Smartyjones! If you're around....

[Muffin Top]

I just read your post to the interesting thread. It's nice to meet someone else who went through the same thing. My doctors all talked like I was a complete freak of nature and how cervical cancer is one of the slowest growing cancers there is. I don't know how old you are now or if you were ever able to have children or not. I have one son--we wanted more, but are happy we had him. I am now 3 years cancer free!

Feel free to give me a shout any time. It was a very scary thing we both went through. I'm glad we both came through it better than ever.

 

[smartyjonesc2s]

hi muffintop,
i got the same sort of thing about it being so weird as i was so young. as i am sure you have learned, there are many strains (roughly 70) of the virus that causes cervical cancer and dysplyasia, with only about 4 or 5 being bad strains that go straight into cancer. you and i got the bad luck of the draw. i am now 37 and cancer free for 10 years. i can't believe it has been that long for me. i have had no further complications from the surgery or disease. i actually got married 3 weeks before the surgery so we didn't get the chance to have children. of course, as it turns out, we got divorced 6 years later, so not having children kept it from being complicated. i am glad that you had the chance to at least have one before your surgery. just remember that every year lowers your risk of a reoccurence, and 5 is the magic number. my doctor gave me high 5's on reaching that mark. it is so weird now to think that i am a cancer survivor as i never had any physical symptoms and never had any issues during that time. did you go straight to surgery or did they try any other stuff like chemo or radiation? did they try any procedures on you to see if they could get it without a full hysterectomy? thank you for sharing your experience with me. it has been a long time since i talked to anyone that has been through this.

 

[Muffin Top]

Sounds like we definitely had the same thing. I never had one symptom. In fact, I went for the exam because I found lumps in my breast--they turned out to be nothing, but the pap showed the cancer. I was diagnosed Jan. 18, 2003 and had surgery Feb. 7. Both my local doctor and the Mayo doctor recommended hysterectomy. I told them if my choices were to risk my life and have another baby or live to see the one I had grow up, I wanted to see my little boy grow up. I am grateful every day to have been blessed with him. He was 18 months old when I had surgery. I went through quite a depression for quite some time when it was all over--a lot of the why me's. Now, I am just very thankful! I sometimes feel guilty even calling myself a cancer survivor because I think of how much worse so people go through--chemo, radiation, etc. Still, what happened was very real and very scary--especially with how young we were. As I told my doctor (who liked to remind me that cervical cancer wasn't as bad as liver cancer), my plan that I had for my life was changed dramatically in a matter of weeks...through no choice of my own. Yes, my local doctor was a bit of an ass.
My only complication is that I now get cysts on my right ovary during ovulation every month. They can be somewhat painful. My doctor told me it was likely nicked during the surgery. Oh well, I can get painkillers anytime I want.}(
That experience has truly given me new respect for my body--probably one of the things that brought me to Cathe. I want my body in the best possible shape it can be.

You are an inspiration at 10 years cancer-free. I do still get pangs of fear now and then when I get an ache or a pain. I think, "OMG! What if it's back?" Then, I try to laugh it off and get back to living!

So nice to "meet" you. I look forward to seeing you here.

 

[dpiglet]

Hey you two...you both are great examples of why those Pap smears are so important. I was diagnosed with HPV in my early twenties, and had a scary brush with cervical dysplasia as well, I was lucky and they caught it very early....he said on scale of things to worry about from one to five....you are now a one. I had cryosurgery to remove suspect lesions and did not have any other problems since then.....I am 42 and do not really have to worry about that stuff anymore(had a hysterectomy 2 years ago....fibroid tumors in my uterus).....cervical cancer is so the silent killer, that is much more common than we think. After I was diagnosed, I met two other women, both in their 20's with the same condition. Best of health to both of you!!

Donna

 

[alsrnbsn]

You both are truly inspirations, and shining examples of why we need annual exams!

I, too, had a brush with "high grade" dysplasia in 1998. I had cryosurgery and have been fine ever since.

Several months ago, I was at work and noticed a patient's name that I knew. She had been my massage therapist for about 18 mos. She was in an ICU bed for pain control...she was dying of cervical cancer. She had never been big, very fit and average sized. She looked like a concentration camp survivor, she was so thin and emaciated. She was only 33. It broke my heart to see her, knowing that it could have been prevented.

And yes, your local doctor does sound like an ass! Cancer is Cancer, know matter what!

 

[smartyjonesc2s]

Thank you for the well wishes for myself and muffin top. like muffin top said, while what we went through is disappointing where children are concerned, we had it so easy as we didn't have to deal with any chemo or radiation. we just checked into the hospital, went to sleep and woke up well. fortunately for muffin top, she did have a chance to have one child, and that makes him even more special for her. fortunately for me, i am not mother material, and know that if i truly were, there are so many children that need a home in this world.

all i can say is never get behind on those annual checkups...just as with the massage therapist that died of cervical cancer, it could end up being fatal...

i again want to say to muffin top, good luck with your continued success in being cancer-free. my doctor told me that even 2 years was a hurdle, and each year it looks brighter and brighter. you are over half-way to the magical 5 year mark, and that is great.

 

[Muffin Top]

I agree--the whole thing about going two years between paps (which is being recommended for some women now) is crap! In another year, Smarty and me may have been dead or it may have spread! Yes it is rare that it progresses so quickly, but it happens. I am happy that there seems to be so much more awareness about cervical cancer now.