Just less than 3 weeks ago I had no idea that I would be diagnosed with Uterine Cancer - lucky on one hand that it was detected. Supposedly it is rare to have at my age. Typically it manifests in women in their 50's to 70's. There are no symptoms. I happened to have some symptoms of a prolonged menstrual cycle accompanied by ever increasing pelvic pain. I was encouraged by the nurses at the clinic where I work to seek medical attention after I described my symptoms.
The details somewhat elude me in the last 2 weeks as things happened so fast!
I had 3 urgent care visits. During the first urgent care visit several tests were given to rule out pregnancy. One of the tests was an ultra-sound - that showed a mass inside my uterus. At this juncture Cancer could not be confirmed. That would take more testing to determine. The Urgent Care doctor was going to refer me to a gynocologist. The wait for that would have taken at least 2 weeks to get an appointment. I instead called a private practice Ob/gyn M.D. I knew well and that I had established care with previously.
I called her office and described my symptoms. I was seen the very next day. During the physical examination she did note something unusual and had to send out a specimen for biopsy. She then referred me to a gyno/oncologist, Dr Bahador. At this point I knew I would have to scramble to get my records together and have releases signed - just in case.
W/in the next several days I ended up in Urgent Care 2 more days, and mom worked hard to make sure all my records were transferred to Dr Bahador. I was scheduled to have an appt w/ Dr Bahador on Jul 22nd.
To recap that week: From Tues to Friday I was in the Urgent Care 3 times with symptoms of ever increasing pelvic pain. On Saturday the pain was so bad that my husband and mom took me to the ER. The ER doctor was going to release me from the hospital with the same medication (percocet) as I had received in Urgent Care. Obviously the pain medication was not working and I needed something stronger. My husband was able to help me be admitted to the hospital - if at least for pain management.
Within the next 3 days I met and was examined by Dr Bahador, had a CT scan, and a PET scan.
Upon the initial physical exam by Dr Bahador he did confirm that it was cancer. The extent of how much it spread was confirmed by the CT and PET scan. After the tests I was advised that I am at a level 3c in stages 1 through 4. 4 being the most difficult to treat.
Dr Bahador gave the foundation of my treatment plan which so far consists of: 1) 3 rounds of chemo over 9 weeks 2) possibly surgery at this time if it is determined more chemo is not required. 3) after surgery more chemo 4) radiation. This is subject to change based on treatment factors and how the cancer responds to said treatment.
I was in the hospital from Sat through Wed. On Jul 21 I went in for surgery to have a chemo port put in. Later that day I began chemo (Taxotere and Gemzar).
So to sum things up, my turned upside-down in less than 2 weeks.
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