John-
My sister has endometrial adenocarcinoma. She had a hysterectomy done on
June 1st of this year by a general surgeon here at a local hospital. He
told her as far as he was concerned her cancer was sitting in a pan at the
hospital. She then went to a gynecologic oncologist as a precautionary
measure to see if she should have any type of treatment to ensure the
cancer would not come back, and to see how often she should have tests done
to check for it in the future. This was a dr. at the James Cancer Hospital
in Columbus, Ohio (we live in Ohio). Needless to say we were shocked to
find that cancer was found in her paraaortic node which the oncologist in
Columbus found after having done a laparoscopy to check her nodes for
cancer. She was also diagnosed as having stage IIIC endometrial
adenocarcinoma at this time. As of yet they have not begun any treatment.
They will be doing a biopsy of her nodes up near her collar bone this
Monday. The Dr. had mentioned getting her into clinical trials at the
time she had her laparoscopy done but nothing further has been said.
My sister doesn't want to read any literature about it at all. I have been
on the internet constantly trying to find out all I can. I have also
called the 800-4Cancer number to get some information. As of yet no one
has given my sister any thing to read regarding
cancer/treatment----nothing. This suprises me. But then again maybe that
is because she hasn't asked. I don't know.
It is difficult in knowing how to handle the situation since she doesn't
seem to want to know much of anything. She says in a small corner of her
mind she knows that she has cancer, but she does not think of it often
every day. Her husband and her two children, aged 25 and 22, all believe
she will be just fine. She had a heart attack and heart surgery when she
was 38 (she is now 47) with only a 50% chance of making it through the
surgery and now the dr. has given her the same odds of surviving this
cancer. I know that having a positive attitude is essential in recovering
from any illness but that alone won't do it. She is basically putting all
her trust in one dr. assuming he knows best. Who am I to say to handle it
any differently? I don't want to invoke a sense of mistrust in her dr.
because I know that the trust issue is important also.
I apologize for rambling on here.
I truly appreciate the support and thougtfullness expressed here by
everyone and for keeping my sister in your prayers.
I also am praying for everyone here and their loved ones. It is a tough
journey.
Thanks again-----Cindy H.
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