Tag: Health

I have never reblogged someone else’s thoughts before but I fully share my friends outrage here! I wonder if the New York Times article author watched her mother die a long and at times very painful death. I wonder if she ever had to stare into the eyes of her children as she was told she had at minimum a 50/50 chance of developing breast cancer, a disease that has no cure nor is one close to being found after millions and millions spent.

My story is different from my friend at “Beatingcowdens” but when it comes to the prophylactic mastectomy we are sisters.

I wish I could have the last two years of my life back. I wish that I did not have to surgically alter my body. I wish there was no such things as breast cancer. I wish those who would like to speak out in judgement would do their jobs and maybe the rest of us could maybe have our wishes come true but since none of these things can or will happen I want to be clear, I have NO regrets in the decisions I made. Those decisions were not taken lightly and the pathology proved with great certainty that I WOULD have developed breast cancer.

I finish with the same line as my friend, “Don’t talk about my boobs until you have walked in my shoes!”

 

beatingcowdens's avatarbeatingcowdens

“Breast cancer becomes very emotional for people, and they view a breast differently than an arm or a required body part that you use every day,” said Sarah T. Hawley, an associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan. “Women feel like it’s a body part over which they totally have a choice, and they say, ‘I want to put this behind me — I don’t want to worry about it anymore.’ ”

The quote above is the last paragraph from a New York Times article published January 21st.  I first read about it here in this blog

Preventative mastectomies under fire

And I must agree with “The Pink Underbelly” as my blood is boiling a bit.

I underwent a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy on March 5, 2012.  I had been diagnosed with Cowden’s Syndrome, alongside my 8 year old daughter, just months before.  I was presented, in January of…

View original post 677 more words

I get to go to Disney with a clear head!

I received a call from the doctor this morning with the results of the endometrial biopsy.  There is no cancer!  They were not fully normal but for the purposes of my worry level they were fantastic!  What has been identified is an endometrial polyp.  This little bugger causes its own issues and in a small percentage of the time can turn to something more.  For my purposes right now, I will go to Disney with my family knowing that I am healthy!  For this, I am extremely thankful!

What happens when I return?  I have to think about this.  I will have to repeat the pelvic ultrasound in 2-3 months to once again check on the ovarian cysts.  It would be nice if they would go away already!  I will deal with that when needed.

As for the polyp, I do have issues that this would cause.  They recommend an endometrial ablation procedure to remove it. I am not going into detail about the symptoms of or the procedure to get rid of the polyp.  If you are interested click one of the colored links.

Where we will be in 29 days!
Where we will be in 29 days!

For now I can focus on something really important, the quickly approaching Disney trip!  We received our packet from the Disney Express. This is the first time we are staying at a Disney resort so it is the first time having to arrange for a pick up.   I am so far very impressed with the organization and professionalism of everyone we have talked to from the initial reservation, to meal planning to now the express representatives.  There are so many companies who have such poor service, it is refreshing to deal with one who really gets it!

The Happiest place on earth! Have a magical day!

Not all coughs are pneumonia

So the epidemic continues. After having Madison home sick from school Friday and through the weekend, she was even worse on Monday.  We had been to the doctor on Friday and at that point he determined it was a virus that needed to run its course.  By Monday her once harmless yet annoying hacking cough had become a wet and somewhat alarming cough.  Her fever had once again spiked over 101 degrees.

We got an appointment for 4:30 so poor Megan had to tag along with us.  We walked into a room FULL of people.  We did not get called back until close to 5:30.  We received apologies from everyone which honestly were not needed.  I have never called the pediatrician and not been able to bring the girls over same day.  With all of the sickness in the area right now I was happy to be seen!  I was caught off guard when the doctor said that she could hear a little fluid in the lungs and would like to have a chest X-ray done.  She started antibiotic in the meantime and off we went.

I dropped Megan at home, by now it was 6pm and Frank was home from work.  Madison and I rushed over to the radiologists since they were due to close at 7pm.  We were there for just under and hour.  By the time we got home my poor 6 year old was exhausted and starving since she had not had dinner.  Frank thankfully had something ready when we walked in.

We received the call today, no pneumonia!  I am continuing the antibiotic because there has been good improvement in Madison since they were started.  Maybe it is just coincidence but I am not risking it!  I hope to have Madi back to school tomorrow!

I also received a call from my doctor.  The CA-125 blood work returned and it was normal.  The biopsy will not be back until next week.  I guess if we were keeping score, this day could be filed as a good one.