Jean,
I am praying for Annie and all of you. Wish her all the best.
Marianne
----------
> From: Jean Johnson <tiggeroo@tidalwave.net>
> To: GYN-ONC@LISTSERV.ACOR.ORG; NSkooglund@aol.com; mommom@poboxes.com;
mol-cancer@lists.meds.com; Lilacs2240@aol.com; dmckenzie@provide.net;
cbronson@provide.net; bschafer@flash.net; ashbroke@ici.net;
bking@centuryinter.net; bettyx4@erols.com
> Subject: [MOL] Annie update
> Date: Tuesday, March 10, 1998 4:20 PM
>
> O.k. Annie just sent everyone a more complete outline of her plan, so
> maybe things will go fine. Here is what she said:
>
> "Dr. Cris Garza, an OB/GYN, will be performing the surgery. He said he
> does about 10 of these operations a year. He's probably in his 50's so
> that adds up to quite a few endometrial cancer surgeries. I feel very
> comfortable with how the diagnosing has progressed, and the treatments
> that have been given. It seems that he is following it "by the book."
> There certainly is comfort in that.
>
> My incision will be vertical rather than horizontal. Because of it
> being stage 2, they need to open me up more to get access to the lymph
> nodes.
>
> Dr. Jose Vale, a general surgeon, will be assisting Dr. Garza. Dr.
> Garza will be handling the "gynecological" portion of the surgery and
> Dr. Vale will be handling the lymph node portion. (At least that's what
> I understand will happen.)
>
> Dr. Vale has performed surgery on me before, but it was very minor
> surgery. He removed some pencil lead from my left hand about two years
> ago. The pencil lead had been in my hand since about age 13 and I had
> no problems. But a few years ago it became "encapsulated" and started
> protruding from my skin, so I had it removed.
>
> Dr. Vale seemed like a fine surgeon - the little bit he did on me. He's
> really nice, although I know that doesn't necessarily mean he's a good
> surgeon. He's my age.
>
> Dr. Marc Comianos (D.O. not M.D.) is my "primary care" doctor - his
> specialty is internal medicine. He will be regulating my blood sugar
> and blood pressure medications at the hospital. It was Dr. Comianos who
> hadn't seen this cancer in someone so young before. Dr. Comianos is
> probably about my age, too. Dr. Susan Dinges has done the
> interpretation of the ultrasound, CAT scan, and x-rays. A local
> oncologist will be consulted (during surgery, I believe). I'm not sure
> of his name - it might be Dr. Kim Seong.
>
> After the surgery is complete, Dr. Garza will send all the slides to
> O.S.U. for a second opinion (in determining the stage/grade that I am).
> He knows the head of the oncology dept. He said that they will do a
> full panel review of my situation & then make recommendations for
> further treatment. He recently had another patient that was reviewed by
> OSU, reading the same conclusions of the local doctor.
>
> I don't know for sure if I would go to OSU for radiation therapy or
> not. I know some people who have gone to Marion Regional Cancer center
> for radiation and they didn't have any problems. However, for peace of
> mind, I will probably lean towards going to OSU. Dr. Garza said that it
> would be a month before any radiation therapy wouold start so I will
> have time to check it out....
>
> The "name" of my cancer is "Invasive Moderately Differentiated
> Endometroid Adenocarcinoma." The name of the procedure I will be
> undergoing is "TAH/BSO" - "Total abdominal (?) Hysterectomy/Bilateral
> Salpingo-Oopherectomy."
>
> I'm currently "Stage 2," but as I think I explained before, stages 3 & 4
> are not determined until after surgery - when they see how far the tumor
> penetrated the uterine wall and whether there is lymph node
> involvement. Less than 5 mm is good, more than 5 mm is more serious...
>
> Hormone testing in February revealed that I am not ovulating. And God
> only knows how long that has been going on. During these past months
> when I THOUGHT I was having periods, they were really just bleeding
> episodes. My body didn't manufacture the progesterone needed to have
> the tissue slough off my uterus so the tissue kept building up and
> building up. My ultrasound showed that my endometrium was twice the
> thickness that it should be. The ultrasound also showed that my right
> ovary was enlarged at 4 cm., when it shouldn't be more than 3 cm. I
> also had a blood test for ovarian cancer. Dr. Garza said it came back
> o.k. The test for ovarian cancer is the best they have, but it still is
> not 100%. I think ovarian cancer is one of the hardest to diagnose.
> The ovaries will be examined after surgery to determine for sure whethe
> ror not there was ovarian cancer. And the cervix will also be examined
> to rule out cervical cancer..."
>
> That's the main stuff in her e-mail. I'm afraid to type too much lest
> it overload the digests. Any feedback? Opinions? Ideas? I'll pass
> them on to Annie.
>
> -Jean
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