Hi Dodi and Jackie and anyone else who cares!I am writing a quick journal so you know I am home, and then going to get off the computer again. I am in a lot of pain. The surgery took 6 hours! He did 6 small incisions and said I had a lot of scar tissue that he removed and my uterus was enlarged. He will let me know about the pathology in a few days. But he said everything looked good and he got it all and my bowels, etc were clean. I am sore and bruised and my stomach feels like it is going to fall off! I will be reading your notes later when I can sit longer. I know you both were writing. I am praying for you Dodi, I know you have a big day tomorrow. Thank you both for caring and letting me know that I am not alone!Love ya!Theresa
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I feel so bad, wish you were not feeling so crumby. I am so encouraged by your doctor words .. \"everything looked good\".
I pray that you are more comfortable each day.
Yes, tomorrow is my first chemotherapy session. Aren\'t we a couple of lame ducks?!!!!! We\'re going to make it girl.
Blessings
Dodi
Don\'t feel bad for me. I\'ve got pain killers! And I am testing myself to see how much pain I can handle! It feels good to walk, and know that I\'m not laying around. I think I already feel better that the cancer is out.
I will be praying for you dear Dodi. Stay strong!
Find something to keep in your head when it gets tough, like a Bible verse. Keep telling yourself positive things. We will make it through this together!
Love ya!
Theresa! I am so glad you are home and you are able to sit at the computer!!! Dodi and I have been wondering how you were doing. I\'m so glad that it\'s over for you and praying you are pain-free soon!
Love, Jackie
I am glad I\'m home too Jackie! I\'m more comfortable recovering here. I\'m still in a lot of pain and have big lumps and swelling over my stomach area, but I am already feeling better as far as general health. I think I\'m doing better than expected! You two have been such an amazing blessing through this process. I know it\'s not over, but I can\'t say that enough!
I\'m praying for Dodi today.
I\'m so happy that we can be here for you Theresa. Yes it\'s quite an experience isn\'t it! Have you thought that maybe it will end here for you Theresa? You won\'t know until you receive the Pathology report, but you may not have to have Radiation, some people don\'t! That would be great, that\'s what I was hoping for but when they told me..I just took it in stride and considered it the next step to getting well!!
It is quite an experience! And I want to mention that I\'m very glad that you continue to support others with your experience. I certainly appreciate it!
I don\'t know if it will end here. It would be-I can\'t think of the words. I think I\'m afraid to think about it! I would love it to be the last thing, but I don\'t want to get my hopes up!
I continue to help others and in turn I find it is helping me! After my surgery and then radiation, I didn\'t even want to hear the word Cancer and I think I put it to the back of my mind. Only within the last 6 months have I actually faced what I went through! I had lots of support from my family and friends but none of them had really experience what I had gone through so I decided I needed to help others and emotionally it would help me and it has! I love knowing that my experience in some small way makes yours just a little easier. How are you feeling today?
hehehehehe.. It is so amusing but heart-warming when I hear others say and feel the same things I have. I also said that when this is finished, \"I don\'t want to hear the C-word ever again!!!\"
The discomfort from the surgery will greatly improve in your second week post-surgery. I remember that first week, it was a real challenge. I am typing this from the hospital on my laptop. I have been on my intrevenous drugs now for 3 hours now. The good news is I am tolerating it all well... so you see Theresa we have the strength to go ahead. Take a prescription from Paul. (Philippians 4:4-7)
Blessings
Dodi
Well, I can see I\'m going to have to get me a laptop! :)
I missed a call from the clinic today wanting to set up an appointment with the doctor for next week. So I\'ll have to call them tomorrow.
I have always tried to help others with my experiences, and I will take an example from the two of you! Can I ask Jackie, what you meant by only the last six months have you faced what you went through?
Are either of you on estrogen or anything like that? My doctor said we would wait and see how I do. I\'m wondering, will I be like a 70 year-old woman now and dry up? What happens after this? Of course I need to see if I need continued treatment first before I get ahead of myself.
I can see your faith is keeping us strong Dodi!
What I meant by facing up to it Theresa was this: I felt good and I didn\'t want to think about the \"C\" word. I wanted to feel \"normal\" so I stayed away from anything Cancer related. Then one day I felt ready and that\'s why I looked up this website. I thought that I should be sharing and in some way maybe helping someone else get through their diagnosis and treatment. I have been told they don\'t recommend HRT for anyone who has had Cancer. I guess some estrogen remains for awhile. I am going to try natural alternatives and diet and exercise.
That makes sense. Seems natural to not want to be involved with cancer. But I\'m so glad that you are on this website! Your help has been so valuable to me, and your information, but mostly your support and understanding are priceless.
I remember the doctor saying that hormones can contribute to cancer, so it would not be the first option for me.
The clinic called me today. I had a two week follow-up with a different doctor, but my doctor told his assistant to cancel that one because he wanted to see how I\'m recovering himself, and he wants to see me this Tuesday! I think that is a good sign that he is a caring doctor, and hopefully nothing else. The pathology reports should be in then maybe too.
Thanks Theresa I\'m glad I could be on this site too! That\'s great you are seeing your doctor soon. I hope the pathology comes back so you don\'t have to wait any longer! Do you have staples or stitches that have to be removed?
Hi Jackie,
I do not have staples or stitches. I have little sticky tapes on each of the six incisions. Two have already come off, so I put bandaides on them. I think the doctor may know how hard of a time I would be having recovering with my back problems and Fibromyalgia and being so long in surgery. I told one friend that he wanted to personally see me, and she said, \"That\'s a bad sign\" Then she said, \"But don\'t worry about it!\" OK......
I wanted to ask, how long does your stomach hurt and stay bloated normally? And do you wear anything to hold it up? It is dropping down onto my thighs lately, I think it\'s loose skin. I feel like I should be wearing pregnant pants!
I am resting today. I think I tried to hard to get better fast, and maybe overdid it. Does that sound like something I\'d do?
I had a sideways incision just at the bikini line (as if I wear a bikini!!) and I had staples. The doctor removed them about 6 days later. My stomach didn\'t seem bloated probably because the incision was done differently. Did they explain why they did six incisions? Maybe they do it differently in the US. Dodi had a single one too only I think hers was a vertical one. I can\'t believe your friend said that to you! Your doctor probably just wants to check on your incisions! He would never have gotten the pathology back that quickly! Yes my stomach was definitely drooping which made my incision uncomfortable since it was below the fold of skin! Make sure you rest...you had major surgery only about 5 days ago. My friend had hers on Feb. 24 and I visited her on March 4th and she was still on the couch in the family room. She has a two storey house and cant climb the stairs yet! So you are doing well, sitting up at the computer! She also had an incision like mine, but the surgeron used glue instead of staples!!! Isnt that funny?
I thought the doctor was only going to do four small incisions, but I ended up with six, and I don\'t know why yet. I\'m better today, not as much problem getting up I noticed and getting around! All I remember him saying is that my uterus was enlarged and he had to cut out a lot of extra scar tissue, as if to explain the other two incisions. I\'m sure I will find out more on Tuesday when I\'m more clear-headed. My husband and daughter didn\'t get or understand much either, as I guess they were more focused on me recovering at the time. I\'ve been looking at pictures, and I can see that I had a radical hysterectomy, plus the lymph nodes. I still have to find them! I think he also took out part of the vagina along with the cervix from the feeling I get \"down there\". Things are definitely different!
So now they are gluing people back together! They used tape on me. We sound like a craft\'s project, staples, glue, and tape!
When exactly was your surgery again? About a year ago, I know that. Have you had any problems health-wise since? Did you lose any weight out of it? Did you have trouble getting your muscle tone back?
I must be here to drive you crazy with questions!