Hello and thanks for posting

I’m sorry to read about your partner’s situation. This must be a difficult time for you both, and it's understandable to have questions when you read something in a medical letter.

As nurses, we don’t interpret medical reports as this is not our area of expertise. But I hope the following information is helpful.

Clear margins means that when the surgeon removed the cancer, a specialist doctor called a pathologist examined the edges of the removed tissue and didn't find any cancer cells present. As far as they can tell, the tumour was removed completely.

EMVI stands for Extramural Venous Invasion. It means that when the tumour was examined under the microscope, cancer cells had been present in a vein (blood vessel) outside the main tumour area.

Doctors are aware that people whose cancers show EMVI have a slightly higher chance of the cancer coming back or having spread compared with people whose cancers don't show it. As a result, they may recommend your partner to have more regular follow ups or, depending on the whole picture, discuss whether any additional treatment is needed.

But this will depend on other factors, such as whether any lymph nodes contained cancer, how the tumour responded to chemoradiotherapy, the final tumour stage, and whether scans show any evidence of cancer elsewhere.

Your partner’s specialist team will clarify things in more detail and discuss next steps. If he has a specialist nurse involved in his care, then perhaps they can provide you both with further information. You often have to call and leave them a message, and they will get back to you.

I hope this has been of some use. Give us a ring if you would like to talk anything over. The number to call is Freephone 0808 800 4040 and the lines are open from 9am till 5pm Monday to Friday.

Kind regards,

Celene