Previvor no more

I know it's been quite awhile since I last updated my blog. Lots of things have happened since I last updated. I haven't gotten far on my proactive previvor journey, although I am still here. I can no longer be called a previvor however, because I was diagnosed with Stage 1C Uterine Cancer back in March.

It all started with me nearly bleeding to death. If it weren't for an emergency D&C that was necessary to stop the bleeding, I might not be here and I might also have a different prognosis. I don't live thinking about the "what if's" though, so I will tell you that I am very, very lucky to still be here. Anyways, the D&C was what caught the cancer early enough that it didn't spread. I had a complete hystorectomy, including ovaries, tubes and cervix. Now that might seem extreme to most, but for me it was necessary. I don't have the best genes for dealing with cancer, so it was out with everything now or wait and need surgery again in the future.

Then, after I did some healing, I went to see a Radiology Oncologist to see about getting the three internal radiation treatements that my surgeon had recommended. I almost had to have Chemotherapy (the lymphnodes were clear), so three radiation treatments seemed like nothing and I was relieved and ready to get them over with. Well, of course with me, I wasn't so lucky and had to endure 6 weeks of daily radiation treatements; 25 external and 3 internal. The doctor said that I was young and that the pathology report sent over from the surgeon showed movement present which meant that the cancer was on its way to the lympnodes. Until then I had no idea how truly lucky I was. So I accepted the 6 weeks of radiation and went back to work after 1 week of treatement. I am young, so I endured it pretty well. Digestion irritation, and some minor burns and some pretty heavy duty fatigue was all I got hit with and I recouped in about 2 months.

Losing my ovaries was the hardest part of all of this and the most difficult experience I've ever gone through (except losing my mom of course). I had just found out that I carry the BRCA 1 gene in November 2010 and then 3 months later I'm diagnosed with a cancer that came out of no where and has nothing to do with my defective gene. They are saying that it is linked to breast cancer though, so I will have to be very careful to watch my breasts. I already knew this, so at least that wasn't a shock.

Some people say that it doesn't even look like I went through anything. Those people are only friends of course. Spend one full day or even two full days with me and you'll likely see my irritibility, mood swings, crying jags and anything else that menopause causes. Oh yeah, the hot flashes are fun.

So, if you were wondering what happened to me, I didn't fall off the face of the earth, I was just battling for my life. And I can tell you now that I am truly a survivor and I hope and pray that I can always tell you that!