Pathology

I spoke with my medical oncologist yesterday on the phone. She was calling to see how surgery went and to discuss the general plans for my upcoming chemo. When she asked me if anyone had reviewed the pathology report from my surgery with me I had to say no. Honestly most of the doctor discussions I had when I was in the hospital revolved around "when can I go home?" and not "talk to me about the details of my surgery". I knew surgery went well but beyond that I knew very little. So, she preceded to review the pathology report with me.

She explained that they look at three main things in the pathology. They look at the tumor itself to see what effects, if any, chemo and radiation had on it. They look at the margins of resection (the edges close to where the surgeon made his cuts) to see if there was any cancer near the edges (cancer near the edges means there is a possibility some got left behind) and how far the cancer extended through the tissue wall and into adjacent tissues. And they look at the lymph nodes to see if the cancer invaded the lymphatic system.

Pathology said that there was still cancer at the tumor site (the chemo and radiation didn't kill it all - it rarely does) but that it was vastly reduced in size compared to before my chemo and radiation treatment. This is of course good news as it suggests that my particular type of cancer is very sensitive to chemo and radiation. The pathologists found that there was no cancer anywhere near the margins of the resection and there was also no sign of the cancer invading adjacent tissues or organs. . This is also good news as it means that there is a high probability that the surgeons removed all the cancer from that area. The best news is that the surgeons were able to dissect and remove 28 lymph nodes from the area surrounding the tumor site and none of them showed any signs of cancer. This all means that the chances of the cancer reappearing in that area in the future are very low.

My medical oncologist summed up the pathology report by saying that it "looked very good". Its great to have this good news to focus on.

It's been a month since my surgery and my recovery is going well, although it is not without its challenges. I'm working slowly at 'reintegration' into the family. Before surgery I was a functional family member but now I feel more like a third child for Penny to look after. While things are improving, its frustrating not being able to lift kids, bath kids, cook and clean. I'm slowly learning what I am able to do and what I have to leave for Penny to do, but when those things change on a daily (and sometimes hourly) basis it can be frustrating for Penny as she never really knows where she stands. Is Dan able to feed the kids tonight or is he too sore? Can Dan drive Carly to school or does he need to nap? Does Dan have the energy to supervise Andrew or does he need to lie down? I can only imagine how frustrated she must be. She's doing a great job though and I sure appreciate all her hard work and patience. Thanks a million Penny.