Joan's Silver Linings

I have always been a lover of life & have appreciated each day to the “ultimate” as I have had my Ups & downs with the best of them. I have been “misdiagnosed” a few times & each time very grateful but in 2008 I knew things weren’t right so I went to my Doctors practice & related my concerns & fears and was told that women my age always fear the worst & I probably am over anxious & will probably die from a heart problem due to my weight before cancer. Hearts stop=you die right? So I said “You mean I shouldn’t go to the “Women’s Health Conferance” tonight?”” You’d do better at Weight Watchers” I was told & handed a Rx for pain & anxiety.

Did go back to work, still pain & went back to practice as advised to check on progress & test results. A Ca125 was done but was told not to become aalarmed by the #’s as they are unreliable & my other symptoms they were intermittent & controlable most times & was asked “What medical school did you graduate from?” “I didn’t go to MD School as I wasn’t smart enough but I did get BS in Bus. Admin. & it’s all business & BS! And cried asking when can I see the Dr. as this woman was a PA though she feels she is a MD & can write scripts & does. She ordered stronger meds. (I didn’t fill them)
April 2009’s annual physical the DOCTOR checked me out was concerned with my “scoliosis”- my what? What about me? She then said “And what’s this about ‘chronic pain/intermittent bleeding discharge’ ‘patient has been complaining! ?? I thanked her for asking finally seeing her,my doctor. She said this has gone on for too long (tell me about it!) and made an immediate appointment with an Oncologist.

After testing it was determined I had a very agressive cancer that had to be removed ASAP. Thank you Lordie,they finally are listening. Test proved that local findings were accurate & wa scheduled to have operation via DiVinci robot (latest method) but not for 3.5 weeks as surgeon was going to Italy on vacation. My niece & Daughter in law are RN’s & advised they would schedule an appt. with another Doctor but in Boston @ Dana Farber Cancer Center/ Brigam’s & Womens Hospital.

I saw a marvelous Doctor/Surgeon was operated had complications,did survive, got Chemo, lost hair (so what it comes back for us to appreciate more) another “complex cyst” was found that the Drs. are watching still so I couldn’t have planned radiation but was told “Let us worry, not you. You go home & live your life and let us do our job!

Sounded good to me=best advice I ever heard & followed. I do go for check ups as scheduled & do get blood work cat scans as scheduled & now take vitamins again (I was afraid to feed the Ca for a while/silly thinking I guess but…) And it has been three years of celebrating life,my life with ‘what me? no worry I’ve got one life to live so I now just do it!! God Bless you and Hollye thanks for asking and thanks for sharing sister! (My best friend doll when I was a kid was named Holly & she was pretty too)