Womens health

sandysp

I am happy to report that my tests, CT scan, Mammogram, Sigmoidoscopy are all good. I have been feeling exhilarated about that. But a couple of days ago my mother passed away at the Assisted Living Center where she has lived the last three years. She had been in hospice care since mid July, not from cancer, but heart failure. She was 85. Somewhat related to this, I went to my first Pelvic PT and feel so grateful to have this opportunity. She explained to me that some of my issues are not from the radiation but from childbirth. The scarring from the episiotomy performed during a delivery that required forceps. I have much work to do and the evaluation this time has me sore and aching. I have to use that dilator every day like Martha said and she said for 20 minutes. I have ordered at her recommendation Vitamin E suppositories. This makes so much sense to me I feel like spreading the word. Provably all women post menopausal could benefit. Bowel Incontinence is the number one reason women are institutionalized (assisted living, etc.). Research shows almost all had difficult forcep deliveries. Who would ever have thought that the vagina could contribute to bowel incontinence? I am amazed that I am as good as I am and have the opportunity to get better Anyway, I would never have gotten Pelvic PT if it hadn't been for anal cancer but I was already headed for real problems - greater than not having sex. It makes me want to be a Womens Health Advocate somehow. Anyway, I hope this makes sense. I am grateful for the care I am getting as a woman and wish everyone had it that needs it. Bowel incontinence can cause dementia since women who get it (some get it quite young) tend to become agoraphobic. That describes my Mom to a tee. So sad. Anyway, she was one of a kind and I miss her.

mp327

My condolences
Sandy, I'm so sorry to hear that your mom passed away. I know you will miss her very much. It is hard to say goodbye. Please know that you are in my prayers.

Thanks for all the information--it is very helpful to know all of this and I'm glad you have shared it all with us.

BeaRose

I am so sorry to hear about
I am so sorry to hear about your mother. It is a devastating thing to deal with. The 23rd was the 2 year anniversary of my tx starting and also the 7th anniversary of the day I lost my mom to leukemia. It was very ironic. I am happy to hear you are in pt. I am going to pt for lymphadema in my legs and abdomen due to rad of 2 lymph nodes. I think of all the horrors we have faced in this disease the worst has got to be the aftereffects including the incontinence.

Phoebesnow

BeaRose said:

I am so sorry to hear about
I am so sorry to hear about your mother. It is a devastating thing to deal with. The 23rd was the 2 year anniversary of my tx starting and also the 7th anniversary of the day I lost my mom to leukemia. It was very ironic. I am happy to hear you are in pt. I am going to pt for lymphadema in my legs and abdomen due to rad of 2 lymph nodes. I think of all the horrors we have faced in this disease the worst has got to be the aftereffects including the incontinence.

Mom
I am sorry about the loss of your mother.

Thanks for the information. I am happy your tests have come out clear.

StruTanToot

I'm sorry to hear about your
I'm sorry to hear about your mom. I can't imagine how you feel. All I know to say is that I hope special memories will soon outweigh the sadness you feel now. Stay strong...you are a survivor.

torrance

Sandy
I am truly sorry about the loss of your Mom. I lost mine in December of 11. We always know that day is coming, but still hard when it does. I know you are strong and hope that you allow yourself to wallow in the great memories and not any suffering.

I know what you mean about the womens health issues. My PT has been a godsend for me. Every part of our body is important, even if we think we don't need to use it! We will keep spreading the word.

Love to you,
Joanne

sandysp

BeaRose said:

I am so sorry to hear about
I am so sorry to hear about your mother. It is a devastating thing to deal with. The 23rd was the 2 year anniversary of my tx starting and also the 7th anniversary of the day I lost my mom to leukemia. It was very ironic. I am happy to hear you are in pt. I am going to pt for lymphadema in my legs and abdomen due to rad of 2 lymph nodes. I think of all the horrors we have faced in this disease the worst has got to be the aftereffects including the incontinence.

Wow
I looked up lymphadema and that explained a lot. Especially about air travel. I also had the cancer in a lymph node and have fluid build up particularly in my right leg, which is always more swollen than the left. The affected lymph node was also on the right side. I looked the word up, never having heard it before and saw that people who have it complain a lot about pain after jet travel. Every time we have gone to California since the treatment (twice) to see my Mom in law I have had terrible pain in my legs and feet and have been so grumpy both my husband and his mom thought it was that I didn't want to share him! I was so put off by that. But now I have a name for the symptom and it makes all the difference to me. I was just complaining all the time when I got there and couldn't put a name to it. Thanks. Once again I learned something! I love this board.

Dog Girl

Loss of your Mom
Sandy,

I just wanted to say that I am sorry to read about the loss of your Mom. I know what you are going through as I lost my 89 year old Mom on May 26th of this year. She too was under hospice care, but she live 18 months beyond what they thought she would survive at the longest. (She had lots wrong with her, but basically she did not choose to do dialysis from Diabetes, so renal failure; COPD; heart issues, etc...) I think it doesn't matter how old we are when we lose our mothers, it is a loss that comes too soon and one we will always feel deeply.

I am also glad that you are getting the help that you need now. Just as info, my gyno recommends estrogen when using dialators as it will help with the elasticity of the skin in the vaginal canal.

sandysp

Dog Girl said:

Loss of your Mom
Sandy,

I just wanted to say that I am sorry to read about the loss of your Mom. I know what you are going through as I lost my 89 year old Mom on May 26th of this year. She too was under hospice care, but she live 18 months beyond what they thought she would survive at the longest. (She had lots wrong with her, but basically she did not choose to do dialysis from Diabetes, so renal failure; COPD; heart issues, etc...) I think it doesn't matter how old we are when we lose our mothers, it is a loss that comes too soon and one we will always feel deeply.

I am also glad that you are getting the help that you need now. Just as info, my gyno recommends estrogen when using dialators as it will help with the elasticity of the skin in the vaginal canal.

Thanks Dog Girl
My mother refused any treatments once they pulled her out of her extreme conditions. I believe my mother's diagnosis would be similar to your mom's. She was in an Assisted Living Center that provided her medical care and it turned out not to be such a great idea. The doctor that was on staff was later arrested (not too much later) as a fraud. I do not believe she got the best of care there, but the outcome would have been the same. I would lose my mom to some chronic diseases that plagued her most of her life. My father was a cigar smoker so we suffer from second hand smoke diseases mostly.

I haven't seen a gyn yet but I don't think they will give me an estrogen cream due to the fact I had cervical cancer before this. The physical therapist is working with me and I am improving mightily. It is amazing what our bodies will do for us. I am just using Replens and vitamin e suppositories which I ordered from the internet and highly recommend. That and making sure I use my dialator for 20 minutes every day and really doing some amazing "core" exercises the therapist recommended as per her instructions. Everything looks promising.