Hi Guys
Just an update and a few questions to ask.
After my first excision the tumour fell into Stage 2 with no spread to Lymph Nodes or distant disease.
The clear margin was 0.2mm and the overall size of the excised tumour was 23mm. My surgeon said because the tumour had just fallen into stage 2 by only 3mm he recommended further excision to hopefully get clearer margins.
I had the surgery done on 26th January and as a result I now have a wound site that I could probably get the top of my finger in it’s that deep.
Has anybody else had a further excision to try for clearer margins? Were the clear margins successful?
The pain is really bad as the wound is left open to heal in its own. I’m still waiting for the results.
I’ve researched the reoccurrence rates for local excision and I must admit they don’t look great.
John
Hi John (JayC ),
I think I’ve told you before that I had my tumour removed via local excision, I was stage 1 & I believe my tumour was approximately 2cms in diameter, so just a fraction away from stage 2! A 4mm clear margin was achieved on the majority of the excision but a small area only had a 1mm clear margin & I was advised that was cut off for further treatment, this if where our stories differ, I was referred to oncology & my oncologist offered me into the PLATO clinical trial. This involved 23 fractions of radiotherapy along with oral chemotherapy & was described to me as mop up treatment to get any stray cells.
During my surgery my wound was stitched but my surgeon did warn me that because of the position of the wound it was a possibility that the stitches wouldn’t hold. I had my surgery on the Monday & sure enough the stitches burst on the Saturday evening which landed me in A&E bleeding! The Dr I saw in A&E said the wound would be best left open to heal from the inside out & like yours it was a substantial wound. I was having real difficulty going to the loo & it was incredibly painful so the A&E consultant advised that I stop taking the liquid morphine I’d been prescribed following my surgery & he prescribed Movicol (stool softeners) these helped immensely in easing the difficulty & pain when having bowel movements. Once my wound began to heal it resolved pretty quickly, I hope yours does too.
I really hope your results come soon & they bring good news.
Irene75359 thanks for the tag & of course I don’t mind.
Nicola
Hi John (JayC ),
Seriously don’t worry & it’s fine to create another thread for a fresh question, it’s sometimes the best way to alert other users of the site to your queries.
Yes it’s a bit of a lottery as to the team you’re under & the hospital you’re directed to as to the treatment path taken.
The area of my tumour that had the 1mm clear margin opposed to the rest having 4mm was very close to the sphincter muscle & although it hadn’t begun to invade the muscle it was very close, my surgeon said he didn’t want to go any further as he didn’t want to risk leaving me with permanent incontinence as once that muscle is surgically damaged it rarely recovers. So maybe there was no other option for me than chemoradiotherapy whereas if there was the option of removing more healthy tissue without causing permanent damage for you maybe this contributed to the decision made by your surgeon?
Hang on in there, it is a very painful surgery & I would get to the point of almost passing out on the loo those first few days post surgery it was so, so painful but it was strangely less painful once the stitches had burst & as I said once my wound begun healing it closed pretty quickly so hopefully it’ll be the same case for you.
Keep us updated on how you’re doing. Sending lots of healing thoughts your way.
Nicola
Hi John (JayC ),
I can only speak from my own experience but my wound site filled in completely. There’s obviously a scar there but I can’t feel it at all. You’ve had 2 surgeries pretty close together so you may take a little longer to heal than I did.
That’s great news that the margins were bigger this time & clear & it sounds as though your team are going to be keeping a really close eye on things.
Please never feel guilty about your journey compared to others we’re all here for the same reason unfortunately & our aim is to support each other through this diagnosis regardless of treatment paths etc.
Once again I’m pleased to hear your good news & I hope you notice a difference with your wound really soon. Please keep us updated on how you’re doing.
Nicola
