Calintay Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 I am very sad and feeling very upset over the loss of my best friends mom who passed away this morning at age 43 due to her cervical cancer that had spread to her liver. She was a very lovely lady who will be greatly missed. On the other hand, my mom had her appointment with the surgeon today to see if her tumor had shrunk enough for surgery and it DID! I am so excited. It has shrunk by 1/3 or 33% which to me sounds so great and her surgery is scheduled for March 1st. Questions: A 7 day hospital stay pretty normal? Possible Removal of ribs normal? Her doctor said her feels pretty confident that she can beat this but will not give statistics because he says that they should never go by those. He will remove her upper right lobe, possibly her middle or maybe all of it. He said that this surgery is more serious than coronary artery grafts and some other heart surgeries. Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers! Heidi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrea Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 Heidi, It makes perfect sense. Congrats on your mom's surgery!!! I believe the ribs are normal. With my mom he did it minimally invasive, no rib cracking necessary. But he did say that there was a possiblity once he went in he would have to crack. I am so excited for you! Remember I was saying how alike we are? My mom's surgery was March 4 a year ago! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calintay Posted February 15, 2005 Author Share Posted February 15, 2005 How strange Maybe we are related! lol March 4 is also my anniversary! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitkathi Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 Heidi, 1. Sorry about the loss of your friends mom. 2. Happy that your mom has responded well to treatment and can proceed with surgery!! kitkathi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fay A. Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 Heidi, I'm sorry about your best friend's Mother. Please extend my condolences to your friend. HURRAY for your MOM!!!! Removing ribs is normal. 5 to 10 days in the hospital is about usual in today's HMO managed care. This is one of the most serious surgeries performed on human beings. But in my opinion it's worth it if it buys me more time. And so far it's bought me 5 years and 8 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrea Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 Heidi, This is what my mom had: http://www.csmc.edu/1519.html It is the minimally invasive surgery. She was in and out of the hospital, Thurs to Sun and home walking around. Very minimal pain involved. She had her right upper lobe removed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calintay Posted February 15, 2005 Author Share Posted February 15, 2005 Thankyou Andrea I printed it out and gave to my mom Heidi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don M Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 Hi Heidi: I had my upper left lobe removed a year ago. I had part of one rib removed to make it easier for the surgeon to get his hands in the area. My tumor came close to the hilum, a sensitive area. I talked to a VATS specialist about it, and he said that I would have to have a full thoracotomy because the resection would be close to my hilum and it would be too dangerous to do it with a camara. If your mom has to have her entire lung removed, I am sure it will be a full thoracotomy. Another benefit to a conventional thoracotomy is that the surgeon can use his fingers in the area to feel if there are any small nodules that may have been missed. They feel harder than the surrounding tissue and a camara might miss it. My cancer apparently came back in my lower lobe. I am waiting to see if I can still have surgery, and if I can I will do it as soon as I posssibly can. I did not do adjuvant chemo last time, stage 1b, but if I get a second chance I will do the chemo. Don M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 Man I sure am sorry to hear about your friend - this cancer stuff is so scary and takes so many wonderful people from us. On the plus side, glad to hear that your mom can now have surgery!! As far as the surgery hospital time it seems to vary so much. I was in 5 days and had my entire left lung removed. No rib removal. I think alot of the recovery depends on how health the person is in general and their pain tolerance. Good luck and keep us posted, Wendy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cindi o'h Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 Hi Heidi, keep us posted on your Mom's decision and her progress. If there is a possibilty for a VATS procedure, by a VATS surgeon, I would strongly consider that route. Cindi o'h Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Treebywater Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 I am so sorry to hear the news of your friend, but I am SOOO happy to hear that things are lining up so well for your mom! Keep us posted!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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