Dear Dr,
You've helped me in the past and hope you can advise. To recap, I had inoperable ovarian cancer. Was told to go for palliative care in Nov 07, found a surgeon (in Feb 08)who performed posterior pelvic exenteration with colostomy,reconstructed rectum and partial vagina. He told me I had 80% chance of recurrence and surgery was not curative but since I was in pain and had been bleeding for 2 years he agreed to do it.
He knived my bladder during surgery but left it in. Since surgery I have not been able to urinate on my own. I alternate from self-cath and in dwelling foley. I had a CT scan in June to see if colostomy can be reversed but was told that there are 2 small fistulas that have grown. He wants to wait 4 months to see if they heal themselves. My next CT scan is set for October 1.
I finally got the final result of CT scan and was surgprised to read that along with the 2 fistulas there is 'diffuse irregular thickening of the perirectal fascia. There is also poorly defined soft tissue thickening along the inferior margin of the small bowel loops, which is inseparable from the mid left bladder dome, contiguous with the thickened perirectal and extends to the sidewalls, highly suspicious for recurrence'.
I showed this to my oncologist and he told me that I should 'forget the disease and live for today'. He told me that if this is in fact a recurrence there are no more chemos or surgeries for me, I had many chemos before the surgery and none worked. Avastin was also not an option for me.
My questions are:
1. Do fistulas heal themselves? Will there be a chance that the October 1st scan might show that they healed and I can have colostomy reversed?
2. From your experience, fo you think I'm having a recurrence so soon after surgery? Is it possible? Will the October 1st scan confirm this if it is indeed a recurrence?
Any advice you give will be apprecisted as you've helped me in the past.
Thank you.