Debulking Surgery
I have just had my 4th round of CARBO/TAXOL and next up is surgery for me on March 10th. I will be having a complete hysterectomy and there is one tumor in my abdominal wall near my rib cage that may require surgical mesh to close the wall.
My original CT scan showed pseudochirrosis of my liver and multiple enlarged lymph nodes and various sized tumors. The recent scan showed no abnormalities in my organs or lymph nodes and significant shrinkage of the tumors so that is great news.
My questions for the group are: of those of you have had the debulking surgery what was your healing experience? What can I reasonably expect for length of time needed to heal? What were your worst days like? What, if anything, did you find most helpful?
Thanks in advance to those of you who share your experiences.
My original CT scan showed pseudochirrosis of my liver and multiple enlarged lymph nodes and various sized tumors. The recent scan showed no abnormalities in my organs or lymph nodes and significant shrinkage of the tumors so that is great news.
My questions for the group are: of those of you have had the debulking surgery what was your healing experience? What can I reasonably expect for length of time needed to heal? What were your worst days like? What, if anything, did you find most helpful?
Thanks in advance to those of you who share your experiences.
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I wish that I had asked same questions prior to my surgery because I like you want to know what to expect. This was my experience.
I had hysterectomy after being diagnosed with high grade serous cancer 3C in 2020. The surgery was long 7.5 hours. I felt surprisingly well first couple of days. The surgeon told me that I need to get up, and couple of physiotherapists were sent to assist. Having low blood pressure I felt very dizzy and scared to fall down. The therapists seemed inexperienced and at a loss. In retrospect even a walker would have been helpful. By 3rd day my lungs started filling up with liquid/bile and I took turn for the worst. I had trouble breathing. Gastrointestinal tube was inserted for a couple of hours. Very uncomfortable. But it did help get some of the bile out. Instantly I felt better, was able to get up and even few steps helped. This was the beginning of the pandemic so all patients had to remain in their rooms. I spent one week in hospital and once home, having more space and opportunity to walk, recovery was surprisingly quick. Hope this is some help.
It's different for all of us of course. Some tolerate discomfort more than others. No surgery is the same...it's all tailored to what needs to done. But try to stay positive, commit to getting out of bed and moving around as much as you can. If you're able to have someone visit and help support your walking that's great. If not, then do ask for a walker so your comfortable and and secure. And just take it slow and easy and work up to longer and longer walks. I found it better to take shorter but more walks through the day building up to longer ones as I felt I was able.
Good luck gal....and do keep us posted on your progress. Reach out if there is anything more we can do for you. We're here for you.
They did mention that I will be getting an epidural so I really do hope I am able to get up and walk around right away. My mother will be with me on the day of surgery and I am sure she will be very helpful in getting me up and moving. Things have loosened up a little on visitors in our area so I will have 1 to 2 visitors daily and I will make sure that they know they are to help me move.
My Drs pre-op didn't say anything about not doing stairs. That concerns me a bit because our house does not have any bedroom facilities on the main floor but if we need to, we can make it work. I will take it as easy as I need to. I am no martyr so if I need the pain meds, I will be taking them.
I truly appreciate the support that this group provides. I am actually quite introverted but glad that I can access help from those who have been through it and that I am able to offer any words of wisdom from my journey whenever possible. I am blessed by so much support and I count all of you in that group.
Stay strong, stay well, stay blessed.
As for post op restrictions, those were mine but they can differ based on the actually surgery and techniques that are used so follow the guidance of your surgeon. You may well be able to use the stairs. So ask if it's not explicit in the info they've provided. I find that stuff rather generic and often asking the nurses or the doctor will provide better guidance, or sometimes some tips that might be helpful. I'm sure they'll go over all of that with you before you're discharged from hospital.
Do let us know how you're doing. And you stay well and be blessed.
I'm not 100% clear on everything but from what I can remember I have been told, on top of the open radical hysterectomy, they wound up taking out my appendix, and doing a small bowel resection. They scraped my kidneys, bladder, rectum and abdominal wall. They also scraped some of my liver but wound up stopping short of 100% removal of visible disease on the liver because they could not safely do anymore. They are confident that my remaining chemo treatments will take care of that.
I was in the hospital for 7 days and just got home yesterday. There was some issue with my oxygen saturation and bloodwork and then I had a setback after I was finally put on solid foods after 4 days of jello.
I finally slept well last night and am stronger today. Pain is mostly controlled by Tylenol but because I have to wear an abdominal binder (they were able to repair the abdominal wall without usung mesh), it is sometimes difficult to take a deep breath.
I am doing my best to give myself patience and grace in recovery. I honestly was shocked at how bad things were since I had been feeling like I had been doing so well in treatment. I have always envisioned my cancer battle like a boxing match and this is the first time where I feel cancer won the round. But, I am knocked back, not out, and with time, rest, care and movement, I will rise to kick cancer's ass again.
Do what you're doing...focus on you. Let your body tell you what it needs, have lots of patience and don't forget to celebrate each time your recovery moves ahead, even a wee bit. And we're here for you for whatever your need may be.