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My Story | Teresa S., Pennsylvania, USA
Endometrial Cancer, Stage I, grade 3, 1997 at 38
Radical hysterectomy, external and internal radiation
It was late October, 1997. My husband and I, and our two daughters, were
excited about the trip we had planned to California on November 3. But
before I went, I decided to call my gynecologist because I had some troubling
symptoms. I was having low pelvic pain and an unusual discharge; then
one day I went to the restroom at work and found blood, although I was
not having my menstrual cycle. I came back to my desk thinking that this
was very odd.
Though I was scheduled for my annual gynecological checkup in late December,
something was telling me I better contact my doctor before I went to California.
I called her on Friday and scheduled an appointment for the following
Tuesday. When I got there, she told me I shouldn't go to California with
the symptoms I was having. She thought I had some fibroid tumors, very
common in women my age (I was 38). She wanted to do a D & C (dilation
and curettage) the next day.
When I woke up in the hospital recovery room after the procedure, my
doctor came over to my bedside with a funny look on her face. She said
my uterus had an unusual thickening, that it was either pre-cancer or
cancer, and that I would probably need a hysterectomy which would put
me into surgical menopause.
My head started reeling. I had thought it was just a fibroid! She told
me she would call me the following Monday to give me the results before
I left for vacation. I remember getting up in the middle of the night
to call one of those prerecorded Tel-Med messages to hear the symptoms
of uterine cancer. I didn't have a single one.
Just two days later, on Friday, my girlfriend at work took me out to
lunch to keep my mind off things. As I was walking back to the office,
I had a terrible feeling that something bad was about to happen. Sure
enough, there was a note on my phone telling me that my gynecologist had
phoned. I knew if she was calling so soon, it wasn't good news. When I
called her office, the nurse told me she was with a patient. As soon as
she heard my name, though, she said, "Oh, hold on. She needs to talk
to you right now. I'll interrupt her."
Then, sitting at my desk at work all by myself, I got the worst news
that you can get. She told me it was indeed cancer, and a very aggressive
one. I would need to see a specialist immediately as it may have already
traveled to my lymph nodes and lungs. She gave me the name and address
of a gynecologic oncologist and told me to call him immediately. I felt
as if all the blood had run out of me. I couldn't find anyone in my office
for about ten minutes, and finally my girlfriend came back in and I told
her. I just kept saying, "She told me it could be in my lungs; I
don't want to die yet."
The oncologist said he could see me that afternoon, so I called my husband
and asked him to take me over. I remember my mouth being very dry as I
filled out the forms mechanically. The doctor wanted to examine me, and
as he felt around my stomach, he was saying that things looked hopeful.
He wanted to operate immediately, telling me that I had better cancel
my vacation because I would need to go to the hospital on Monday for a
CT (computed tomography) scan to see if the cancer spread. I would also
need additional preliminary tests before I could have the surgery on Wednesday.
So, instead of leaving for a vacation in California, I was now scheduled
for a radical hysterectomy. In one week's time, my whole world was turned
upside down. That weekend was the longest of my life. I had the tests
on Monday and then had another very long night waiting until Tuesday to
get the results of the CT scan. Every time the phone rang, I jumped. I
knew this would be one of the most important phone calls I ever received.
When the doctor finally called, he said the cancer appeared to be confined
to the uterus, but he would carefully examine all my organs during the
operation. I was to have the surgery at 11:00 a.m. but they didn't take
me until 5:00 p.m. Needless to say, it was a long day just laying there,
waiting to be wheeled into surgery.
As I went into surgery, I remember asking them to please, get it all,
because I wanted to see my two daughters (age 13 and 16) grow up. About
five days later, I learned the 20+ lymph nodes they removed all came back
negative. But since it was an aggressive cancer, I would need six weeks
of external radiation therapy as well as three internal radiation treatments.
The cancer had gone through 40% of my uterine wall. If it had reached
50%, it could have had the ability to travel to other places in the body.
If I had waited until after my vacation to see my gynecologist at my scheduled
appointment in December, the cancer may well have spread.
Having that vacation scheduled probably saved my life. I had my radiation,
and for four years have been cancer-free. But it has changed my life.
Everything happened so fast that it took me awhile to accept it. I had
panic attacks, and needed to see a psychiatrist who put me on medication
to get me through that first year. I also talked to a psychologist during
my radiation treatments. Even though four years have passed, I still anxiously
hope for a good report from my oncologist every six months.
Having cancer makes you reevaluate your entire life by forcing you to
recognize what is important. It changes you physically, emotionally, as
well as spiritually. Now that I have this valuable new perspective of
what is really important, I want to live a long life to be able to take
full advantage of it.
January 2002
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