For those of you dianosed with cancer

Do you ever wonder deep down if WLS was the culprit? 

Actually, Obesity is the leading cause of all types of cancers.
WLS is not a cause of cancer. I was just diagnesed with colon
cancer.

I know that's what they say. It must be just me. I feel as if I would've left well enough alone I wouldnt be in the situation I am now.
My oncologist does tell me that if I wouldn't have had my RNY and breast reduction I very well may not have found my breast cancer lump as soon as I did. It was so very aggressive that it may have been "too late"  I still tend to wonder though. It's hard not to.

 iisme, I totally know what you mean.

I have to tell you that when my doctor told me I had cancer I broke down and said "I wish I never had gastric bypass".  He looked at me and said "you need to know this has nothing to do with that.  look at how much weight you lost, you are much healthier now".

I have thyroid cancer and I feel angry that my WLS team should be doing more thorough thyroid checks before they perform the surgery.  Whether or not it's justified I feel like I could have lost weight had they given me the extra thyroid hormone my body needed.  

In the end, I can't do anything about it and it sucks, BUT when the doctor told me that he knew it wasn't related it did make me feel better because that nagging feeling like I did something to make this happen was really haunting.

Hang in there, we'll get through this!

I pray you are doing fine I too had a rny in 2007 then in on August 26,2008 I was told I had breast cancer I don't know if weight plays apart in it but my journey was a rough I was thinking about having a revision because I didn't lose all the weight I wanted or needed to lose , I'm just scared something else will show up?

In breast cancer WLS can effect the rate of growth of your cancer.  the cancer cells can be in your body  before the WLS but too small to be detected.  When you loss weight your fat cells release estrogen.  If you have an ER+ tumor this will stimulate the tumors growth.  Detection and treatment is easier to tolerate at a normal weight then  as an obese person.  I know I wouldn't be alive today if I hadn't had WLS.  Good luck

I had a freak complication, that I suspect actually did lead to my cancer.  In general, though, no, I don't think WLS causes cancer.  Correlational studies suggest that it leads to lower cancer rates than matched controls (people) where the match is the same starting body weight as your pre-surgery, yet they didn't have a WLS & are still obese (they have higher rates of cancer).

I apparently am prone to adhesions/ scar tissue.  My appendix formed a solid adhesion around the circumference of my small bowel.  The appendix was also stuck to my colon.  The adhesions slowly reduced the blood flow to the appendix, which caused to eventually die = appendicitis about 17 months after WLS.  The surgeon who did the emergency appendectomy also happens to be a DS surgeon who said that most surgeons would go their entire career & never see a case like this - among someone who had the DS or RNY, it's extremely rare.

I started having severe night sweats & fatigue (which was anemia of chronic disease, NOT iron deficiency anemia) 2 months after the appendicitis/bowel obstruction.  I had Hodgkin's Lymphoma, which is an immune system cancer of the white blood cells (WBC).  WBCs go into overdrive when we have infections.  Well, when I had the appendicitis, my WBCs went into massive overdrive, I actually had started going into septic shock, they were 24,500.

It is pretty unusual for Hodgkin's Lymphoma to go below ("south of") the diaphragm, yet according to the size & how the tumors branched out, I know mine actually STARTED below my diaphragm - directly behind my small intestine where I had the massive infection from the appendicits & bowel obstruction 2 months before my cancer symptoms started.

Coincidence?? 

There's a theory in cancer that most people actually have some cancer cells in their body at some point, yet our cells our programmed to destruct & get eaten (by macrophages) if they are damaged . . . which is exactly what cancer cells are - damaged cells that are able to turn off this natural self-destruction safeguard.  The theory goes that, when the immune system is overwhelmed by some trauma or chronic disease, it's normal job of cleaning up/ destroying the mutant cells isn't as effective.  It's already busy dealing with something else & it can't destroy the mutant cell, which then is allowed to divide, and divide, and divide, and form a tumor, etc.

Yes, I personally think MY cancer was ultimately caused by my WLS, but I also think that it is an exception to the majority of observances that site lower cancer rates than if you had stayed obese.

What type of chemo did you have and how did do . I start chemo this monday

I think my 95 lbs. weight loss will only help me, as I am in so much better shape. I do feel what I ate for my adult years helped me get cancer. In fact I always thought about it and only wish I had had the surgery before i was 63, my biggest mistake.

IMO- it may or may not. Directly - or indirectly i.e as a result of vitamins - minerals deficiencies. (i.e D, B's, C, E, etc)

I consider my weight loss surgery to be my Saviour.   A bit over a year post op I began having episodes of pain which i assumed were gall bladder attacks.  i told my GP that I was having pains and asked to be tested for gall bladder issues.  An hour long ultrasound showed suspected kidney cancer which was confirmed a few weeks later with CTscan.  This showed a small tumour on my left kidney as well as a suspicious area on my right kidney.  This diagnosis led me to be referred to my wonderful surgeon Dr. Pautler who performed a robotic assisted laproscopic partial nephrectomy in May of 2012.  I am now scheduled for the same procedure on my right kidney because the suspicious area has further developed and is most likely the same..clear cell renal carcinoma.  These tumours were caught early (stage 1) because my weight loss surgery caused me to be pro active about pain and the fat loss allowed the ultrasound to see into my body well enough to discover both kidney issues.  I am thankful every day for my sleeve and my continued good health.