Coping with Women's Cancers
SANDEE & MITCH KLINE Last evening, as I was writing a fictional story based on my childhood, I received a long-distance telephone call from my real childhood friend’s daughter in Israel. She has kept in touch with me over the past five years since her mother, whom I had known since we were seven years… Continue reading My Friend’s Story – Leukemia: Update on Her Family
Image: Micrograph of a Pap Stain Update: As noted in the March 5, 2015 post, since my hysterectomy for uterine cancer (endometrial adenocarcinoma) on December 13, 2013,* I have had five Pap tests, all but one of which were normal. It was that pesky first test done last summer because of ongoing vaginal discharge, which… Continue reading My Story – Uterine (Endometrial) Cancer: Pap-Free at Last
Still my favorite story of all time, A Christmas Carol was published 171 years ago, on December 19, 1843. Click the book to view the only existing manuscript version of the novella. See it in person at the (J. Pierpont) Morgan Library & Museum in New York. Do take a look—it’s a treasure. On that same date last… Continue reading Uterine (Endometrial) Cancer: Post Christmas 2014 Reflections on “Christmases Yet to Come”
As I reported in the June 20, 2014 post, my gynecologic oncologist (surgeon) performed my six-month post-hysterectomy pelvic exam on June 19 and said that all looked well. However . . . because I told him that I'd been having a light, clear discharge since undergoing vaginal radiation (brachytherapy) in January and February, he took a… Continue reading My Story – Uterine (Endometrial) Cancer: Pap Smear Uncertainty
Six months have passed already since my total robotic hysterectomy—and four since my vaginal radiation treatments. Yesterday, I saw my gynecologic oncologist/surgeon, who took a peek and said I'm well healed with no evidence of recurrence. I do have some light vaginal discharge and need to wear a pantyliner all the time, so the… Continue reading My Story – Uterine (Endometrial) Cancer: Six-Month Checkup Yesterday
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
In the 1977 movie Demon Seed based on the book by Dean Koontz, Julie Christie's character is impregnated by a computer that wants to experience life. This is what I thought of during my second vaginal brachytherapy treatment yesterday--although it's too late for me to be impregnated by anything but radiation (so to speak). The only… Continue reading My Story – Uterine (Endometrial) Cancer: The “Demon Seed”
Acknowledging World Cancer Day - February 4, 2014 on behalf of everyone who has been affected by one or more of the many forms of this disease. I "celebrated" today by having my second vaginal radiation treatment post-hysterectomy for uterine cancer. A new post is coming tomorrow (as long as the storm doesn't knock out our… Continue reading World Cancer Day – February 4, 2014
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”
The Patient Path 