Health Topics in Jax, FL

CanadaSue said:

Welcome back
Mary,

So nice to see you back!

I have thought of you often. How did you make out with your surgery?


Hugs,

Sue

thanks for asking!
The cytoreductive with IPHC in May went well itself, the infections following not so much. I was out for quite a while, in and out of the hospital 3 times, for almost 2 months. My oldest daughter and her baby were a constant fixture, which was wonderful and awful at the same time! I hated that they had to spend so much time away from home and family, in the hospital, but i loved having that baby around when i was lucid enough to care! My abdomen is an entirely different entity than it was prior to, with a ventral hernia thanks to infection; but I'm not really complaining cause I'm still here!

In November I found out about mets to my liver and left adrenal gland. I had them both ablated a few weeks ago and am now starting to feel "normal" again. I get a stent removed from my right kidney on Monday, followup on the ablation the 10th. I expect to have to return to chemo once again, since the scan in November showed lymph node involvement. Like kimby said, it's now a matter of which one of us is more determined (the cancer or me), and for now, my money's on me! The cancer is determined, but I am more so.

As everyone here knows, when the days are dark, it's tough going. Then, we start feeling better and the sun comes out once again. It is a rough journey, and none of us comes out on the other side unchanged. However, I have always been an advocate of change (no reference meant to the current administration!) so for now, I'm ok with that! I do miss my pre-cancerous body, how well it performed as it was asked, but I am in the process of coming to terms with it! After all, my 50th birthday comes this year, so 2010 is going to be a great one!

Sorry for the rambling, I must be in some kind of mood! Again, thanks for asking, and I am trying to come back on a regular basis. You know how hard it can be sometimes.

mary