First Appt with Surgeon Oncologist for SB NET

Tomorrow will be 1 month since learning I had a small bowel NET at the ileocecal valve (found during a colonoscopy done bc of repeated diarrhea). I met the surgeon Friday and he explained that the tumor is 7 mm and that no other spots showed up on the Dotatate PET. But because SB NETs are known for putting out other small tumors, or sometimes being multifocal and having more than one primary spot, the surgery will be more than just removing the tumor.

It will be open, a vertical cut of maybe 4 " close to my navel and removal of maybe 8" of intestine, including the valve, dissection of the mesentery and lymph nodes it drains into, and palpation of the whole small bowel to be sure there are no tiny tumors which would be too small to show up on a PET Scan (and which would necessitate removing more intestine). The two ends of the intestine are then connected to each other. Lack of a valve will cause diarrhea which I'll need to try to manage.

The final staging occurs after the surgery and biopsies of the tissue removed. For now it is a temporary assumption of Stage 1. It seems I've had symptoms of a functioning tumor, and he said that's possible, but he feels it's unlikely it's metastasized to my liver. The surgery will probably be late Sept.

I'm so grateful for the care I'm receiving at Mayo Phx and the support of this group! Thank you!