Do You Want to Live?

When I met with my oncologist to discuss my course of action following surgery, staple removal and the full biopsy report, he informed me that I wouldn’t need chemo or radiation. I was happy to learn this. He explained to me that all of the cancer had been removed from my body during my first surgery when the tumor was removed. Unfortunately, because my OBGYN did not know what she would find during the surgery, when the tumor was removed some of the tissue surrounding the tumor broke. This could allow cancer cells to leak into the abdomen and pelvis and is called surgical spill, which is reason to be concerned. Because of this I was initially diagnosed at stage 1 which later turned into stage 1C. He stated that my course of action would include following up with blood tests every three months to test levels of inhibin A & B. Unbeknownst to me, prior to surgery they had tested these levels and noticed that they were higher and so thought that this would be a good indicator to detect if cancer was present. In addition to the blood test they gave me a CT Scan immediately and once a year from that point on he wants me to have a CT scan for a baseline comparison. In the event anything ever shows up again they will have an idea of how things looked right after surgery and how it looks now.

 At this same time my doctor asked me if I wanted to live. I wondered why he would ask me this because, of course, I did. He then said I was going to have to make some changes. The changes included my eating habits. He suggested I get on a 1200 calorie diet. I asked about working out when the time came and he said he didn’t think that was all that important. He was focused on my eating. He said if I wanted to live I had to lose weight. This was easy for the time being because I was still on a restricted diet from surgery, but I ultimately knew I needed to make changes but wasn’t sure how easy this would be to do on my own.

Happy Resurrection Day!

Because HE died, we may live! Anybody glad that HE did?! My Saviour Lives! Happy Resurrection Day! 🙌🏾

God is on MY Side...

Psalm 56:9 

My doctor’s orders were to take 6 to eight weeks to heal from my surgery. During this timeframe I was on a lot of pain medication which caused me to sleep for most of the day. I was to follow-up with my doctor if I noticed anything that wasn’t a part of my “new normal” and certainly to follow-up with my oncologist about getting my staples removed and follow-up treatment.

About a week after being home my breathing wasn’t right and it seemed like my heart was almost skipping a beat. I knew something was off and I thought perhaps it was due to the medicine but I didn’t want to take any risks. I called my oncologist on his “after hours line” and he got right back to me. He was concerned that I may have a blood clot which is normal, however very serious after the kind of surgery I had and the fact that I wasn’t moving around a lot. He instructed me to go to emergency immediately. The first thing the doctors checked was my heart, so I had an EKG done. Then they checked for blood clots and saw none and then finally I had a CT Scan and waited for the results.

The results came back and the doctor informed me that my heart was enlarged. Enlarged?! I couldn’t believe my ears and quite honestly, I was fed up. Hadn’t I gone through enough? Was I under attack? Was it not enough that I had cancer at 25, had two surgeries and now this? The doctor was adamant that this was the case and wanted me to stay until the next morning so I could see a cardiologist. I spent yet another night in the hospital. The next morning I waited and waited and found out that a cardiologist wasn’t going to be available for quite some time. I asked to be released. I just couldn’t spend another hour in the hospital. I had just gotten out of the hospital and I wasn’t expecting to go back so soon. The doctor was against my decision and made me sign a waiver to leave. It honestly didn’t sit well with me; I just couldn’t believe that after having two surgeries that an enlarged heart wouldn’t have been caught so I gladly signed the forms and agreed to follow-up with a cardiologist of my choosing.

Upon returning home I called my primary doctor to let her know what was going on and she referred me to a cardiologist. I scheduled an appointment for the following week. When I went for my appointment they ran several tests and the doctors confirmed my thoughts that my heart wasn’t enlarged, but it did appear that there was some fluid on it and that was normal given I just had surgery.

Later that week I had my staples removed and it was pretty painless until they got to my lower abdominal region. I was finally on my way to truly healing and happy to be on this road of recovery. I knew that cancer was removed from my body, both surgeries were now behind me and although totally unexpected issues with my heart had arose, they had been ruled out and now the staples that were binding me together were gone. I had a little pep in my step; I think both figuratively and literally. It was like the staples really had me bound and bent over, but once removed I was able to stand a lot better on my own. I guess I never considered my entire journey. I now know it wasn’t and still isn’t going to be easy and some days will be harder than others, but one thing I do know that is certain is that God is on my side and with Him I can overcome anything.

I Hope to Never See You Here Again....

Once I finally made it home from the hospital after surgery #2 I was hit with a whirlwind of emotions. The morning that they told me I was going home I was elated about the news. I recall getting dressed and being wheeled to the lobby, but before I left all the nurses came by my room to give me a hug and one thing they all said that stuck out was, “ I hope to never see you here again.” I had grown an attachment to these nurses over the past couple of weeks and although I was happy to be going home I knew that I would miss them and their genuine concern, prayers and the 24 hour care I received from them. I guess I didn’t know what to really expect because I had heard so many horror stories of how nurses treated patients and so on, but this was not my experience. I was really grateful for them and it truly made me appreciate my oncologist, OB/GYN, the nursing staff, (whom I have since visited), and even the hospital itself.


Once I stepped foot on the other side of the doors I appreciated the fresh air. Going through a traumatic experience changes something on the inside of you. For me, it was being thankful for all of the small things and taking focus off things that really didn’t matter. I read somewhere, “It made me slow down and realize the important things and not sweat the small stuff.” This was true for me as well. When you undergo the knife not once but twice, you honestly don’t know if you will make it out. whether you will wake from surgery, if you will wake with all of your organs, or at least the ones you thought you would, if your organs will function the same and certainly when and if you’ll be going home. So when I got up from the wheelchair and smelled the fresh air, I could have cried because, let’s be honest, the hospital is filled with an array of smells many of which are unpleasant. I could have cried because I was leaving a place that had become home, I was leaving a place that had become comfortable and all of those concerns I had, had been lifted. It hit me that I was going home and I was cancer free. I knew my story wasn’t over and there would still be many hills to climb, but this day was the first of many blessed days to come because, unlike some, I made it out.

 

Endometriosis Awareness Month

 

Have you or anyone you know been affected by endometriosis? I wasn’t very familiar with this until a few years ago when my coworker experienced the very painful and quality of life effects of it. Well, I learned that March is Endometriosis Awareness Month and it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t shed some light on this condition that affects 176 million women worldwide. It’s very important because it is the biggest cause of infertility in women.

 

Endometriosis is a painful condition that affects an estimated one in 10 women during their reproductive years. Of the 176 million affected women worldwide it usually begins between the ages of 15 and 49. This conditions means that tissue (the endometrium), which lines the inside of a woman’s uterus, grows outside the uterus. It can involve the ovaries, bowel or the tissue lining the pelvis. When a woman has endometriosis, tissue acts like it is supposed to, except that it is thick, breaks down and bleeds with each menstrual cycle. Since the tissue is displaced it has no way to exit the body. This means that surrounding tissue can become irritated and eventually lead to scar formation and adhesions. The biggest problem as mentioned with endometriosis is infertility, however, it is estimated that up to 70 percent of mild to moderate cases will eventually allow for pregnancy without treatment.

 

Risk factors include:

• Family history- if you have a family member who has had it
• Pregnancy history- women who haven’t had children have higher risk
• Menstrual history- women with short, heavier or longer than normal cycles may be at higher risk

Symptoms:

• Pelvic pain-most common
• Painful periods
• Pain following intercourse
• Discomfort with bowel movements
• Heavy bleeding during or between cycles
• Lower back pain
• Inability to get pregnant

Are You Willing to be a Sacrifice?!

I had an amazing week celebrating my cancerversary. It was my first and I'm believing it's the first of many, many years of celebrating Gods healing and miraculous works in my life. On my actual cancerversary date I celebrated at dinner with family to surprise my great-aunt on her birthday. It was important to me to celebrate her because this is the same aunt who flew to MI just last year to help take care of me, provide support and comfort to my husband and to see to the needs of our home after my surgery. It's just a testament to her that one year she would fly here to take care of me and the next year to celebrate with me. God is truly good and certainly in the blessing business.

I ended the week with a Cancerversary Celebration dinner party with 50 of our friends and family. It was an amazing time, an amazing outpouring of support and love and I was totally speechless by it all. As I mentioned before, you truly realize how blessed you are when you consider some women do not make it one year after their diagnosis, or much worse even two months after diagnosis as I mentioned in an earlier post.

I want to end this post with what I consider the most important point of all. I can recall right after diagnosis that I would often debate with myself, or perhaps it was the turmoil in my mind, about whether to question God on WHY ME? Why would He allow something like this to happen to ME? I was faithful. Hadn't I been through enough? What if my parents had to bury me and were then left childless or my husband had to bury me and be left all alone? These kinds of thoughts were running through my mind and really before they set in, or before I even considered speaking these things, God had already answered. The first thing he said was, “Why not you? Have you considered that not all things you go through are only just for you? You will gain something from this and so will many others.” Well, it wasn't until my cousin posted the image below that I was reminded of that. She told me that it was after I was diagnosed with cancer that her faith in God had increased because of me. She wasn’t the first to say this, but boy, when I saw it written it really sparked something in me! I want you all to remember that not everything you go through is simply just for you. God uses situations like this to get the attention of His people. Are you willing to be a sacrifice?!