Well done, Didi

[Alvah]

Didi, you mentioned elsewhere that your rccent surgery is over and you are recovering well and quickly. I knew the surgery was imminent and have been thinking about you and hoping all was successful. Excellent result.

[hazelrah]

Yes, didi,

It's nice to see you posting again.

Hope all the stress is behind you.

Mark

[dteresa]

Thank you for your good wishes. I have to write to dr. McD and ask some questions. I had an excellent surgeon who, despite the large size of the ovarian cyst, did the whole thing using a da vinci robot. Six small wounds on the abdomen and did not have to be opened up which would have meant a longer recovery and hospital stay.

I recovered quickly and had no problem with sore throat from the tube they used and no pain after surgery. A great surgical team. I spent two weeks at my daughter's house because I was not supposed to drive for two weeks. But I did a few days early. Was walking around from day one and went on many walks while at my daughter's house both to make sure no blood clots formed and to allow the gas they used to pump into the pelvic area to osmose out. Never took the pain meds and wasted 26 dollars on hydrocodone which I did not need.

BUT. They found an adenocarcinoma on the wall of the right ovary and removed it and the left ovary which also had some cysts but they did not say they found any cancer cells on that ovary. At my request and upon advice, they did not remove anything that did not have to be removed so my uterus is still with me. The doctor said it was nice and small whatever that means. My best feature and no one can see it.

I also requested in writing that he not touch the lymph nodes no matter what they found. And they didn't. I requested this because in one of his books, dr. Campbell says he advised his wife not to have the lymph nodes in the groin area removed because that might cause dire consequences. She had melanoma and just had the tumor removed but no other treatment.

The full body catscan with dye before surgery did not show any tumors or swellings anywhere. The surgeon carefully checked the organs, omentum etc during the surgery and did not find any sign of cancer. The pathologist did not find any cancer cells in the fluid from the cyst nor any cancer cells in the fluid used to flush the pelvis.

The surgeon classified me as having stage one cancer because he could not examine the lymph glands. He recommended a series three chemo treatments twenty one days apart. I refused. I do know that Mrs campbell did not have chemo after the melanoma was removed nor did ruth heidrich after the mastectomy. I do not know if that is a wise decision for an ovarian tumor, which is gone now. But I am a person who refused to take aspirin for a long time after a stent so the idea of messing with my immune system is not something i want to do.

I will see the doctor or a nurse practitioner every three months and have a blood test called a CA 125 which I understand is not all that accurate. He also wants me to have more catscans. When I said I was not sure I wanted to subject myself to so much radiation he said there is no more radiation from a catscan than there is from a day at the beach. Excuse me if I doubt that.

Before the surgery the doc said he did not think it was cancer because the cyst has been growing for a long time and if it was cancer it would have given me trouble long before now. But it was an adenocarcinoma. One that did not give me any trouble.

didi

[Maer]

Didi,

Thanks for the update. I'm glad to hear you're recovering well, and that no signs of spread. Remember always: You are a strong person. Stand firm in your convictions.

Maer

[TerriNC]

Didi,

I didn't even realize you were having surgery. So glad to hear it all went well and you're recovering.

Just curious. Did your doctor argue with you at all about your decisions not to remove lymph nodes or undergo chemo? Or did he politely respect your opinion? I really admire your ability to stand firm in what you believe.

[dteresa]

Maybe it is my age but I had no argument. The surgeon was recommended by both my cardiologist and a nurse practitioner who works for an obstetrics and gynecology group which sends their oncology patients to this surgical practice. Originally lymph gland removal was on the list of possibilities that I agreed to. I did not even know what I was signing because so much information was handed to me at once. A few days later I realized I did not know what was in the consent forms I signed, got a copy and wrote a letter requesting that he not touch the lymph glands no matter what he found. (If you have ever signed a consent form for surgery you know that the list of things that can go wrong make you feel you will never survive the surgery without some dire consequence.)

He did not give me any argument, just made suggestions. Very easy to talk to, never made me feel I was taking too much of his time, answered my questions. The team was equally excellent.

I might have thought about chemo if catscan and fluid check and exam of the area showed anything abnormal. He said he staged me at stage one because he could not check the lymph glands.

May I add that a family member had a melanoma removed from her neck a few years ago. No chemo however. She went to a new doctor who looked at the slides and told her she absolutely did not have melanoma. I believe medicare will pay for a second opinion from another pathologist.

didi

[TerriNC]

That's great to hear. It's hard enough making tough personal health decisions. Having a doctor respectfully allow you to make those decisions is important. So glad you had the positive experience with your surgeon!

Wow! You family member that was told she had melanoma and went through surgery but refused chemo is a bit unnerving! Second opinion said she never even had melanoma?! I wonder how many times that happens?? Blows my mind! Second opinion, definitely!

I had surgery about 10 years ago to remove half my thyroid due to a nodule that suddenly popped up in my neck. I never had any thyroid issues before and no family history. They did a biopsy and said it didn't appear to be cancer, but would increase my chances of cancer, so it was best to remove it. Surgery actually removed it (nodule) and half my thyroid, so I will be on meds the rest of my life.

If I knew then, what I know now, that would've played out differently. I would've changed my diet immediately! I feel there's a high chance I would still have my whole thyroid, be on no meds, and the nodule would have disappeared. No, I did not have a second opinion before surgery back then. :/

[dteresa]

No. The family member was not offered chemo as they said she didn't need it. So I suspect there was something funny going on with whoever removed it. Maybe scared her into having the surgery for whatever the small growth on her neck was for profit.

A doctor out in LA has written journal articles about oncologists prescribing the chemo drugs based, not on the type of tumor, but the profit he makes from the drugs. Some are more profitable to the doctor than others evidently.

Somewhere on one of her videos, Pam Popper specifically talks about thyroid nodules. She says most of us have them and they will always show up on x ray or cat scan, I forget exactly what she says.

Dr. Campbell's wife had a melanoma removed and he advised not to have the chemo.

I do not know if that is wise or not with ovarian cancer because no one addresses it specifically. Only prostate, breast, colorectal and melanoma.

didi

[lifeisgreat]

I would love to have the reference about Dr. Campbell and his wife's cancer. Unfortunately I'm having a reoccurrence of cancer.

[hazelrah]

A doctor out in LA has written journal articles about oncologists prescribing the chemo drugs based, not on the type of tumor, but the profit he makes from the drugs. Some are more profitable to the doctor than others evidently.

...

didi

Yeah that's the cruxt of the problem. Who can you trust? In the end it's all up to you, yourself. And the consequences of making the wrong choice are so enormous that it's too horrible to think about.

Mark

[peasouper]

Hi Lifeisgreat

The reference to melanoma is in Dr Campbell's book Whole on page 198. You might have a look at Dr McDougall's recent webinar on Cancer https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/educ ... -09-26-15/

Best wishes Sue

[dteresa]

That was a really great webinar.

didi

[Lacey]

Glad to hear you are doing so well, Didi.

For anyone who might ever be faced with the decision to have chemo or not, I highly recommend the book Questioning Chemotherapy by Ralph Moss, Ph.D. Actually, I recommend that everyone read the book, but do so before being diagnosed with cancer as it can be quite disturbing to read if one is under stress and pressure to make a decision after diagnosis.

[dteresa]

As doctor mc d says, you have plenty of time to go home, read, ask questions and then make your decision.

didi

[jewagar]

Glad you are doing well, Didi.

I just wanted to let people know about my mother's history with cancer. Cancer ran in her family. Just about everyone of her relatives died of cancer. My mother herself had cervical cancer when she was around 40. She had a hysterectomy. No chemo or radiation in the 1950's. Then, later, she had colon cancer. She had an operation that removed a section or her colon. Again, no chemo or radiation. My mother lived to be 93. Although she was not vegetarian, she did tend to eat low fat and no junk.
So, another survival story without chemo or radiation.

Dr. McDougall says the body is always working to heal itself. Chemo tends to weaken the immune system. You need a strong immune system to fight cancer and to keep it from recurring.