Adjuvant Chemotherapy

Hello again Leigh, I am so very pleased to hear that you have found a very lovely lady oncologist who has offered you the treatment, explanations and empathy that you more deserve under your circumstances. I bet this was such a relief for you,
See, I told you that you were no way a lost cause! I believe in you!

I hope you are literally going to take your Oncologist's advice and eat drink and be merry and enjoy your Christmas. Like you I am facing a challenging 2008. We will both do great, I can feel the positive vibes!
Maria xx

Leigh,
Well that second opinion certainly paid off in your case. And she shared info you were looking for. Great result and I am happy for you. Send the other Doctor a snickers bar and no thank you. It feels great to actually give it back. You know the saying, 'what goes around comes around,' and for your doctor it did..
Well Leigh, I wish you a merry merry christmas, have a great time, your on a little holiday of sorts, you won, lets hope January you will be another big winner and the chemo works for you !!!! Ginger Beane

Way to go Leigh!

Pro active is the only option with this disease!...As far as your records...You can call to request them, and they will be ready when you arrive...after signing a release you will be on your way. No explanations needed...

Good Luck with your Chemo in Jan. Keep us updated. I agree with the overnight hospital stay during Chemo. It does flush out what isn't necessary and protects the kidneys. IV fluids are also important due to how your appetite, and fluid intake can fluctuate drastically with the chemo.

You are proving the point that Second opinions are so necessary. Glad you had one.

Karen

Hello Joe,Holly and Ginger,

Thanks for your messages of help and support.

Ginger: I was told 10 days after the RC that I was N2 which I assumed to mean 2 nodes. Since gaining more knowledge through this web site and it's members I now know that N2 means two or more nodes. When I queried the path report last week I was told more info about the exact amount of nodes.

Dear Forum,

I had a second opinion today at a Belgian hospital and my new oncologist is a very lovely lady whom took the time to listen and explain.

She would like to start the adjuvant chemo asap and recommends to all her patients in my situation to start with adjuvant chemo 6 weeks after surgery if possible.

As Christmas is around the corner she would like me to enjoy the Christmas holidays and eat and drink and be merry. They will start the treatment in early January and as I am already late with starting adjuvant chemo one more week will not make a difference in the grand scheme of things.

I cannot stress how important it is to be comfortable with your doctor/specialist whom will be making treatment decisions for you. If anyone reading this has similar issues regarding the support and treatment you are receiving please try to get a second opinion.

My chemo will be 4 cycles of Gemcitabine and Cisplatinum

cycle:
one week Gemcitabine/Cisplatinum
second week Gemcitabine
third week Gemcitabine
fourth week Rest

I am told for the first week of each cycle I will stay one night in the hospital so they can flush me out with fluid.

My oncologist mentioned that as I have a neo bladder I may be constantly running to the toilet because of all the fluids and my capacity is around 350ml at the moment. If the experience is too testing then on the second cycle I can have a catheter. She would however like to reduce the infection chance by not using one.

The other chemo will be administered at the day patient department and will take half a day.

So tomorrow I have to go back to my other oncologist and collect all records and I am told to request the latest Path/Blood and scan results. I am not really looking forward to that although I know I have every right to my documents.

Even if my old oncologist has decided to offer chemo after all I will respectfully decline and honestly tell him the reasons for my second opinion.

It has really hit home to me during my experiences recently the importance of getting on the best treatment path as soon as possible.

Many thanks once more to you guys and gals for that!!

Leigh

Leigh,

Your surgery was the same day as my husbands, Sept. 14th..I just wondered when exactly you were told about the 14 lymph nodes being cancerous.?? This is Dec,,your just now finding out about it, why so long??The doctor who said they don't hand chemo out like candy, well what a wonderful thing to say to someone who is receiving the news he just gave you, he's probably short and bald and has the syndrome. The short man syndrome, he makes himself feel like a big person by delivering news like that BECAUSE HE CAN...what an idiot. Alot of years ago I had clinical depression, many doctors told me I was nuerotic and should have more sex..more kids, keep busy...they were short too....I suppose I could have but I couldn't stop crying.......FIND yourself someone who gives you the right answer... (this is not a scenario on all short men, just anyone who uses there power to discredit others.) I must say you would have been in much better shape incision wise if you had laproscopic removal or robotic, my husband had 4 , 1 inch scars, and a 3 inch for the deversion attachment. Yes , its 3 months ago now, and you could have had some cemo under your belt already... Good luck and get going, get mad and get the right answer, CHEMO NOW..Ginger

Hi Leigh,
My incision was not a small one - from my navel to my pubic hair. (They didn't even line up the horizontal hysterectomy scar so one half of it is almost an inch lowere than the other half!) I had a c defficile infection 2 weeks out. 3 weeks out they removed all the tubes.5 weeks out I had my port surgically installed and my first chemo was a combo exactly 6 weeks after the RC. It indeed was gruelling trying to recover from one thing before another starts. Push for the chemo asap like you are - to heck with the time frame...they certainly don't have an exact science here. Follow what you believe is the best care available and keep the faith.
God Bless, Holly