Easy Come, Easy Go

Went back for first check up since the surgery - and to get the biopsy results for everything removed.  All lymph nodes were negative, tubes and ovaries negative.  Final tumor stats, Stage 1, Grade 1.  And all gone!

No follow up treatment necessary.  Back for another check up end of November, then gyn exam every 6 months for 3 years.  I can handle that.

Still have to take care for a while longer, not supposed to lift more than 20 pounds for 2 months.  Every day I'm less sore and able to walk longer.  Tummy is still tender so I won't be vacuuming anytime soon...lol   Hope to walk with the little dog in another couple of weeks.

And just like that...I'm not a member of this club any longer.  How wild is that?

Better Every Day

I feel so much better today!  Even managed to take a little walk up the driveway.  Still have some soreness inside but it's just amazing how fast the healing is going.

Appetite is coming back, enjoyed very delicious lasagne last night, followed by chocolate ice cream.

Got a phone call yesterday from The Diabetes Center...who expressed their desire to help me with my recent diagnosis of Diabetes.  So thoughtful.  I let him down easy...

Short & Sweet

Stayed an extra night, finally home today.  Surgery went very well, no incision (except for the 5 holes gracing my belly) so I am very pleased.  Surprising how much my insides hurt so I'm still fairly doped up.  I will post more when I feel better, hopefully tomorrow.

The Big Day

I'm just about ready to go - have to be at the hospital at 1:20, surgery at 3:20.  I am super hungry...and very clean!  Had to take special decontamination shower last night, and will take another shortly.

Also want to say how grateful I am for all the calls, emails and comments; I have a pretty awesome posse of family and friends.  I very much appreciate each and every one.

If everything goes as expected, I'll be back home tomorrow.  Meanwhile you all have a great day, think positive thoughts!

(Happy Birthday Pam)

We Have Liftoff.

Met with our gyn-onc today - she is wonderful!  Both Bill and I feel great about her. Surgery is scheduled for Monday, 10/3.  She got me in faster than I expected, but I'm glad there won't be much time to think about what's ahead...

And what's ahead is Robot Assisted Surgery!!!  I will meet daVinci!  If you want to see what this impressive machine looks like, search for daVinci on YouTube - it's pretty amazing. What it means for me is 1 1/2 days in the hospital vs 3 - 4, and 1 - 2 weeks of recovery instead of 4 - 6.  Not to mention 5 small holes instead of one long incision.

There is a chance she will end up having to make an incision anyway, but she will make that call during the surgery.  Not to get too gross, but she has to remove the uterus whole (if cut, cancer cells have a "let's spread everywhere" party).  If she can't remove it vaginally, she'll have to make an incision and remove it abdominally.  But everything else, including removing lymph nodes, she can do with the robot.

Isn't cutting edge medicine great?  Oops, I think I made a funny...

You've Got Cancer!

I had been bleeding abnormally on and off for months, horribly the previous week which is why I went to see my gynecologist.  Enjoyed a painful ultrasound and endometrial biopsy - "I'll call you with the results at the end of the week."  And, let's face it.  Anytime your doctor does a "biopsy", that mental door has, if not opened, at least become unlocked.

Two days later the nurse called - could I come that morning to go over the test results with the Dr.?  And, if possible, would I bring my husband.  Uh oh.

So, 4 days ago I began to acquaint myself with my uterus.  The "roughly lemon-size" organ that has seen fit to turn on me.  Apparently, it turns on lots of women my age (53).  Fortunately, it has the grace to announce it is having a problem early in the process, which is why it is "the kind of reproductive cancer you want, if you have to have a reproductive cancer".

It has long been my belief that these kinds of things are more difficult on the loved ones than on the actual patient.  I still think that's true.  At least in my case it is.  My husband has already told me if I die, he will kill me (aww, so sweet).  However, I fully expect to revisit this balance of difficulty once I reach the next phase of this - the surgery.

The lining of the uterus, the endometrium, as the cancerous cells grow, bleeds.  Not all bleeding automatically means cancer, it can be, and often is, benign.  In my case, not benign.  But the early bleeding is why this is often caught early enough to cure.  And, in this case, that means a hysterectomy.  Everything out - uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries.

Pretty much this is the focus of my brain now.  We meet with our Gynecologic Oncologist (hereafter referred to as the Gyn-Onc) on Thursday, 9/29.  I'll have loads of information after that meeting.  At least I think I will.  Now I'm in the process of writing down my questions as they occur to me...and the question this morning is pain meds.  This will be a critical aspect of my surgical recovery - and it occurred to me to ask her view on it.  Wouldn't it just suck to assume she was on the same page, only to find out as I'm being released from the hospital that she doesn't believe I'll need anything more than a few Tylenol?

I welcome any comments, suggestions and questions - I have only one rule, and it is inviolable.  BE NICE.