I apologize for taking so long to write anything. I have been going through some emotional and stressful issues and I didn't want to write until I knew what was going on. You may want to go get a coffee because this is going to be a long one!
On November 1, I woke up with severe cramping and thought I just needed to go to the bathroom (you know what I mean). I got up and went into the bathroom and noticed that I was bleeding. I just made it to the toilet and started gushing blood. I instantly started panicking because I was told in July that I was fully through menopause (induced by Chemo and Tamoxifen). There was no chance of a period or getting pregnant. So obviously, all this blood was a real concern for me. Coincidentally, I had my year follow up with my oncologist the next day.
I didn't sleep well and was crying all night! Your mind immediately goes to a bad place after you have been diagnosed with Cancer. I guess that is a normal thing and something that I will have to get used to....I just need to make sure that it doesn't consume me or else I won't be able to enjoy life! I got ready for my appointment and made my way to the hospital. Once there, I met with my nurse Anna first to discuss the past year. She took notes and said how wonderful I look and that my reconstruction looks great! But when I started to tell her about what happened the day before, she became concerned. She excused herself from the examining room to consult with my oncologist.
Dr. Rajagopal came in to examine me and discuss what was happening. She told me to make an appointment immediately with my family doctor and have her run some blood work, do an internal and schedule an internal ultrasound. She didn't want to worry me but also wanted to rule out a few things. Luckily, my family doctor is in the building next to the hospital so after leaving the hospital, I immediately went to my family doctor's office to make an appointment.
When I arrived at my doctor's office, I told the secretary what had been happening and that Dr. Rajagopal wanted me checked sooner rather than later. The secretary went to relay the information to my doctor and they decided that they could take me right away. I was starting to worry about what they were thinking because they were all reacting with such urgency...which I am so very thankful for. Dr. Zarifa took me in to the exam room and did an internal and took some swabs. She told me that she was going to refer me to a Gynecologist who deals with cancer patients, schedule a biopsy and schedule an internal ultrasound to be done immediately. She continued to tell me that she agreed with my oncologist that this could possibly be an early sign of endometrial cancer (uterine cancer). I immediately broke down...I couldn't even imagine that these words were being told to me. Dr. Zarifa quickly comforted me by saying that this could be just my ovaries trying to kick in. (She wasn't the doctor who told me I was in menopause...it was an intern in her office). When I told her about the appointment in July, she warned me that blood work can not determine for sure if you are in menopause, especially at my age. That gave me a little bit of hope that it was my silly ovaries trying to give another kick at the bucket!
Dr. Zarifa sent me to diagnostic imaging with the requisition. They quickly rearranged appointments and scheduled me in for the following day. I went for my internal ultra sound which was extremely uncomfortable...luckily, I wasn't bleeding that day. The technician did the ultrasound and told me results would take about a week. In the meantime, I was able to see a specialist to have a biopsy done...I thought the ultra sound was uncomfortable...man, this hurt like a bugger!! Remind me to never go to an appointment like this by myself again!! I need support...there, I said it!! :) The specialist told me that the results would take a month to come back....what?...a month!! I can't wait a month to find out if my life is going to take a drastic turn again!!
A week went by and I received a call from Dr. Zarifa...the biopsy that was taken was not viable!! What the f%&k?? Are you serious? The specialist didn't get any tissue, it was all blood! She had the appointment for the gynecologist scheduled for the following week and she would do the biopsy.
I called the gynecologist's office a few days before my appointment to see if I was to take a dilation pill for the biopsy (I had to take one the night before my last biopsy). The secretary told me that I wasn't having a biopsy it was just a consultation...ugh...more delay!! When I arrived to my appointment, I was prepared for a consultation....when I was brought into the exam room...the doctor came in and told me that she was going to do the biopsy that day!! OMG....I was not ready for that!! I needed support!!! The gynecologist was very compassionate and took her time going through my life story. Asking a thousand questions and telling me what this could possibly be. Once again, a very uncomfortable procedure but it was done! The gynecologist really eased my mind and told me that she felt it was more a case of my ovaries trying to kick in (because of my age) than it would be cancer. She said the biopsy was very clean and that was a good indicator that it wouldn't be anything. She told me to call her office in two weeks for the results.
This past Thursday was the two week mark so I was full of anxiety all week....and then I received a call on Wednesday from the doctor's office....my test results from the biopsy were back and everything was normal!!! Everything looked great!!! OMG...I felt like a thousand pounds was lifted off my shoulders!!
I am just so grateful for all my doctors and the urgency they show when dealing with me! It makes me feel like if there ever was anything, they would catch it before it amounted to anything!
On another note, my expansion process is going really well. I have had two more done since my last post (it was supposed to be three but one was cancelled). The last fill made a huge difference and I will post pictures soon! They are going to slow things down a bit because my radiated side is getting tight and they want my skin to have more time to adjust between fills. That's fine by me because I am not even close to the size I want to be and I will do whatever I have to to get to that point. So because of this, my surgery will not be in the early New Year like I had hoped!
So, that is what has been going on with me and I didn't want to write anything until I knew for sure what the results would be....I didn't want family and friends worrying!
Be positive, be strong and continue to pray!!
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