Margo's Blog

Back in the day when I was in college and grad school, and even some when I was first married, I kept a journal. I didn’t write everyday or about every thing… mostly I wrote when I was sad, lonely or depressed. I still have those journals and every once in a while I read back and wonder why I never remembered the good. My journals, I think, were for me, to be read by me and no one else. They were my therapist, best friend, confidant all rolled into one.

It’s different today with blogs. We write and the whole world reads and sometimes we put things out there that should not be shared with the eyes on the web.  That’s why my blogs are filled with the fun and good things that happen to us. I still keep the not-so-good to myself….. until now.

It took me some thinking whether I was going to write a post concerning the last week and finally decided that if my story helps even one woman, it would be worth it. First of all… women listen to your bodies. If you think something isn’t right or have that ‘feeling’, act on it, and don’t wait.

I was diagnosed this week with uterine cancer. There are no real outwardly symptoms.. for me it was erratic bleeding and clotting.  I pushed this aside because I’ve always had irregular periods all my life and going through menopause, I figured it was just part of the process. It usually is.  I mentioned this a couple of times to my regular doctor, who didn’t seem too concerned, but when I said something again this past fall he just said to see my gynecologist.  What an idiot! There is no love lost between this patient and her doctor… I’ve always thought he was a moron, but really…. the insurance I have requires one primary care doctor and any other medical professional needs to be referred. You’d a thunk he would have checked my records to see that there was no such referral ever made.  It took a good 6 months to see the new gyno… which I did last week Wednesday. By our conversation and a pelvic check, she does a tissue biopsy and immediately gets concerned. I go to the hospital on Friday for a pelvic ultrasound (with a mammogram thrown in for good measure).  I patiently wait all weekend,   but know in my heart that something is wrong.

Monday the results are in that I have the cancer and by Wednesday I’m in to see the specialist, a gyno/oncologist, Dr. Keven Brader at St. Mary’s Lacks Cancer Center.  From what I’ve been told, doctors in this specialty are a rare breed. He says that there is no indication that the cancer is anything but a grade 1, meaning that the cancer is contained within the uterus and has not spread to other areas. This is good. This means that after I undergo a total hysterectomy (scheduled for Tuesday morning), I hopefully will be fine and no radiation or chemo is necessary. They are also taking lymph nodes to test, just to be sure.  The surgery is being done laproscopically by a robot… one of only a handful of special robots in the U.S. and aren’t I lucky that there’s one in Grand Rapids. daVinci, as the machine is called, will drill a couple of holes in the abdomen and work from there. This makes surgery easier on the body and recovery much quicker. Hospital stay will be only be 1-2 days and I’ll be home be taking it easy for a while.

If I had to pick a cancer to get, this would be the one considering it’s the easist to cure and the least evasive. It’s the most common of cancers that women can get and usually happens in caucasian women in their menopausal years. The ultrasound also found that I have cysts on the ovaries and they’re coming out too. The cysts may have been there for years and years and may have been the cause of a polycystic ovarian syndrome, that if diagnosed when I was in my twenties would have prevented me from getting many of the health issues that I deal with today.  Again….. doctors that are clueless.

So I write this in hopes that someone reading will listen to their bodies and question everything… including your doctors. I tell you what…. from now on, any doctor I deal with will get the third degree… I will come armed with information that I research myself, I will insist on tests that aren’t being performed and demand to be treated with respect and dignity.

Recently:

• Back to Middle School
• Good bye 2011
• Long ago and far away
• Continuing Chaos
• what used to be the shower
• …and so the demolition begins
• Introducing……..
• Home for the Holidays
• It’s coming… the Holidays are coming!
• Artful Weekend(s)