Getting Old

Yesterday I had an ultrasound of my thyroid because my Dr. found a nodule there. All the labs are good. I'll hear about the ultrasound either today or tomorrow.........then onward. I've done a fair amount of reading & suspect that a fine needle aspiration/biopsy is next. My friend Margaret says they just keep removing parts of my body & sooner or later it will all be gone!! : )

I said that was ok & gives me less to worry about further down the road.

So I'm hoping & praying that it will be benign & I will not have to worry about surgery this time!!

Thankful

I just heard from the Dr. that my lymph nodes are clear & that the cancer was very early. No radiation & no chem needed!!

Praising God.

Home Sweet Home

It is always nice to be home. Been here 28 hours now and am feeling pretty well. I haven't been able to get out & walk a lot. It was rainy & cold last night. We supposedly got 0.15" of rain --- but the reason it didn't count the other 0.5" is because the rain had to be going horzonitally from the sounds of the wind.

I need to get the treadmill going tomorrow if it is like today & get more walking in. I'm not overjoyed with one big item & that is the pathology situation. I have gone back & reread the Drs. website. It states that final pathology results are back in 2 - 4 days. I KNOW the hospital told me it would take until Thursday or Friday (last week) I KNOW that the Dr. told me Wed. eve or Thurs. for the pathology. Dennis KNOWS that the Dr. told him that they would be back Thursday or Friday. Friday morning I called the office to see if the results were back or not. Oh yes, the preliminary results are back, but NOT the final results. The final results take 7 - 10 days. The Dr. will review the results & either he or his nurse will be in touch with you.

So I was NOT a happy camper about that. After all if it takes 7 - 10 days then say so at the beginning instead of having the website say one thing & the hospital & Dr. agree with it. Then not being able to get the results for 7 - 10 days. No, not happy here. Then when I asked to make an appt. in 2 weeks the only times they could give me in the Springs was 9 am or 9:30 ---- that means we have to be up by 5 am or sooner & leave here by 6 IF we eat breakfast here. They didn't seem to care that I had a 3 + hour drive.

Enough moaning I guess. Over 1/2 my steri strips from the suture site fell off this morning so that should help the blisters. Tomorrow I'll take off all the rest. Hopefully they will all start looking better soon, but we'll see. No matter, it is good to be home.

Saturday before surgery

Today I was planning on going to Taos to the Fiber Festival. I had so been looking forward to it. But Thursday night my throat got sore. I have gargled, had hot tea, taken tylenol and throat lozenges. I felt better most of Friday and today I finally almost feel 100%. BUT I canceled my plans for today as I do NOT want to miss surgery on Monday. I'm tired of waiting.

Today I'm typing up instructions for Willie while we are gone. I'm making Jello Jigglers since my food tomorrow is all clear liquids. The bowel prep sounds absolutely wonderful (ha ha). We are leaving early tomorrow to get to our motel so I can safely survive the bowel prep without an accident on the way up. I had planned on staying with friends -------- but they are sick with a bad cold & I will not take a chance on getting sick after surgery. Luckily the Dr. office sent me a list of possible motels. I found one that had wonderful "medical rates" & we will go there. Best Western South West.

Oh by the way, Windex works exceptionally well to get wedding rings off. They said that it would be cut off if I didn't get it off. It works.

Continue to keep me in your prayers. I'm hoping to be back home by Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning at the latest. I will update when I can. Biopsy results and the follow up plans will not be known until probably Wednesday or Thursday. They say my cell phone might work in the hospital, we'll see.

Everyone have a great weekend.

Update on Me

My surgery is scheduled Oct. 6th at Swedish in Denver. I am able to have robotic surgery so should only be in the hospital for 23 hours after surgery. Wish it were sooner, but it's good to have an actual date.


Here is info on Robotics in surgery:
http://www.swedishhospital.com/CustomPage.asp?guidCustomContentID=D63A48E3-898E-444F-9F89-CA7FA7A27540

Me update

I saw the specialist today in Colorado Springs. He agrees as far as the basics of the surgery & what all needs to be removed. He has a special robotic arm that he has been using for vaginal hysterectomies. He can actually see better than doing things abdominally. Plus it is easier on the patient. There are some things he needs to check out but feels I would be a good candidate for this type of surgery.

The office will call within the next 4 days to set up the surgery. Surgery should be in Denver within the next 2 - 3 weeks. Biopsy results should be back 2 days after the surgery.

Cancer

I had breast cancer, diagnosed in 2002 at Thanksgiving time, then a lumpectomy in Jan., 2003. This was followed by radiation. Then 5 years of Tamoxifen. I finished my Tamoxifen May 23, 2008 & was extremely happy to be done with it and be cancer free.

One of the potential side effects of Tamoxifen is endometrial cancer (uterine cancer), which happens rarely..........but is a possibility. I was aware of this possibility when I took it, but compared the pluses with the minuses.............and decided that taking it was a better option.

Until now.

I have just been diagnosed with endometrial cancer. I will be seeing a specialist this week & will follow that with major surgery sometime in September (hopefully no further out than Sept.). The surgery will be in Denver.

So I ask for your prayers during this time. I'll keep you updated here and continue to update the farm information also!!