Oops ….
Note: I am posting what is intensely personal with the hope that it might save another woman’s life.
I returned home from my 50th high school reunion in mid-October a bit tired from travel and dancing the twist and conga line. Thursday evening, I found I was spotting. That had NOT been a problem in 15 years, so a call went out to the Kaiser advice nurse the next morning before I left for work. She booked an appointment with an OB-GYN that day and I dutifully went. He didn’t think it worrisome, but sent in tissue to the pathologist. A week later, I found that I had uterine cancer. Rats. All they could tell me at that point was that the cells were well differentiated (i. e., not trying to be anything but endometrial cells), which is excellent news. He booked a referral to an OB-GYN oncologist and we discussed some options. Using progesterone to treat the high estrogen cancer was a possibility, but usually not recommended unless a woman was of child bearing age. The next option was surgery. I sure didn’t want a traditional hysterectomy with all that incision. Well, a laparascopic vaginal hysterestomy might be possible. That sounded good to me. But, I could hardly believe what I said next, “I want my ovaries gone!” Perhaps, I should explain.
In 1985, I had breast cancer (lumpectomy and radiation). My mother had at about the same age been diagnosed with breast cancer, but it had spread and she died. So, was there a family connection? We didn’t know. Mom was adopted and I have no siblings. In 2004, I had a scare that ultimately turned out to be nothing but my surgeon, bless him, referred me for genetic counselling. That process, class, counselling, getting the paperwork, drawing blood, and getting the results, took about six months. It both soothed me and left me with question marks. No, I did not have BRCA1 or BRCA2, but the result was a hedged negative as opposed to a true negative. Something had triggered cancer in mom and me. DDT? Chlorodane? Or not. During the counselling, I was told of the linkages found between BRCA1 and BRCA2 and other types of cancer - ovarian, in particular. (For men, prostate cancer.) The usual recommendations are surveillance, prophylactic surgery, risk avoidance, and chemoprevention. Ovarian cancer is a silent killer and I wanted no part it. No ovaries, no ovarian cancer, thus my choice.
I met with the OB-GYN oncologist on November 3rd and we agreed on the treatment, though he could not promise laparascopic surgery until it was under way and he could see what he was dealing with. When? The first appointment was the next Tuesday at 8:30 am; I snatched it. The basic surgery went well, though I did have a side effect from something else. I was delighted to find four tiny portholes–port, starboard, bow, and stern–instead of a hairy incision. I could have gone home the next day, had I not had the other side effect, which kept me in three days more for monitoring. Best news of all was the pathologists’ report: Grade 1, Stage A. Well differentiated and localized.
Monday, I return to work. Total time off: two weeks.
If you need more information on Genetic Testing, please check this page from the NIC