Coping with Women's Cancers
Painting by Carl Vilhelm Holsøe (Danish; 1863–1935) From PART 1: BIRTH: [T]he doctor responded matter-of-factly: “Yes, but he has asphyxia from swallowing and inhaling meconium in the amniotic fluid. He’ll probably be brain damaged and need to take phenobarbital for the rest of his life.” Part 2: After-Birth To this day, I cannot believe this elder statesman of… Continue reading Reflecting on Childbirth after Losing a Womb to Cancer: Part 2 – After-Birth
Balanced decisions require weighing all factors. Don't get caught with your scales tipped. The answer is YES if you are getting radiation therapy for uterine (endometrial) cancer, breast cancer, or any other cancer. Once you make the decision to undergo this treatment, don't give up partway through—persevere until you have received the full dose. See the… Continue reading Do you always have to do what the doctor says? Part 1: When the answer is YES
Final lessons from a pretty, but fragile, aqua bulb lamp. The Patient Path . . . Yields Illumination Last weekend, I got the call from Pier 1 that my “new new” lamp was finally in. I had broken the “old new” lamp 10 days before while making the purchase and had… Continue reading My Story – Uterine (Endometrial) Cancer: You Can’t Unbreak Glass…but the Fragments Can Be Contained-Update
Lessons from a pretty, but fragile, aqua bulb lamp. This story was updated on March 19, 2014. Shattered Glass & Fragmented Spirits Part of my personal treatment plan is to sort through all of my possessions—mounds of them, many of them paper records and memorabilia—and consolidate and clear out as much as possible. This is… Continue reading My Story – Uterine (Endometrial) Cancer: You Can’t Unbreak Glass…but the Fragments Can Be Contained
David Lloyd - New York City Yes, as noted in the February 15, 2014 post, my Valentine's gift this year came wrapped in "21 shades of Gray." This is the standard dosage for high-dose-rate (HDR) vaginal brachytherapy following hysterectomy for uterine (endometrial) cancer--7 Grays (Gy) of radiation (iridium-192) given… Continue reading My Story – Uterine (Endometrial) Cancer: Radiation “The New York Way”
Thanks to the power of synchronicity, I received a Facebook message and a telephone call at almost the same time this morning from two warm and wonderful women friends who had wise words to share. Their communication methods were different, but their basic theme was the same: women facing difficult diagnoses have decision-making power and, for… Continue reading My Story – Uterine (Endometrial) Cancer: Wise Words from Warm, Wonderful Women– Getting by with a Little Help from My Friends . . . Synchronistically
If it is difficult for me at age 61 to face a diagnosis of uterine cancer and the imminent loss of my "female organs," imagine what a woman who is 40 years younger must need to cope with. I'm wishing sister blogger Emily, age 22, the very best this week as she faces her total abdominal hysterectomy--and a… Continue reading My Story – Uterine (Endometrial) Cancer: Emotional Factors–The Cancer Community & Beyond
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The Patient Path 