MRI Results and Surgery Scheduled

First of all, I should say that I had an amazing Thanksgiving yesterday, with our family.  It was the first Thanksgiving in the new house, and it was wonderful to share that with everyone.  Even in the midst of so many challenges, it was great to be able to pause and be thankful for the wonderful people and things in our lives.  With more food than we knew what to do with, and a fantastic Redskins win, the day was nearly perfect!  However, running through the back of my mind, was the news we got from the oncologist on Wednesday morning.

 On Wednesday, David and I met with the oncologist and his team to receive the MRI results and determine a treatment plan for the cancer.  The doctor confirmed that the cancer has spread some, and has invaded my uterine wall.  It is still unclear whether it has spread into the surrounding organs.  This means that the treatment options are fairly straightforward and a hysterectomy is necessary.  The doctors won’t know until the day of the surgery whether it will be a partial or a complete hysterectomy. At a minimum, they will definitely need to remove the uterus and cervix. During the surgery, they will do some biopsies and checking of other organs to determine the spread of the cancer.  If there is any cancer in other areas, there remains the possibility that the doctors will also remove the ovaries, fallopian tubes and lymph nodes. 

 Given that the cancer has spread, the recommendation is to move rather quickly with the surgery, in order to ensure it does not continue to spread.  The surgery date will be a week from now, Friday, November 30.  They said I can expect to remain in the hospital 3-4 nights, and the recovery may be slow afterwards.  There are so many details to get in order, both personally and professionally before the surgery.  However, I want to move as quickly as possible to have the best chance at curing the cancer.

Once the surgery is complete, the doctor will be able to give us a preliminary report on the staging, spread and treatment of the cancer. However, all organs and samples will be sent to the lab.  The complete pathology report will take 10-12 days to be finalized.  Once the final pathology report comes back, we will know whether or not additional medication or treatments, such as radiation, are necessary.  Those recommendations depend upon the spread and aggressiveness of the cancer.

For 6 weeks after the surgery, I will be unable to lift anything larger than about 5 lbs.  I suspect this will be harder than I imagine, but David has been a saint so far, and will definitely continue to be an amazing support.  I’m sure he will take care of everything that I need! I am also very blessed and have had several friends offer to provide assistance in any way possible.

For now, this is what I know:

November 30: Surgery date: 9am at VCU. Surgery will take between 1.5-4.5 hours, depending on what they determine during surgery, and how many organs need to be removed

October 3 or 4: Hope to be released from the hospital

The recovery time is very uncertain.  The doctor said that it will take about 6 weeks to fully recover. I will be very limited in the physical activities that I can do during this time.  The physical recovery will be fairly significant, as the doctor will have to do the surgery through an open vertical incision in my abdomen, which will need time to heal.

It is unclear how long I will need to be out of work.  I am EXTREMELY fortunate to work in an environment where my supervisors and co-workers are so incredible. To say they are supportive is an understatement.  They have offered to step in and assist with my responsibilities, offered to share sick leave with me, and generally been amazing.  I feel very lucky in this sense.

The emotional side of this diagnosis has been the most difficult, and the reason it has taken me a few days to write the update.  I was devastated at the confirmation that I will never be able to carry a child of my own. I always felt that I was meant to have children. When I pictured my future, it always included a child of my own. While I know that God has a plan, and there are more ways to be a parent than biologically giving birth, it is still so painful.  I feel sad, angry, depressed and frustrated at the diagnosis.  I feel like something was taken away from me when I got the news in the doctor’s office. There is no question, we have to treat the cancer first, and worry about the rest later. Even with this diagnosis, I am still lucky that I have a treatable form of cancer.

Over time, as I physically and emotionally heal, I’m sure David and I can explore adoption and other avenues for becoming parents.  The financial costs for those processes are astronomical, and may make them a stretch for us.  Only time will tell.  I keep reminding myself to try and focus on one thing at a time.  Let’s get healthy, that is step 1, and right now, is the only part of this that we can worry about.

Thank you so much for all of your support.  Even with this disappointing news, I still have so much to be thankful for, and today I am going to choose to focus on those.  I have wonderful friends, family, co-workers, and a team of doctors in which I have complete confidence.

Thank you again and I wish you all a wonderful holiday!

 

Erika