RPLND scars & travel

[Chris'Mom]

One more thing...after almost a year, yes, the scar is visible, but almost no redness...but definitely there....as I tell Chris, that scar means he went thru a battle and came out on the other side of life! Mary ellen

[Chris'Mom]

My son Chris had his RPLND at Sloan Kettering with Dr. Sheinfeld (one of the best!)....he was there a week...surgery was on July 22 and we got him back to college on August 17th to start his Junior year...he had to take it easy, but did fine...let us know how all turns out....just know you are in the best hands at Sloan....I can't say enough about Dr. Sheinfeld...Chris needed four rounds of chemo and then the surgery...Mary Ellen

[Scott]

Barring complications from surgery and no chemotherapy, you'll probably be OK to start your program in September. Uncertainty is a hassle, but obviously conquering the disease has to come first.

[dadmo]

The RPLND will take 6-8 weeks to recover from so Sept may be possible. As for the scar, it's nasty, there is no good way to say it. My son had his 18 months ago and all the redness is gone and when he gets tan it is less visable. But you will never not see that it's there. The attached link is my son at Sloan for his RPLND just click here .

[toomoody]

First off, I'll introduce myself since I'm new here. 24 yo, had an embryonal carcinoma diagnosed on 06/06/06 (won't forget that date any time soon) and the I/O two days later. Unfortunately there was some vascular invasion and possibily some lymph node issues in the CT scan (I had a second one done the other day, results coming Thursday). I'm being treated at MSK now by Drs. Motzer & Sheinfeld and my prognosis so far is either RPLND alone or Chemo + RPLND... I'll find out on Thursday.

My first couple of questions:
I am supposed to start a study abroad program in early Septemeber for the fall semester. Assuming I only have to have the RPLND (praying for that) and can get it scheduled fairly soon (by mid Julyish), what do you all think is the likelihood that I could travel to Europe and study there in that time frame? Am I being unrealistically optimistic?

Also, I'm curious as to what the RPLND scars look like a couple of months and years after the surgery. While this is by no means a big issue to me, it has piqued my curiosity and I'm wondering if some of you might be willing to share some pics of your battle scars.