I have an 5.3 aortic aneurysm with Stage 4 bone cancer.

It’s understandable to feel confused when you’re getting different messages from your doctor, especially with both an aneurysm and advanced cancer in the picture. The change in advice could be because your doctor re-evaluated your overall health, surgical risks, and timing. It might help to ask them directly what changed in their assessment between the first call and the second. Getting a second opinion from another specialist could also give you clarity and peace of mind about the best path forward for you.

In some ways, it’s a balancing act when you have a serious condition like terminal cancer. You’ll need to weigh whether undergoing a major open-heart surgery is worth the recovery time, risk, and pain, especially if it may or may not improve your quality of life depending on your cancer prognosis. From my own experience, the pain after my aortic surgery was significant, and it took me about three years before I felt fully back to my old self. Peace.