Debate: Complete Response in Rectal Cancer? - Surgery 

I have a very recent experience with this issue. My wife was diagnosed with rectal cancer last September. She underwent a long course of chemoradiotherapy, at the end of which she had a cCR(clinical complete response). The most astonishing thing that happened is this: her oncologist told her that she was cured, and sent her to a surgeon, who decided to operate without even looking at the test results!!! So we went to another surgeon, who this time looked carefully at the results, and nevertheless decided to operate. Of course, she has a stoma, she feels miserable and weak, and looks more like my mother than my wife....The biopsy results came yesterday, and proved that she has a pCR(pathological complete response)!!! She's going to feel miserable for another couple of months, if not more...Now tell me: aren't the surgeons who decide to operate, instead of watching and waiting, big SOBs?????

In the original Habber Gama patient of the the W&W group a 22% regrowth rate was observed and 7% were found to be un salvageable. Nevertheless the concept of non surgical, no stoma is highly attractive, hence acceptable.