all the services were to be performed. She registered all my information and gave me a beeper/buzzer when my turned would be. My buzzer went off and I went into the office. As I entered the nurse told me to have a seat in the room on the right, well I thought it was a bit strange since there was another nurse in there withdrawing blood on a patient but I sat in the other chair like she told me. The nurse said she made a mistake and sent me into a different room, I knew this was a bad start. She came into the room and introduced herself and started to with drawl my blood. She took one vial of blood and I was wondering why so little since I usually take around four vials. She turned around to finish the paperwork and I said how do they know this is my blood work. She picked up the vial and said your name is right here on the sticker. Well guess what it wasn't my name! How can she mixed up my name with an Asian name? She immediately said, I always ask to verify birth dates and I am so sorry I didn't today. I was so angry! I also told her I was told that I needed an EKG and a chest x-ray  She handed me a magazine and said here read this while I go straighten out the paperwork. She returned and I was correct that four more vials were needed to be taken. She claimed that the wrong beeper number was written incorrectly on my paperwork. The Asian name that was on my vial was the person who came in after me. If they were planning to take her first, that would add more fuel to the fire. I asked her to with drawl from the other arm for the new blood. She couldn't find a good vein so she had to go back to the other arm. She did it right under the last insertion. What a winner she is! She now verified my name and date of birth. She sent in the anesthesia nurse to get my paperwork started for this department for the day of surgery. I spoke with her about ten minutes. The original nurse came back into the room and said she didn't get a chance to verify if I needed a chest x-ray and EKG since no order was placed. What was she doing all this time!!! She left to go call my doctor's office to see if I needed these test. She returned and said I was told the incorrect information that I don't need them. I had to give an urine test. I asked her why I couldn't gone to the lab by my house since all I did was some blood work and urine test. She said that one of the vials needed to be done at the hospital for the blood bank. I was just glad to get out of this office!!!

I am having my surgery less than 11 hours from now. My surgery is scheduled for 7:30 am and I have to be there at 6:30am. My mom is coming over to get the kids up for school and onto the bus. I found out this am that I couldn't eat anything for the entire day except for clear liquids. Wow I was misunderstood. I thought it was after 2:00 when I had to drink the laxative. I had some coffee which is clear liquid ate a cookie with it and started my no food day. I am been working at a deli to help out and today was my last day. I wanted to go in to keep my mind busy. As I was driving there, I realized that here I can't eat food and I am working around food. It wasn't too bad since I was only there for four hours.I drank the laxative drink. It wasn't too bad but had a strong tart taste. I am surviving the day on chicken broth, Popsicles, water, and coffee. I just want this over at this point. I will have my husband update my blog so everybody knows how the surgery went. Chat with all of you in a few days. Smile and have a wonderful week!

told the kids

6/6/10 We told the kids on Sunday that I will be going into the hospital. We explained that mom will have some  female organs removed that she no longer needs since she is not having any more babies. We didn't explain the organs in detail. We didn't mention cancer at this time because we don't know the final outcome. Let's pray the outcome is great news! We also told them a robot will be involved with my operation. We showed them the videos that I posted on my last blog posting. They didn't have any questions. My daughter got upset when I told her that I can't be at the end of her school party since I will be recovering. She later asked me " I thought you were done with your operation". I also explained that grandma Kathy will get them up and ready for school on 6/15/10 the day of my surgery since I have to be at the hospital for 6:30 am We also told them, I might have to spend the night but we won't know until that day.

I have my pre-op exam this Thursday 6/10/10 at the hospital. Take Care :>

Tattoo update/misc info

On Thursday May 27, 2010 I saw my plastic surgeon. I went to her for a follow up appointment since I had the tattoo performed. She said everything looked well and glad I had it done. She agreed that it looks better with color and looks normal. The work was great! I will see her in six months for a follow up.

I ran into my breast cancer surgeon in the parking lot before my appointment. She has been cc on all my blood tests and wanted to know what was going on with me. She had asked her nurse to call me to find out if I was okay.(which was going to be this week) She is very thoughtful and I appreciate her to take the time to still follow my medical needs. I gave her all my updates. She asked me to keep her posted after the surgery. I am so happy and pleased with all of my doctors. They really care and sincere with their patients.

I have an appointment on June 10, 2010 at the hospital for a pre-op exam. I will need to have an EKG, chest X-ray, and some blood work before my surgery date. The appointment will take 45 min - 1 hour. I also received my time for surgery. My surgery is schedules for June 15, 2010 at 730 am. I will have to be at the hospital at 6:30 am. I will keep everybody posted as much as I can. Take Care :>

appointment with OBGYN Oncologist

Gene and I met the OBGYN Oncologist on Monday May 24, 2010. We liked  his mannerism and knowledge within the field. On Monday and Tuesday he works at Bridgeport Hospital where I will be going and the other days he works at Yale Hospital. He went over everything I mentioned in my previous blog. He talked with my OBGYN for along time about my medical before my appointment. He had most of my medical reports from all my other test and surgery's. I brought all my medical reports and I gave him a copy of my genetic findings report to add to his files. He confirmed  and gave me the options for the surgery. I told him I've decided to remove my uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries. He agreed this was a wise decision and since I have kids and I am over 35 years old he didn't have a problem with my decision. He feels that my numbers are increasing for CA-125 within my blood work and there is something affecting it. Its hard to know what is causing this until the surgery. He explained he has had several patients who are young with ovarian cancer and hopes I don't fall under this category. There are several other factors that can also affect my numbers to increase. There was so much information given to us that day but I believe he mentioned around a blood count of 100 is where he has seen patients who had Ovarian cancer. I am at 83 and who knows when my number will go higher but we have scheduled surgery for June 15, 2010 to stop/remove what is causing this change.  I signed some paperwork just in case when he is performing the surgery and my organs look abnormal he will take biopsies from lymph nodes that go into my legs and lymph nodes off my abdominal wall. All my organs (uterus,ovaries,and fallopian tubes) will be sent to the pathologist and we should get the results back within a week. That will be a long week to wait!!! My OBGYN will also be there to help assist through-out the surgery. My surgery will be performed  laparoscopic with help from a robotic machine. The  incisions will be on each side of my belly button but real small which will be hardly seen. The microscope and tools are inserted through this incision and the organs are discarded through the vagina. Its very interesting to watch the following video and read the information. It will only take 3-4 minutes and will explain how the machine helps so I will let you read it instead of trying to explain it all. Continues  below with more information about appointment:

info on robotic machine
http://www.yalegynoncology.com/dvs-system/da-vinci-surgical-system-safety

This site shows you what the robotic looks like:
http://www.yalegynoncology.com/dvs-system/da-vinci-surgical-system-features

Here is a video that shows how the robotic works:
http://www.yalegynoncology.com/dvs-system/procedure-multimedia

I had an  internal exam by the doctor and everything was good from this view. The day before surgery starting at 2:00 PM I will have to drink one bottle of citrate of Magnesia (which I get from the pharmacy,over the counter). This will clear out the bowels. I will have to drink clear liquids only which has no red or orange color. The nurse told me if I get a gaging reflex from the drink then to have a popsicle first to numb my throat. I am not looking forward to this part! He mentioned as a women gets older into her late 50-60's that the vagina naturally drops down. He is going to correct mine which this is called a vaginal suspension since we are preforming this surgery, I guess there are perks to this surgery, ha ha ha.Its like having a lift. There will be no activity for six weeks after. He said if I feel well and the surgery went good, I might be able to go home the same day or might just spend one night. The recovery will be 1-2 weeks without lifting anything. He explained the recovery will be a piece of cake compared to my Breast Cancer recovery. He will also give me pain pills if needed afterwards. He mentioned patients usually only need them 1-3 days afterwards.I don't remember how long the surgery will take. I will be under anesthesia during entire time. I will speak with both OBGYN's before surgery.
My OBGYN left a message today (5/26/10) and said she rearrange her appointments and confirmed she will be at my surgery. I will inform my kids about the surgery when time gets alittle closer. I don't want them to worry. I will have to wait until  after the results are back from the pathologist to know what will be are next step.(lets keep our fingers crossed that it is nothing)

OBGYN and my decesion

I placed a call to my OBGYN on Thursday May 20, 2010 to follow up. I went on with my normal day trying not to think about my blood results. It was 3:00 in the afternoon and I never received a return call back from my OB which is unusual so I called the office again. I was told she was waiting for a call back from another OBGYN Oncologist. In the evening, I went outside with my kids and was only outside for ten minutes and realized I forgot the house phone and my cell phone to take outside. O'boy..... I came inside and my OBGYN had left me a message stating she is going home for the day and to contact her at noon the next day. I called the office right away and they were closed. Lucky for caller ID. I called the number and was surprised a representative picked up the phone and was able to find her before she left to go home. She took her time and explained all the information. Remember my Oncologist had given me two names for OB Oncologist, well she spoke to the second doctor and my Oncologist spoke with the first doctor. I guess that was good so we have four doctors involved with my medical decision.
The first option is not as aggressive. I would have laproscopic surgery and take several biopsies from both of my ovaries, both of my fallopian tubes, and biopsy my uterus. At the end of this procedure I would have a washing to clear out my fluids from cavity. The downside would be if any of the biopsies are positive, I would have to go back to surgery and have that organ removed.
The more aggressive approach would to remove my ovaries, my ffallopian tubes, and uterus. This would be a full hysterectomy. The reason for this procedure is because I have alot of uncertain with my medical. My OBGYN and the OBGYN Oncologist spoke in depth about my medical and they want to give me all the options for me. There is a chance of fallopian tube cancer which is not as common but within this area it is dense and hard to detect cancer from the ultrasounds. I spoke with my OBGYN and I am not planning to have any more children. She explained you only need your uterus to have children. Another concern I might have endometriosis which would require to remove the uterus. I spoke with my doctor for along time and I don't want to live the rest of my life in fear that I might have cancer or what is wrong with me. She explained if I choose the first option that I would need to continue to have ultrasounds and blood work every few months and be monitored the rest of my life. The problem with ovarian cancer is that most of the time there is no signs of this cancer until its in a bad stage before it gives you a sign. I want to be proactive and not let this happen. There are some side effects to remove the ovaries at a early age but I would like to be around for many more years to come so I can out weigh the effects. During this conversation with my doctor I decided that I would like to have a full hysterectomy. She said she would contact the OBGYN Oncologist she spoke with and make an appointment for me to meet him and go over the options and procedure as well. He would be the main surgeon and she would also be there to assist. She spoke highly of this doctor. She works with him alot in the hospital and would trust him to perform surgery on her. After the organs are removed, they would be sent to the pathologist to be examined and help determine what I have that is activating my CA-125. I would probably stay in the hospital one night. This would also be performed laproscopic surgery Here are some of the side effects that may or may not happen:

• will go into post menopause - may have hot flashes and night sweats
• if this happens then I will have to go on a low dose of estrogen (hope not because cancer grows on estrogen but women need some estrogen in their body) this is a gray area that I will need to speak with my doctor after the surgery
• osteoporosis may occur ( again gray area and will discuss with Oncologist about possibility a shot once a year for bone density
• I will have to get off my Tamoxifen and go onto another medication because now post menopause
• possible heart disease long term- medical technology will help me here
• my good cholesterol will go down in numbers so I will have blood test to monitor
• vaginal dryness - medications/creams can be used if needed

The good outcome I will not have to deal with a monthly menstrual cycle. YEA I have to make some laughter out of all of this. My OBGYN gave me a few dates in June that she is available for surgery but would work around the main surgeon schedule.

Friday May 21, 2010 my OBGYN office called me and scheduled an appointment for Monday May 24 to meet with the OBGYN Oncologist.

Stay tune for more updates... sorry its late and I need to get to bed. There is so much information to absorb and write so I will write some more updates tomorrow. Lets pray the best for me that there is no cancer and if there is that we caught it in time before it spread!
 Ohhh forgot to add that I am healing well with my tattoo nipples/areola and I will be following up with my plastic surgeon this Thursday 5/27/10. I am happy with the results.

ultrasound/bloodwork results

May 19, 2010 I had my ultra-sound done. The results were good.  All three of my cyst were completely down to a normal size. When a women has completed her menstrual cycle the pockets of fluid should be decreased. As a women gets closer to get her menstrual cycle the next month, these pockets or cyst fill up with progesterone/estrogen fluid. The cyst that I had are normal looking cyst which don't look abnormal. I asked to speak with my OBGYN to get my blood work results but she was off on this day. The nurse said she didn't have the copy and its probably in my OBGYN's office. I text-ed my Oncologist to see if he received my results back from my blood work.
He called me this afternoon. I kinda knew something was up when I received a call from him. Wow the day started off in a positive direction and just like that my day was turned around!  He thought it was great that my cyst went away but the bad news was my blood work has gone up in numbers once again. The CA-125 is now 83 previous 55. I was in shock since my ultrasound was good. He explained that he contacted an OBGYN Oncologist and explained my situation to him. The new doctor recommended that I have biopsy done by laproscopic surgery. My previous history with breast cancer, my BRAC 2 was undetermined and my blood work is increasing is a concern. He asked  that I speak with my OBGYN tomorrow and speak with her about her decision. I text-ed my Oncologist later the same evening to get the names of the OBGYN Oncologist he would refer me too. He gave me the two names and I started my research on the Internet. I trust his opinion for the selection of doctors but I would like to also know as much as I can. I am going to speak with my OBGYN in the morning.