6 years clear

babe12

September 23 was my 6 year mark since I was diagnosed with stage 4a vaginal cancer. Treatment & surgery was rough, but I made it out to the other side, my 'abby normal'! I look at the skin graft scars, radiation burn scars, surgery scars and my colostomy as a reminder of how lucky I am to still be here. God bless everyone going through cancer treatment. Though you may not be able to see, there is life afterwards, and it is precious & sweet. 

chrissymae39

Thank you

Thanks for sharing your good news.  I was recently diagnosed with Vulvar cancer at the end of July.  I am three weeks recovering from surgery.  Tumor was removed with clear margins lymph nodes removed from both left and rigth groin area.  Nodes on the left all clear, 1 of 11 on the right was positive, however, doctor is not recommending radiation at this point in time.  I am trying to be thankful for where I am at and all that I have but it is terribly difficult right now to keep myself from tumbling down the rabbit hole of negative thoughts that constantly swirl around in my head.  Your message gave me hope than you for sharing.

babe12

Chrissymae

Chrissymae, I totally understand where you’re coming from. It’s so hard to keep positive all of the time, especially during treatment. When you have so much thrown at you, it’s hard to see clearly. As one of my surgeons said a couple of years ago ‘I wish I could have shown you-you, as you are now’. It’s so hard to imagine yourself after treatment, well it was for me. I could only see one day at a time. But you do come through it! Life may not be exactly the same but you appreciate it so much more than before. You can get through radiation, just watch your skin & make them give you something if it gets red or irritated. Chrissymae, you are in my thoughts & prayers. Please keep us posted on how you’re doing. I check in here periodically. Don’t worry about that rabbit hole, we all seem to almost fall in, but there is a safety net inside. 

Positive thoughts & hugs,

babe (Dana)

NoTimeForCancer

Congrats, Dana!!!!  And more

Congrats, Dana!!!!  And more importantly, thank you for coming back to visit CSN and helping those who follow you.

chrissymae39

babe12 said:

Chrissymae

Chrissymae, I totally understand where you’re coming from. It’s so hard to keep positive all of the time, especially during treatment. When you have so much thrown at you, it’s hard to see clearly. As one of my surgeons said a couple of years ago ‘I wish I could have shown you-you, as you are now’. It’s so hard to imagine yourself after treatment, well it was for me. I could only see one day at a time. But you do come through it! Life may not be exactly the same but you appreciate it so much more than before. You can get through radiation, just watch your skin & make them give you something if it gets red or irritated. Chrissymae, you are in my thoughts & prayers. Please keep us posted on how you’re doing. I check in here periodically. Don’t worry about that rabbit hole, we all seem to almost fall in, but there is a safety net inside. 

Positive thoughts & hugs,

babe (Dana)

babe12

Hi Babe12,  Thank you for your kind and encouraging words they give me hope to hang onto.    My doctor is NOT recommending radiation treatment.  I am not quite sure how to feel about that.  On the one hand, I have heard it can be pretty awful so it isn't something I would normally be eager to do!  However, I do want to give myself the best chance to be cancer free.  My doctor feels that because only one of the nodes removed was positive that the radiation could do more harm than good.  There was a research study done that states there is no measurable improvement in treatment results when only one node is positive for cacner.  My concern is that I don't know if there are more nodes still inside of me that migth be positive.  Her recommendation is that we wait and watch things closely.  What are your thoughts on that?  Did you have lymph nodes removed and tested?  What where the results?  What level of radiation treatment did you have? 

I don't know what upsets me more the fear of the cancer or the fear of becoming a complete basket case.  My work and home life is very stressful right now independant from the diagnosis but exacerbated becasue of it I guess since I just can't seem to concentrate on productive thoughts and solutions.  Instead, I just become overwhelemed and depressed.  But I am working at reducing stress and increasing my emotional strenght. 

Again thank you for sharing your experiences with me. 

 

ccfighter

Who hoo!  Congratulations

Who hoo!  Congratulations Babe!  Such wonderful news.  Big hugs.