My Story...
Also, cancer, you ruined the rest of my summer! š”
I've never had a blog before. I've read some really interesting and fun ones. I had always thought I should start a blog, but not this way. My apologies that this is so long. In the future, I promise it won'tš
I am a firm believer in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. God has a purpose, a plan. His plan is not always what my plan is, but I believe He is sending me through this journey so I can one day help others...
⇒Here's my story and I'm sticking to it...
Almost my whole life I have had to deal Endometriosis. As far back as I can remember...I have always had pain, cramping! See former high school P.E. teachers, I wasn't lying when I said I couldn't participate today because of cramping! šWhen my husband and I were ready to start a family, we had major issues. We went through IVF multiple, multiple, multiple times! I was pumped with so much hormones! Surprisingly, I was never moody š Matt and I now have 2 beautiful busy daughters, Elizabeth (11 years old...in just a few days) and Maddy (9 years old).
⇒Summer š
As soon as summer started, I started feeling more pain. At first I thought it was because I wasn't as busy as I am during the school year. I was paying more attention to my body and what it was telling me. The pain was so bad, I finally made a doctors appointment. Only the appointment available was about 3 weeks out. Over the next few weeks, I started to notice bloating in my abdomen. Had I been having so much fun this summer, the cocktails were making me bloated??? š¹ I couldn't sleep, I couldn't run, but I still had my appetite! šššš When we returned from our family vacation, Matt took the initiative and called my doctor to move up my appointment. It helps to have a husband who has his doctor connections! šØ My doctor called me right back and she was able to fit me in that same day. My OB was very concerned and ordered me an ultrasound the very next day. With the grace of God, Matt was able review the results right away. A very noticeable 7cm mass, what appeared to be a cyst on my left ovary, was staring back at us! Matt was able to get me in a local office for an MRI. Again, he reviewed the results early and it was not a cyst, it was a solid f'n mass! Matt sent me to get a CA 125 blood test. This is a test to determine if ovarian cancer may be present. This was a Friday and we wouldn't get the results back until TUESDAY! Needless to say, it was a very long long weekend. When we received those results, it was pretty evident that cancer might be the outcome. With the CA 125, normal is under 50...mine was 779! Cancer until proven not. If you don't know Matt, he loves to do research! He was on a mission to research the best Gynecological Oncologist. Matt had narrowed his prospectives down to 2 doctors. One at UCLA and another here in Newport. At this point, we now had to face the battle with INSURANCE!!!!! š” Long Long Long story short, we saw Dr. Abaid in Newport 2 days later. The day we met with her was actually the day I was supposed to see my OB originally. This all was going very fast, thanks to my hubby! Dr. Abaid just happened to have room for me to go into surgery the very next day! Again, God's miracle! That night we encountered more insurance troubles...won't go into that, at least not yet! I had the surgery at Hoag in Newport, so awesome in so many ways! They treated my family and I like royalty! The CEO even introduced himself to my amazing husband! During surgery, they performed a full hysterectomy, removed the mother f'r (the tumor, which was actually 11.5 cm) removed my omentum (fatty layer that lays over the intestines), 3 sets of lymph nodes, a section of the outside of my colon, and a biopsy of my diaphragm. I have been on bedrest for a week now! I don't know what's worse, the pain after surgery or waiting for results?!?!
⇒Results
It's been confirmed that I have stage 3A ovarian cancer. Even though the tumor was removed, it had secreted fluid into my abdomen and diaphragm. The fluid was filled with rare microscopic cancer cells. 99% of the cancer is gone just because of the surgery (which was all done robotically so no major incisions...quicker healing). Because there were only isolated cells and no other solid tumors present, the treatments options are much better. The oncologist feels that at my "young age and good health" I will undergo the more aggressive chemotherapy that can put it into complete remission.
⇒What's next
I will go through six 3 week cycles of chemotherapy (about 4 1/2 months total). Part of it will go into the veins through IV like traditional chemo, and some will actually be pumped into my abdominal cavity. This way the chemo can be absorbed into any possible space that these bastard microscopic cells have gone. It is definitely more aggressive and I will have more side effects, but I'm ready to kick some cancer ass!
I've never had a blog before. I've read some really interesting and fun ones. I had always thought I should start a blog, but not this way. My apologies that this is so long. In the future, I promise it won'tš
I am a firm believer in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. God has a purpose, a plan. His plan is not always what my plan is, but I believe He is sending me through this journey so I can one day help others...
⇒Here's my story and I'm sticking to it...
Almost my whole life I have had to deal Endometriosis. As far back as I can remember...I have always had pain, cramping! See former high school P.E. teachers, I wasn't lying when I said I couldn't participate today because of cramping! šWhen my husband and I were ready to start a family, we had major issues. We went through IVF multiple, multiple, multiple times! I was pumped with so much hormones! Surprisingly, I was never moody š Matt and I now have 2 beautiful busy daughters, Elizabeth (11 years old...in just a few days) and Maddy (9 years old).
⇒Summer š
As soon as summer started, I started feeling more pain. At first I thought it was because I wasn't as busy as I am during the school year. I was paying more attention to my body and what it was telling me. The pain was so bad, I finally made a doctors appointment. Only the appointment available was about 3 weeks out. Over the next few weeks, I started to notice bloating in my abdomen. Had I been having so much fun this summer, the cocktails were making me bloated??? š¹ I couldn't sleep, I couldn't run, but I still had my appetite! šššš When we returned from our family vacation, Matt took the initiative and called my doctor to move up my appointment. It helps to have a husband who has his doctor connections! šØ My doctor called me right back and she was able to fit me in that same day. My OB was very concerned and ordered me an ultrasound the very next day. With the grace of God, Matt was able review the results right away. A very noticeable 7cm mass, what appeared to be a cyst on my left ovary, was staring back at us! Matt was able to get me in a local office for an MRI. Again, he reviewed the results early and it was not a cyst, it was a solid f'n mass! Matt sent me to get a CA 125 blood test. This is a test to determine if ovarian cancer may be present. This was a Friday and we wouldn't get the results back until TUESDAY! Needless to say, it was a very long long weekend. When we received those results, it was pretty evident that cancer might be the outcome. With the CA 125, normal is under 50...mine was 779! Cancer until proven not. If you don't know Matt, he loves to do research! He was on a mission to research the best Gynecological Oncologist. Matt had narrowed his prospectives down to 2 doctors. One at UCLA and another here in Newport. At this point, we now had to face the battle with INSURANCE!!!!! š” Long Long Long story short, we saw Dr. Abaid in Newport 2 days later. The day we met with her was actually the day I was supposed to see my OB originally. This all was going very fast, thanks to my hubby! Dr. Abaid just happened to have room for me to go into surgery the very next day! Again, God's miracle! That night we encountered more insurance troubles...won't go into that, at least not yet! I had the surgery at Hoag in Newport, so awesome in so many ways! They treated my family and I like royalty! The CEO even introduced himself to my amazing husband! During surgery, they performed a full hysterectomy, removed the mother f'r (the tumor, which was actually 11.5 cm) removed my omentum (fatty layer that lays over the intestines), 3 sets of lymph nodes, a section of the outside of my colon, and a biopsy of my diaphragm. I have been on bedrest for a week now! I don't know what's worse, the pain after surgery or waiting for results?!?!
⇒Results
It's been confirmed that I have stage 3A ovarian cancer. Even though the tumor was removed, it had secreted fluid into my abdomen and diaphragm. The fluid was filled with rare microscopic cancer cells. 99% of the cancer is gone just because of the surgery (which was all done robotically so no major incisions...quicker healing). Because there were only isolated cells and no other solid tumors present, the treatments options are much better. The oncologist feels that at my "young age and good health" I will undergo the more aggressive chemotherapy that can put it into complete remission.
⇒What's next
I will go through six 3 week cycles of chemotherapy (about 4 1/2 months total). Part of it will go into the veins through IV like traditional chemo, and some will actually be pumped into my abdominal cavity. This way the chemo can be absorbed into any possible space that these bastard microscopic cells have gone. It is definitely more aggressive and I will have more side effects, but I'm ready to kick some cancer ass!
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