Coping with Women's Cancers
This is the month to schedule your mammogram or yearly visit to your gynecologist if you haven’t done so already. It’s also a good time to remember to do your breast self-exam and to educate yourself about the leading cancer affecting women in the United States. And remember, one in a hundred cases of breast cancer… Continue reading October Is Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Yesterday began another two-week waiting period for more Pap results. In the July 22, 2014 post, I described the results of the uncomfortable colposcopy and biopsy I had earlier in the month (reported on July 10). I returned to the doctor's office yesterday for what I thought would be a routine Pap test. However, after the doctor… Continue reading My Story – Uterine (Endometrial) Cancer: Second Colposcopy and Repeat Pap
And So Irradiation Begins . . . Note: The blue-green highlighted terms in the text contain links to previous posts. Radiation Treatment #1--Check √ As discussed in the January 10, 2014 post about radiation therapy, my post-hysterectomy treatment plan includes three "fractions" of high-dose rate (HDR) vaginal radiation, or brachytherapy. The first treatment was yesterday, January 23. The… Continue reading My Story – Uterine (Endometrial) Cancer: My First Encounter with a Radioactive “Pig”
Glowing, Radiant Health RECAPPING MY STORY TO DATE AS I PREPARE TO START VAGINAL RADIATION THERAPY ONE WEEK FROM TODAY . . . Note: The blue-green highlighted terms in the text contain links to previous posts. Symptoms & Preliminary Diagnosis When I started this blog on November 9, 2013, it was with a warning for all… Continue reading My Story – Uterine (Endometrial) Cancer: Looking Back & Forging Ahead to Radiation
Example of a pelvic field for external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) after hysterectomy for stage I-II endometrial cancer. This treatment uses a low radiation dose and takes place over five to six weeks, five days a week. Surrounding structures, such as the bowel and bladder, also receive some radiation, which can result in gastrointestinal and urinary side… Continue reading My Story – Uterine (Endometrial) Cancer: Orange Pee & Radioactive Tampons
Just before midnight on December 12, 2013, I am preparing for my da Vinci robotic radical hysterectomy tomorrow . . . only hours away now after waiting for more than five weeks after getting my diagnosis of uterine (endometrial) cancer (adenocarcinoma). It will be good to be on the other side of this problem. I thought… Continue reading Uterine (Endometrial) Cancer: My Timeline, My Impending Surgery
Peach Ribbon for Uterine Cancer Awareness Download Informative Presentation Handout THIS INFORMATION IS BEING UPDATED for 2020, SO PLEASE CHECK BACK SOON. Read the companion piece, Breast Cancer Risk Factors. While this information is being updated, please keep in mind that estrogen-related factors account for 80% of uterine cancers and that obesity is a big part… Continue reading Uterine (Endometrial) Cancer Risk Factors: Ladies (and Gents), Please Read
As I mentioned in yesterday's post, among other things I had my annual screening mammogram done yesterday. Just 24 hours later, I am holding the faxed report in my hands with the word "BENIGN" in big bold letters. Scattered fibroglandular elements and calcifications were seen, all harmless. The only recommendation was to get another screening mammogram… Continue reading My Story – Uterine (Endometrial) Cancer: Mammogram Results–One Less Thing to Worry About
In Saturday's mail, I received a gift card to Panera from the MRI center where I had my pelvic and abdominal studies done last Tuesday after a number of scheduling and reporting mishaps. (See "The MRI Story" toward the bottom of my November 14 post.) Just over an hour ago, I emailed the lead technologist… Continue reading My Story – Uterine (Endometrial) Cancer: How to Listen to a New Cancer Patient
The Bottom Line, Upshot, or Whatever Directional Phrase You Like Well, I am thankful to say that I seem to have found a good doctor. I saw my new gynecologic oncologist yesterday afternoon in West Orange, NJ. Not surprisingly, when I arrived I found out that the MRI report from Tuesday night had not been… Continue reading My Story – Uterine (Endometrial) Cancer: How to Make a New Cancer Patient Feel a Bit Better
The Patient Path 