rplnd question

[drew]

I recently finished my 4x EP with my markers normalised. I am now faced with the need for the rplnd surgery due to teratoma and previously enlarged nodes that showed up on the ct scan. (now shrunken)
My question is wheteher anybody has any info on the risk of waiting a couple of months before having the surgery. There is the requisite 1 month to get over the chemo, but i want to tack on an extra 2 months to complete some projects that are physically involved, and i need to travel also.
Is it unwise to wait to have the surgery??
I would be going in to have my bi weekly marker checks during that time, as well as ct scans.
Is there any real risk in waiting ?? my docs at Sloan seem to say a month or so is ok. Any opinions??

thanks to all, Drew

[dadmo]

If you wait more then 8-10 weeks you will be in surviellance, which could be a reasonable option. What was the percentage of teratoma in the original tumor?

[Don]

Drew,

I would put off the other projects until 6-8 weeks after the RPLND..I can't imagine anything that would be more important then removing cancer from your body... I had my RPLND with a very high AFP(3200+). This is not recommended but I had no other choice at the time. The longer you wait post chemo the higher the risk the surgery is.... Better off just getting the surgery over with so you can resume life as normal... Best of luck to you no matter what you decide to do ........... DON

[Russell Hammer]

Doctor knows best

Don't listen to me! But...my understanding was that up to two months is a reasonable period between chemo and RPLND. If you can fit your projects in prior to surgery go for it. You won't be able to do them afterwards. My experience is instructive: i had a large residual mass, 100% teratoma, which required a long surgery. I insisted on "pushing it" and was out of the hospital the third day. I began a light exercise regiment shortly after (walks, etc.) By the eighth day I was hospitalized with an ilias(sp?) or post-operative bowel obstruction. Trust me, you don't want that. Just a thought.

[MROSE]

Just to add to the discussion - my boyfriend received chemotheraphy and he met someone going through the same experience as you - he wanted to put off the RPLND until the end of the summer. It sounds like several weeks seems to be OK, especially if you already had chemo. When you have the RPLND post-chemo, your organs/tissues are a bit softer than someone who did not go through chemo and this can make the surgery a little more detailed. I am not sure how long it takes the organs/tissues to toughen up, but I might see this as a benefit to waiting it out. On the other side, my boyfriend just had his RPLND on Wednesday and is out of the hospital and not having much pain at all. He can't lift anything heavier than 1 gallon of milk, so that might be a set-back for you. He too had the RPLND and chemo at Sloan (I'm wondering if you know him - Andrew if this is you, I will crack up - it's Missy, John's girlfriend - message me if it's you). His surgeon did a phenomenal job and I hope your experience is the same!