We had a great visit with the surgeon today. She removed the staples and replaced them with steri-strips. The incision looks great (I predict it will be a very thin white line scar) with no swelling or sign of infection. The bruising has changed from blues to mostly yellow-green (progress in the ol’ bruising rainbow).
We also received the pathology report! (We were warned that it might take two weeks, but it was ready for us in just one week.) The Official Diagnosis is now Cancer of the Fallopian Tube. They found the ignition site (I speak the language of tracing a fire back to it’s source) in the right tube, next to the largest tumor they took out (all of 5 millimeters in size). So while they’ll continue to treat it as Ovarian, we’ll know technically that it ain’t. 🙂
They also found some microscopic cancer cells in the omentum and in the tiny bit of liquid they sopped up. She removed some nodules from the small intestine that tested as non-cancerous. And there were other dead cancer cells that had been killed by the chemo.
Bottom line, except for getting a miraculous verdict of “golly, nothing here”, this is the best news we could have gotten at this point. The hope is that surgery removed many of the potentially drug-resistent cancer cells (the ones that cause recurrence), but just in case, we’re gonna carpet bomb them again with another round of chemo. But in these weeks in between, she is working on healing the incision, increasing her overall strength (adding physical therapy here at home), and continuing the alternative treatments.
Hot-tubbing can be resumed on May 23! That was the VERY best news of the day. (She loves reading your comments!)
Glad the pathology report was so good! Sounds like you are healing beautifully, which is no surprise to me.
Shoot, what do I have to do to surprise you??? Walk on my hands? 🙂
Hey Tam & Craig — usually I’m better at these kind of websites
but think I’ve only just now figured out how to post
anything.
Wonderful post-surgical news! Look forward to seeing
Your smiling faces as you walk Ballew in the neighbor-
hood.
Love you, Cher
Coming soon, to a neighborhood near YOU!
Good News.
I am going to mark May 23rd on my calendar!
I will call you after that for a hot tub visit!
Love ya.
But hope to see you long before then!
Wow, seems like you have had your birthdaypresent today. Better news was hardly possible at this point in time I suppose.
Wonderful Tam, but you have been working hard for that. Now, try to get your strength back, recover from the operation and then go for chemo round nr. 2.
Hope you will have a wonderful birthday, enjoy every single minute of it!!
Love, René and Mary
Thank you Mary!
We’re celebrating you, Tammi. Sounds like you’re doing great. Keep at it, girl! Happy Birthday, Indeed!
why doesn’t this good news surprise me Tammi???? 🙂 so happy to hear things are positive! Keep healing…remember: hot tub in 20 days!