The Phone Call

Why am I writing this? Well, first and foremost, it’s a journal of sorts for me to keep track of my experiences while on this journey. And I guess secondly, maybe my experiences can serve as a warning to others out there to have your regular check-ups or give you some insight for when you need to give comfort to someone who has just learned that they too have cancer.I will never forget the day that my gynecologist, Dr. Gyno, said “Sara, its endometrial adenocarcinoma. Cancer.” My heart stopped and everything went in slow motion, kind of like when two long lost lovers run in slow motion towards each other across a field of flowers. In my case, there was no happy ending just time stopping and everything moving like molasses in winter. No fade to black as the happy couple kisses. Just the most horrible word in the English language: CANCER.  I vaguely remember Dr. Gyno telling me that it was very common in women my age, it’s very treatable and a bunch of other statistics that were supposed to comfort me. I know he was trying to help, but when you are told that your own body is trying to kill you, the only thing you really want to hear is “Oh, my bad. Those aren’t your test results. You just have a yeast infection. Sorry.”

How did this all start? Well, the beginning of this tale is about a pain in my ass. No joke. In August of 2010, I had surgery, performed by Dr. Surgeon, to clean out a large abscess I had grown in my left butt cheek. It healed, mostly, then grew back again in August of 2011 and I went back for another surgery.  Then we rinse, lather and repeat the same surgery in October, November and December. Now, I must follow up with, this was not because of any lack of skill on my surgeons part. My body was healing faster than it should, leaving little pockets for the infection to grow back into. Now, right before the surgery in December, Dr. Surgeon sent me to have an MRI of my abdomen. The thought here was that there was a tract between the abscesses that was passing the infection back and forth. While reading the MRI, Dr. Surgeon saw that my uterus was enlarged. OK, now I have to back up a little here too. I had been having an almost constant period for about a year. Why didn’t I get this checked out? Honestly, I was having so much trouble with my butt; I thought I would just address one medical issue at a time.  So Dr. Surgeon sends me for a pelvic and transvaginal ultrasound. Basically, internally and externally they looked at my uterus and ovaries. From there, I was referred to Dr. Gyno who did a pelvic exam and pap smear. He told me I needed a D&C during the December butt surgery. Not only did Dr. Surgeon and Dr. Gyno operate on me during that surgery, I also had Dr. Proctologist assisting. His job was to add drains into the abscesses so that they could heal at the correct rate.  The result of that D&C from that surgery is what lead to that fateful phone call.