First Oncology Appointment

Of course, sleep was difficult to come by last night.  My normal struggles with anxiety and insomnia were only exacerbated by the stressful day ahead. All night, my mind raced with what the appointment would entail. Any of you who know my style, know that I was armed for my appointment with dozens of questions to ask the doctor and his staff. I did my research and wanted to be sure that I took full advantage of the time with the doctor. I am a list-maker to the core, and this situation is no exception.  My list of questions was my comfort as I entered the appointment. I knew that if I was overwhelmed, I could rely on the list to keep me on track!

When David and I arrived at the VCU Massey Cancer Center, it was a surreal feeling to know that I was there as a patient.  I found myself flustered when I checked in at the information desk and said I was there for an oncology appointment. Of course I knew the reason for my appointment, but there is something about saying the words out loud that makes it very real.

I immediately got a positive sense of the facility and the staff. Everyone that we interacted with was so kind, helpful and made me feel at ease, during a scary moment.  After sharing my life history, intake and all the normal activities of a first doctor’s appointment, I met with the doctor and his staff.  

The doctor confirmed the pathology report from the lab, and said that the cells are cancerous. However, the staff members at VCU are going to rerun the slides in order to do an additional confirmation, as standard hospital practice.

Due to my younger age, I was VERY relieved to hear that the doctor does not want to rush immediately to a hysterectomy. There is still a possibility it will be necessary, but there are some steps that are important in the diagnosis process before making that determination. It is also comforting that while uterine cancer is most common in post-menopausal women, this doctor has treated several cases of younger women with this diagnosis.

The most important next step in the cancer staging process is to schedule an MRI.  This will occur in the next two weeks and will allow the oncologist to determine the specific locations of the cancer.  The MRI will allow him to see if the cancer is contained to the uterine lining, or if it has spread to the walls or other surrounding organs.

If the cancer has spread anywhere outside of the uterine lining, removal of the uterus will be necessary to successfully treat the cancer. Follow up treatment after the uterus removal would vary depending upon the spread of the cancer.

I did get a glimmer of hope during the appointment.  If the cancer is contained SOLELY to the inner lining of the uterus, there are treatment options that would not require immediate removal of the uterus. If the cancer is only in the inner uterine lining, there is the potential to surgically remove all cancer cells, and treat with hormones. This treatment would occur for several months while monitoring whether or not it successfully treated all cancerous cells.  If the stars all align in this perfect way, the potential for a window to have a baby MIGHT be possible. Provided the surgery and hormonal treatment are completely successful and there are no health concerns for me, a baby might be possible.  Afterwards, a hysterectomy would still be recommended to avoid longer term potential for cancer recurrence.

Both David and I left the appointment feeling more optimistic than we intended.  The prognosis for treatment and cure is very good. In the near future we will know the extent of the cancer and which of the treatment options we will choose. 

This was our first opinion, but I think the doctors and staff at VCU will be hard to compete with.  The experience there was excellent. We have our second oncology appointment Wednesday with another potential doctor. After that appointment, we will move forward with treatment as quickly as possible.

My fears and anxieties are still here, but knowledge and progress all help make those more bearable. I am trying to work on being comfortable with ambiguity, because nothing is going to be fixed overnight. I think the appointment today went as well as it could have, which is wonderful news. My emotions still have me kind of numb, waiting anxiously for the upcoming tests to know what we are up against. 

In the meantime, we have moderately good news from today (given the potential options), and a world of supportive friends and family to be thankful for.