Forthcoming Operation

Hi Anthony,

I can totally empathise with your predicament. I had my fourth FLOT on 31st Jan and had mentally pencilled my operation for mid to late March. When I was told, a couple of weeks later, that I was scheduled for surgery on 29th February it did come as a bit of a shock. Like yourself, I had found the last two chemo sessions quite tough and had barely recovered from the 4th three weeks later. The four weeks I had planned to prepare myself for surgery suddenly became one. I would have liked a little longer to get myself back into decent shape after the chemo but, at the same time, I wanted the cancer removed from my body ASAP and, I presumed, my doctors did too so I went ahead with it as planned. You’ve a tough decision to make. I’m now 20 weeks post surgery and, although it doesn’t really matter now, I still can’t say for certain whether or not I made the right decision. I guess I felt that they wouldn’t have operated unless they felt that I was strong and healthy enough to withstand the procedure. Hope this is of some help. CB

Thanks CB

Yes it does help me. I completely understand wanting to get rid of our uninvited guest as soon as possible! On the other hand if I forego getting into decent shape both psychologically and physically and missing out on some very important events just for the sake of two or three weeks delay I don't think is going to be beneficial.

Moreover I was in a similar predicament at the start of my journey as when I was diagnosed on the 22nd of March (just five days shy of my 60th birthday) I was worried I wouldn't be able to go on holiday with my friends. When I told the team it was towards the end of April into May they were adamant it wouldn't make any difference to my treatment or progression of the cancer.

Dear Bilious Bob

My partner is actually facing the similar status like yourself which they only given him three weeks  notices.

He currently in ‘mental disaster’, constant worry… anxious … fear about the surgery itself and how to cope his  ‘new body with physical scars … feeding tube…

He feels his current mental status might kill him if he goes through this surgery….

He managed to speak to Mental health team through this forum but it wasn’t an actual appointment instead of assessment.

it is not an easy decision but somehow we need to make the decision - the questions are would you take a risk to delay it? I would suggest to talk this risk vs benefit through the clinical nurses or surgical team that you trust….

Hope you keep your positive vibe fighting for this cancer..

Hi 

I was told 6 weeks post surgery was best - balance between enough recovery time but not too much time to potentially undo the work of the chemo to allow the cancer to grow. After surgery I asked for an additional week so 7 weeks post surgery to start FLOT because I was also recovering from covid.  They weren't desperately happy with that but they went with it. It was the post surgery chemo though. I'd suggest talking it through with your team to understand their reasoning. 

Best of luck

Thanks for replying. For me it's more the physical aspect of things that I'm not happy with. I injured my knee badly (torn LCL ligament) just after starting chemo which basically led me to being bed bound for almost three weeks and has subsequently kept me out of the gym. This combined with weight loss due to lack of any taste or appetite has left me struggling and in no fit state to face such a major operation.

I'm confident I'll be in a much better place both physically and mentally if I'm allowed this extra couple of weeks to recouperate properly 

Anthony 

I can understand your thinking. Some weight loss after the surgery is inevitable I think. For me it wasn't as much as I'd hoped they want you to walk the day after the surgery to avoid complications.  I had a bad reaction to fentanyl and it acted like a sedative so I struggled to walk as I could barely open my eyes. It took a couple of days for them to realise this. I was then walking once they changed the pain killers. Unfortunately I did have a partial lung collapse as a result.i was walking around really well even with the partial lung collapse. Then I got covid. Tbh I didn't take too long to recover from both (about 2 weeks). The first 2 weeks after surgery are the most risky around such complications. I can understand you wanting to get into better shape. I also understand wanting to be better mentally prepared. Chemo is a lot to deal with!

Another thing to say. After the operation you may not feel much like eating when you're at the pureed food stage but it's best to have little meals as place holders. While I had an ambivalent relationship with the feeding tube, it was really needed. Once I was home I snacked on Wotsits for some flavour  sad but true. Before that on the surgical ward I was so desperate for flavour I was licking the flavouring off a some crisps. Yep I'm not proud