Dad's subtotal gastroectomy postponed with no revised date

Hi DD

I have just read your signature introduction to have a greater understanding of what you are all going through, my heart goes out to you. 

I fully understand how difficult to it feels being unable to support your parents during this difficult time, I am sure many of us feel the same way. 

I am sorry that the op has been cancelled, this adds to the stress that you must all be experiencing and having no idea of when the op will be scheduled makes that harder still. 

That said, the best thing I feel, is to be as positive as you can, allow Dad to speak frankly with you and the same for Mum... sometimes there is nothing to say, no feelings to share, that is okay too, it is all part of the process and I really wanted to reply to this post as I notice you had asked a question in your signature introduction and I wanted to ensure  you got an answer to this post. 

Whilst there is the positive belief that an operation will still go ahead, focus on creative visualisation, keep the faith and believe that all will be fine.

Good Luck to you all at this challenging time. 

Lowe'

Hi
This must be agony for you all. I remember well how difficult the lead up to the operation was! Did your dad have chemo?

 I don’t have the stats but in my case the chemo eradicated the cancer and when they did the pathology after surgery there was no evidence of disease 

I know of many people who have found that the tumour has shrunk following chemo 

It may be worth asking if they can say what the delay will mean for your dad’s type of cancer 

They are working to get surgery back up and running post Covid so hopefully it shouldn’t be too long to get the op over and done with.

Happy for you to PM if you want to ask anything 

x

Thank you for you reply. Dad is not having chemo as the area when they did the endoscopy and ctscan was only 1.5cm and they believe they have caught it early and op is the best option. 

They said that the delay shouldn't make much difference it will however increase the risk a little. But it is due to high risk because of his age they want to ensure he goes into HDU after the op.  They did say though the risk of death is only 10% so we are trying to focus on the fact that means a 90% chance he will be OK.

I am glad the chemo worked for you and hope you are recovering well 

thank you for your reply. We are trying to keep positive and hope they will advise a revised date as soon as possible. The need to ensure he has a bed in HDU after the op as he is at a higher risk due to his age.  So need a date when there is availability both for the cancer op and HDU.

They said the delay should not make too much difference in his case.

Thank you for your support. Dad had his operation today and the surgeon said it went well. They have removed all the affected area and managed to do it keyhole so his recovery time will be less than expected. 

That’s good news. It is so good to get through the operation and such a relief!  I found the recovery easier than I expected.

Wishing your dad a good recovery!