4 weeks post radical hysterectomy & follow-up appointment with surgeon

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Hi everyone,

Thought now would be a good time to post an update…

I had an open abdominal radical hysterectomy (with ovaries, fallopian tubes and lymph nodes removed) 4 weeks ago today. I was very happy to finish my last daily injection yesterday! Recovery so far has been okay with a few ups and downs (bowels have been my biggest challenge - still not back to normal function so I’m continuing to take medication but better than a couple of weeks ago) but overall making progress and trying really hard not to be too impatient. 

I had my post-surgery follow-up appointment with the consultant this afternoon. All good news - clear margins and all 11 removed lymph nodes were clear so no further treatment required. I will be discharged from The Christie and referred back to my local hospital for the standard monitoring appointments starting at 3 month frequency. 

I was feeling very nervous ahead of today’s appointment (I was so nervous that I felt sick in the car on the way to the hospital) and now feel relieved that I can focus on continuing to recover from the surgery.

Louise

  • Hi  Louise

    Thanks for coming back with your update-that’s great news for you today. It’s always a bit nerve racking going for these follow ups, but hopefully the fact that you don’t need further treatment, and will just be monitored at your local hospital, will let you move on knowing you’ve had a great result.

    Hopefully your bowel issues will continue to improve-the bowel really doesn’t like being pushed around and handled during surgery! 

    I’m sure others will be pleased to read your positive news, and it’s so helpful to have updates like these for new members, so I appreciate you letting us know. There will always be support in the group if you need it in the future but for now I hope you continue to recover nicely and can put this behind you. I hope too that you might continue to reply to others in your situation to reassure them about the surgery.

    Sarah xx


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  • Hi Louise thats fantastic news-very pleased for yoy! I had the same 8 weeks ago and also had a clear pathology so no further treatment recommended x i’m doing all i can to stay healthy x i understand your relief at finishing those daily injections! it can be hard to be patient around recovery but i can assure you that the timeline they give you for recovery is pretty accurate fir most-i saw a definite improvement around 6-8 weeks and so am looking forward to the 10-12 week stage! for me the swelling has been difficult and frustrating i cant get in alot of my clothes (i know there are worse things) but its starting to reduce this past week, i also dont like the numbness but that is slowly improving x my energy is pretty good and i am now back up to walking for an hour so hopefully you’re over the hardest part including the post  surgery appt and can look to the future with optimism but for me theres still emotional stuff to process as receiving this diagnosis is a shock for mist of us i think x i’m easing back into a more normal life but i’m aware it is a new normal x plan some things to look forward to x all the best with your continued recovery xx

  • Hi  

    Great to hear how you’re doing. Agree with having things to look forward to, even if it’s something small. My partner and I went out to a local cafe for lunch yesterday which was the first time of going out of the house other than for daily walks and for medical appointments, so felt like an achievement and a little bit of normal. I really enjoyed it! 

    Sounds like you’re doing really well with walking. I’m managing about 30 minutes per walk at the moment and my pace is gradually picking up - or at least it is at the start of the walk then gradually gets slower. I was a big walker before surgery (usually around 10km per day in total) so I’m really looking forward to being able to increase the amount I can walk. I’m finding any kind of incline very hard work which is limiting my walking as I seem to be surrounded by hills (or inclines at least) no matter which direction I go from my house which I hadn’t really paid attention to/noticed before.

    I can identify with still having emotional stuff to process - I think I’m still a bit like a rabbit in the headlights and haven’t really processed the diagnosis and surgery yet. I hope you have the support you need to help you with this when you’re ready.

    Sending you best wishes for your recovery heading towards the 10-12 week stage. 

    Louise x

  • Thanks Louise sounds like you’re making great progress too! i think the key is to listen to your body as its so easy to do too much and try to find the balance between too much and not enough but i think progress can plateau abit then you improve alot over a few days x sounds like you were fit before which should really help your recovery x keep going, the weeks fly by! xx