Thank you guys! Bless you! I am really blessed.
Laurie, I'm so sorry that your experiences have been terrible! Just like Bcody said, women often aren't taken seriously. You wouldn't think that would be the case, as we are the ones who give birth and tend to understand what pain is. I really think they thought I was just fat, had indigestion, was faking it, or wanting a fix. I don't know, but I think refusal of the injection of narcotics may have been a clue in that I didn't want drugs, I wanted treatment. I needed a CT scan that I couldn't get at urgent care or my PCP.
I have an update on that. I wrote that hospital and I will incur no expenses. I hope that the doctor heard about it, and I hope it shook him up a little bit. The thing that blew my mind is that it was right-flank pain and I received no blood test at all. How did they know that it wasn't appendicitis? They cannot treat people like that, the next person they don't treat and send home with painkillers might die. I didn't take a single prescription drug until I found out what was wrong with me.
As for the complete hysterectomy, that is another blessing. I had discussed that with my doctor before she performed the surgery and I first wanted her to take the left ovary too. God brought me two very trusted friends within the course of a few hours that said that if that ovary was well, keep it. I would have to be on at least 11 years of hormone replacement, which is certainly not the end of the world either, but I just feel that it wasn't the right thing to do. Dermoid ovarian cysts can be on just one ovary. There is a small chance that it could occur on the left side. However, I personally believe that the right side has been a lifetime offender. The dermoid didn't show up until after I had my boys, but that side was always throbbing, causing me persistent grief. I decided to tell my doctor to keep the left one unless it looked suspicious. The left ovary was healthy. They did take some uterine biopsies, but it turned out to be benign mesothelial cells. Mesothelial cells are just slippery cells that prevent the adherence of other tissues. Also, my person belief is that the cancer was mainly due to the extreme and constant irritation caused by the large mass. I believe this is also the determination of both our local hospital and the Cleveland Clinic, otherwise I would be seen much sooner.
I do have an impressive incision, but I'm glad for it because they were able to get this thing out intact. Because of the cancer (even though it was low grade) getting it out intact saved my life. Plus, a dear person on here had hers rupture, and that was an extremely traumatic medical emergency.
Since they got this out the weight has been slipping right off me. I chased my kids for the first time in a year (I barely could do it last year). It was exhilarating! The multitude of strange symptoms was all due to the mass and have been disappearing one by one.
I am grateful, really grateful! All of you have prayed for me, know that you have made a difference and I am so thankful for you!
Debbie, I am so glad your husband got great care at the CC and I hope he is doing great! I have a loved one who had a heart transplant who went/goes there. I think they are rated #1 for cardiology, aren't they? The Mayo Clinic is #1 for GYN cancers, I believe, but the oncologist I saw at the CC is top rated.
