When I found out I had uterine cancer, the younger daughter was 6, her older sister was only 21 months old. The first sign of cancer was uterine bleeding. I survived. I did not give in to the disease. An operation to remove the uterus (hysterectomy) was needed.
Uterine cancercame on suddenly, ahysterectomywas necessary, but it worked! Natalie was born he althy. She weighed 3.8 kg. I endured my second childbirth well and without complications. I left the Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan 36 hours after giving birth. The little one was growing fast. I felt happy and tired. No wonder, because there was another daughter at home, who was only 15 months old. There was no shortage of activities around them.
The first uterine bleeding appeared two months after the delivery. It lasted for 12 days. Concerned, I went to the doctor. After the examination, my gynecologist said that she did not see anything suspicious: - As long as you are breastfeeding, your uterus may be upset. You can stain and even bleed. Don't worry, I heard.
I tried not to worry, even though I was bleeding. Sometimes less, sometimes more. I felt weak. After another two weeks, I went to another gynecologist. She did an ultrasound of my abdomen. "You have hyperplasia," she said.
I didn't know what that meant. At home, I immediately threw the password to the Internet and found it was an enlargement of the uterine mucosa. I found out that out of 100 women with this disease, only two or three can develop uterine cancer. A small percentage. My chance of being in this group is minimal - I consoled myself. Especially since the biopsy results were optimistic. No cancer cells.
I have an operation to remove the uterus
The two-month treatment with injections brought hope. She stopped the bleeding for several days. I had to stop breastfeeding Natalie to keep the artificial hormone from getting into her body. At first I felt guilty, then I thought it was for saving my he alth. However, the conversation with the gynecologist put me down.
- You have a 50 percent chance that we will save the uterus. I see new outbreaks of disease. I don't know why your body does not respond to the treatment - I heard one day.
- What should I do? - I asked. - Prophylactically remove the uterus - was the answer. My eyes went dark. I only have41 years old!
After 6 weeks from a hysterectomy, sexual life may begin. In the case of postoperative menopause, manifested, among others, by vaginal dryness, it is worth extending foreplay and using moisturizers.
Sometimes women who did not have time to give birth to children before the surgery complain and have lost their femininity. But most of them feel relieved because the surgery eliminates unpleasant ailments, e.g. heavy bleeding. After the operation, I highly recommend exercise - cycling, jogging, gymnastics - anything that will help keep the body in good shape without being overweight.
The family medical history was not working to my advantage. My mother had all her organs removed at the age of 50. It was the same with her younger sister. Both suffered from huge fibroids. And my mother's other sister died of ovarian cancer. For a week I made my decision. My husband told me to do what I thought was right. I was depressed. My intuition told me that I had to do everything to live for my two little daughters. I agreed to the operation.
I entered the operating room by myself. I was wearing an open apron. Socks on the legs and a cap on the head. The anesthetist told me to get on the table. Narrow and long. A large lamp hung over it. As I lay down, I heard the clatter of surgical instruments as two nurses were stacking on the side table. “I feel like I'm in a restaurant kitchen,” I said. The anesthesiologist laughed.
I woke up after four hours. I saw my gynecologist's face above me. - I also removed my ovaries. They didn't look he althy, she said. I felt dizzy. After all, she was only supposed to remove the uterus. But I didn't have the strength to speak. I fell asleep.
From the hospital where I spent 48 hours, I remember my husband's worried face and a private nurse. She was advised by a friend who had undergone a similar operation. The hospital agreed without hesitation and gave the private nurses' service bureau telephone number. We chose a $ 250 Nurse Assistant for 12 hours. A fully qualified nurse costs three times as much. Sonia was from Jamaica. She helped me get up to the bathroom. She was washing me. She was holding a hand. She was handing out ice to suck on.
After surgery to remove the uterus (hysterectomy)
I came home sore. I lay in bed and watched the TV. I couldn't hold baby Natalie holding out her hands to me. Mom sat her down next to me on the bed, because I was not allowed to carry anything for 6 weeks after the operation. I couldn't eat. I could not sleep. I waited impatiently for the results of pathological examinations of my removed uterus and ovaries. Finallycame 10 days after the operation. The gynecologist told me to sit down. My husband was holding my hand.
- The ovaries are OK. But a small lump was found in the uterine wall. Less than 2.1 millimeters. "It was cancer," she said, looking into my eyes. And she gave me a box of paper handkerchiefs.
The oncologist decided that the cancer was small enough that no chemotherapy or radiation was needed. The operation does the trick.
Now I have a checkup every 4 months at the New York Cancer Institute. Two years have passed since the operation. I'm starting to get back to myself.
In the USA, over 600,000 people move annually. hysterectomy procedures. Every third woman over 60 has undergone such an operation. Hysterectomy can be partial (the upper part of the uterus is removed and the cervix is left behind), complete (the uterus and cervix are removed) and radical (the uterus, cervix and part of the vagina are removed). One or both ovaries may also be removed during the operation.