Hi, it's Lulabell here, still a little confused in Italy!
So, I finally spoke to my oncologist this morning and I have the date for my radical hysterectomy which is 2nd September. She said they will take out my womb, ovaries and pelvic lymph nodes. I questioned the suspected cells in one lymph node picked up by the radiologist and she said not to worry as they will be removed too...it's just one sub-centimeter lymph node involved so may be insignificant anyway.
It's good to finally know the date but when I asked what stage the cancer was, she said it's in the initial stages but they can't tell until after the pathology reports following the hysterectomy exactly what stage it is. She also said that until they have the histological examination they cannot say whether I'll need follow up chemo therapy or radio therapy. She seemed to be talking about the pathological stage which is different to the clinical stage apparently.
It seems like in the UK they decide the treatment plan before anything happens, instead it seems I'll have to wait and see here...perhaps every country does things slightly differently. I guess all I can do is trust, it's a well established clinic with an excellent reputation etc.
Anyway, I'll keep you posted
Lulabell
Hi again Lulabell
This is not the same as the UK then. The stage has to be established before going ahead with any surgery, which would only be done at stage 1 or early stage 2. Lymph node involvement would mean an automatic stage 3 diagnosis and definitely no surgery.
I’m afraid I don’t understand what they mean by there being a difference between pathological and clinical stage as I’ve honestly never heard of that before. Definitely in the UK for cervical cancer the stage is not determined by histology, although it is for womb cancer where things are different. It actually sounds like you have a plan for womb cancer treatment, rather than cervical cancer to be honest. Hysterectomy is the common first step for womb cancer, followed by further treatment if required, with histology determining the stage, but cervical cancer is always staged prior to a decision on treatment.
Anyway, I’m sure you will be glad to have a surgery date, and it’s not too far away. Hope everything will go smoothly and do let us know how you’re getting on.
Sarah xx
