Question:
How Soon after cancer for wLS

April 2004 I was diagnosed with endometrial cancer, I had been approved for wls at the same time as I was seeing a wls surgeon. I ended up having a complete hysterectomy June 10 2004. I had also gone through 6 chemo treatments after. My question is: How long must I wait until I can pursue wls? I've been told two different times its either 5 years or 2 years. I'm going to be 62 years old this July, and I truly want this to happen in a reasonable amount of time so I can drop this extra baggage I'm carrying around. I have a 42 morb and I weight 250lbs. Can someone please give me a good answer. Thank You Paula    — Paula W (posted on December 19, 2004)

December 19, 2004
Check with your GYN, but I had Uterine Cancer,no spread and not invasive to any other organ. Hysterectomy and removed ovaries mid-Jan 2004, and had my WLS late March. Sailed thru it fine! The cancer was the "final straw" that decided me to go ahead and do WLS. I am so glad I did.
   — Anna S.

December 20, 2004
I can't give you a direct answer concerning when your body is strong enough for WLS after undergoing those treatments. But in your shoes, I'd want specifics from docs who urge delay, as in, Why a delay of x months or years?<P>There was an article in The Washington Post recently about how obesity can mask detection of many health conditions, including cancer. It specifically discussed how much more inaccurate, or difficult to read, various diagnostic scans (CT, MRI, ultrasound, etc.) are when we're heavy. Doctors often can't see things like cancer in heavy people using those scans. This was certainly true with my own cancer, which was diagnosed 2 months after my WLS. Metastases that didn't show up on various scans (CT, MRI, PET) at that point DID show up later -- 70 pounds later -- solely because my fat was no longer masking them.<P>When you've had cancer, in most cases, you've got to monitor closely for recurrences to allow for early, aggressive treatment. Seems to me one argument in favor of WLS is that it'll allow you to get rid of extra weight that is likely to frustrate those diagnostic efforts.
   — Suzy C.

December 21, 2004
on the flip side - just a year after my surgery I was diagnosed with breast cancer (I had a lumpectomy and radiation), I'm now almost a one year survivor and it will be two years in April that I had WLS. My only issues were whether the Tamoxifen that I have to take for 5 years will have enough time to be absorbed into my system. I've lost 114lbs and now weigh in at 134lbs.
   — welshborn