Interview Not Possible

That's sad. Your daughter... You've said she had kept her rectum, right, with her surgery. She had more than an anal cuff? So she had retained more large bowel than most people with a pouch, correct? I'm very sorry to hear of her troubles.

She is asking me who should she go to - she just talked to the Doctor who did her origial J pouch at Hopkins, but relocated to Oklahoma. He would do surgery first, then treatment - the colo/rectal Doctor she saw when she was in so much pain and had gone to large hospital - wants her to start chemo first to make the mass smaller then surgery - - I sure wish she wold ask the questions - but right now she is in shock

So sorry to hear this. Prayers are with her for a full recovery and wishes for the next job interview that will come her way.

The potential employer appears to be inflexible because they couldn't offer her another date to interview. It sounds like she has a lot of treatment to go through so should stay where she's at. I hope she is employed and has sick leave and ST and LT disability.

Since the cancer is in her lining I don't know how that plays into the surgery timing. I'm assuming they would cut out the tumor only now and then zap everything, including the lining now. Makes sense to me to cut out the biggest part right away. But if they can shrink it fast and the surgery will be less invasive I can see the waiting until after some chemo too. Maybe she needs to seek a 3rd opinion with Mayo Clinic or the Cleveland Clinic. They are the top 2 GI hospitals in the U.S.

It's a choice between 2 bad things and maybe it really doesn't make a difference. Sometimes you can get an over the phone consult with another doctor by sending records for them to review and then talk to you on the telephone.

Good Luck and please let us know how she is doing.

While I sat under the hair dryer today where I do my greatest thinking - it came to me - why not go to the hospital where they found the cancer - she left before all the results were in from the lab - I wonder what would have happened if she hadn't come home -they were giving her a anti-biotic drip til just before she left -
she is on a small annuity and insurance -

I know you are searching for help for your daughter but there are not too many of us on here that have had cancer.

I think it is pretty common to shrink the tumor with chemo or radiation before surgery. You are less likely to disrupt the tumor and allow the cancer cells to spread to distant sites that way. The goal is to improve ling term survival rates, not cut it out as fast as you can. Doing surgery too soon can increase her risk. It can be like opening a can of worms.

They have learned a lot in the ast couple of decades and the chemo treatments are better.

Jan