Part 8: Houston, We Have Cancer

Part 8: Houston, We Have Cancer

We went back to UGO on October 29th for my first post-op. I walked in smiling with my work release papers in my hands, ready to be signed so I could finally get back to my school, teammates, and students whom I had missed so incredibly much.

The first thing Dr. Cantuaria said when he walked into our exam room was, “Caitlin, Caitlin, Caitlin. You’re giving me insomnia. What are we going to do with you?”. Not what we expected to hear, but okay then. 

He told us that after presenting my case to multiple colleagues around the US, they all came to the conclusion that it wouldn’t be completely medically sound to perform surgery at this time because while he could clear many of the tumors and cancer in my pelvis and abdomen, he would not be able to clear all of it since they were so small and spread out so much. Therefore, he wanted to try treating it first, then going in for the second surgery in six months or so to do the hysterectomy to prevent it from coming back.

Right then and there, he made two phone calls: one to another doctor within Northside to look over my pathology slides and give his thoughts. The second one to Dr. Coleman, a Gynecologic Oncologist with MD Anderson (best cancer research center in the nation) in Houston, Texas (the most surprising part about both of these phone calls is that they both picked up - it wasn’t even 7:30am in Houston and he still picked up!). After telling him my story, Dr. Coleman agreed to see me and give Dr. Cantuaria a second opinion about where to go from here (clinical trial, hormone therapy, or straight into surgery). So, I guess we’re going to Houston.

Once he got off the phone, Dr. Cantuaria told us that the reason he wanted to get so many people on this case is because there’s very little research on Borderline Ovarian Tumors (let alone Stage 3) due to the rarity of it. Luckily, over the last year or two, one of the most important pieces of research that has come out is that this type of cancer is not affected by chemoradiation, so at least we have that going for us! 

While all of this makes me nervous, I couldn’t be more thankful to have a Gynecologist who trusted her instincts and ran a CA125 check, or more thankful for an Oncologist who is so invested in me that he uses all of his resources to make sure he is providing the best care and treatment possible.

We will be flying out to Houston, Texas on Monday, November 25th and meeting with Dr. Coleman on Tuesday, November 26th at 8:00am. If further imaging is requested, we might be having a Texas Thanksgiving - not ideal, but what better way to truly be thankful for such an incredible team of doctors, the opportunity to get healthy, and our phenomenal family and friends who have given us more support, love, and prayers than I could have ever imagined.