Hello family and friends - In order to provide updates to everyone, I'm starting this site for my momma, Lin Yates (Andrea's writing this post).
Quick Background: About 7-8 weeks ago, mom wasn't feeling well and went to see her doctor in Prescott, AZ. Initially they thought mom just had a UTI, so they were treating it with antibiotics. That seemed to help a bit, but then the discomfort was back. They treated again with different meds, but still didn't get rid of the pain/discomfort she was feeling. Mom also started to develop some fluid in her lower abdomen area that was causing additional discomfort. At that point, the doctors determined that mom should have an ultrasound completed. That showed some concerning results, so an MRI was ordered. The MRI was inconclusive, so a CT scan was ordered. In the midst of all of this, mom and dad were planning a move back to Show Low, AZ. They moved to Show Low a day or so after the CT was done, so they took their results to the hospital over there and got connected with a great team of doctors. Show Low doctors reviewed all of the scans (which revealed a mass of "some concern") and ordered some additional blood work to check for tumor markers (CA-125 test). After a few more days, the blood work came back indicating elevated CA-125 levels. At that point, mom's Show Low doctors began talking about a diagnosis of cancer, likely ovarian given the location of the mass.
Week of 5/21: This past week, mom saw her local Show Low doctors to conduct a "pre-surgical" exam to determine fitness for surgery for removing the mass, ovaries, etc. that went well and she is cleared for surgery. On 5/24, we met with mom's oncology team in Phoenix, AZ with St. Joseph's to review again all of the scans and to get a surgery date scheduled. No new information from that appointment, but we were able to discuss the surgery, what to expect, and get a date/time scheduled.
***Surgery will be on 5/30 with a check in at St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix, AZ at 10am. Surgery will begin at noon; expected to last about 4 hours****
As we understand it, they will initially remove the mass, ovaries, and fallopian tubes and send them away for testing during the surgery to determine a positive/negative cancer diagnosis. If the mass is benign, they'll still be doing a full hysterectomy (as far as we know), but then we'll be in the clear! This is what we're all hoping for - best possible outcome!
If they confirm that the mass is malignant/cancerous, then they'll still do a complete hysterectomy, but they'll also conduct additional biopsies in the abdominal cavity checking nearby organs to determine if anything has spread so they can stage the cancer.
That's all for now, but I'll send an update next week once we learn more. Thanks in advance for all of your thoughts, prayers, and well wishes - keep them coming!
Hi all, We met with our Oncology Doc in Show Low and received some initial pathology information yesterday. They were able to confirm that the tumor was a G1 - "low grade," slow growing cancer. That does mean we're in for some chemo therapy treatments...with a minimum of 3 treatments likely, but no more than 6 total - 1 treatment every three weeks. They've preliminary tagged the cancer at Stage I, which is GREAT NEWS!!! No other biopsies in the abdomen, or the lymph nodes (they tested 4) showed any signs that the cancer had spread beyond the ovary.
We will be meeting with the Oncology surgeon for a post-op appointment in Phoenix tomorrow and will get his final plan for treatment at that time. There is some discussion pending on the fluid pathology that could change the staging, but current report show negative - also a GREAT sign!
Once we have the plan, we'll be going through a chemo training session the week of July 2nd, then mom would likely start her first treatment the week of July 9th. We'll let you know once we hear more.
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