Aline LeSage
Women facing gynecologic cancers now have a new and innovative option for cancer surgery. Minimally-invasive, more accurate and requiring a shorter recovery time, the da Vinci robot is an appealing alternative.
In July 2009, Aline LeSage was closing out a very somber chapter in her life: her husband David’s passing. After an intense battle with kidney cancer, he was gone after a mere six months.
Back in May, Aline underwent her annual exam including a pap test, and although the results came back negative, she continued to experience a mild, odorless discharge. With her energy focused on her husband’s illness followed by his passing, then closing his estate and addressing substantial medical bills, the discharge seemed fairly irrelevant at the time.
By November, the discharge had not gone away. She consulted her family physician who believed she may have a yeast infection. When antibiotics didn’t clear it, she was referred to a gynecologist in early December who took a biopsy and performed a transvaginal ultrasound.
The following week, Aline was called back to the gynecologist’s office where he delivered the news that she had uterine cancer.
“I was in absolute shock. I thought I was going to collapse. I had gone through so much with David in the past year; I couldn’t imagine that my turn had come. I felt totally overwhelmed,” Aline recalls.
Her gynecologist told her she had to make a quick decision about where she wanted to receive treatment: Seattle, Portland or Spokane. Still in the middle of the Pacific Northwest’s often frigid and snowy winter, she chose to stay closer to home and be cared for in Spokane. She was referred to Dr. Melanie Bergman, gynecologic oncologist at Cancer Care Northwest.
Via her gynecologist, Dr. Bergman informed Aline that a complete hysterectomy was required and scheduled her surgery for January 11.
In the meantime, Aline spent the holidays with her family in Quebec. It was bittersweet. “I went to Canada to be with my family because I didn’t know what lay ahead. David had deteriorated so quickly. If my number was up, it was important that I spend time with my family.”
Traditional Surgery or Robotics?
After wrapping up the holidays in Canada, Aline met with Dr. Bergman who explained that she would require staging surgery for uterine cancer which includes a hysterectomy, removal of tubes and ovaries, and lymph nodes. The surgery could be done one of two ways: traditional open surgery or robotic surgery using the da Vinci robotic system. Both surgical approaches treat the cancer appropriately, but the robotic technique has advantages that the traditional surgery doesn’t have.
Having been explained its many advantages; Aline naturally hoped she’d be a candidate for the robotic procedure and the favorable outcome it implied.
Breakthrough Technology
“Robotics has become the standard of care for gynecologic oncology,” says Dr. Bergman. “Through tiny, 8mm incisions, the da Vinci robotic system can operate with greater precision and control, minimizing the pain and risk associated with large incisions while shortening recovery time.”
The da Vinci robotic system consists of two units working in coordination. The physician-operated console, just a few feet away from the patient, is able to see inside the patient with high-performance 3-D imaging. Using hand and feet controllers, the physician is able to manipulate and control the robot, which has surgical instruments attached to its arms working inside of the patient. The physician’s movements are mirrored exactly by the robotic arms.
Gynecologic oncologists can use the robot to treat patients with uterine cancer, hyperplasia, cervical cancer, ovarian masses and as a risk reduction surgery for women with a high risk of ovarian cancer. Cancer Care Northwest is home to the region’s only two gynecologic oncologists, Dr. Bergman and Dr. Grosen, who are certified to perform these procedures.
“The surgery is so precise; it’s actually more accurate than human hands performing the same procedure. The recovery time is much shorter – days compared to weeks after traditional open surgery,” explains Dr. Bergman.
Surgery and Healing
Aline was wheeled into the operating room at 11:00 a.m. “At this point, I knew I was in the most skillful hands and just hoped for the best.”
A few hours later, Aline began to awaken in the recovery room. She was groggy and fuzzy from the anesthesia, but knew she was at the hospital, and alive. Her first thought was to feel her abdomen to check if she had a full incision.
“My eyes were still closed and I slowly moved my hand across my tummy, and I felt it, all in one piece. What a great feeling to realize I had robotic surgery, with its reasonable promise of recovery! I’m sure I had some kind of silly, blissful smile painted on my face that not everyone could understand. I was so thankful,” Aline says, still smiling at the memory of the feeling.
Dr. Bergman later came in and told Aline the 4 cm tumor was entirely removed. Because her tumor was a stage 1, no further therapy was needed.
Moving forward, cancer-free
Aline stayed two nights in the hospital and was released on January 13. Over those two days, the nurses regularly inquired about her pain, on a scale of one to ten. She felt great overall and consistently rated her pain mild, a two. After she was discharged, her strength kept improving daily.
“Prior to the surgery, I had even made a list of armchair projects to complete while I healed at home: embroidery, organizing family photos. Yet because I had the robotic surgery, I never had the opportunity to work on those since I was able to return to my normal activities so quickly.”
Aline now plans to move to her native Quebec to be closer to family; she hopes to write a memoir, also a sequel to her first novel, Gaby’s Penance, which is loosely based on her grandmother’s life.
“After a troublesome and emotional hiatus, I want to spread my message of hope as a cancer survivor. I look forward to a new life as a cancer-free and grateful mother, grandmother and novelist. I have so much to give back, so much love to share.”