Journal entry by Angie Gajewski —
Hello all! I have decided to share my story, so that maybe I can inspire others or educate or just inform.
I am post-operation 10 days. I had a radical hysterectomy (kept my ovaries) on Aug. 5th. I was diagnosed with Stage 1B Cervical cancer in June after having a LEEP procedure. My story started a few years ago when I had an abnormal pap, then I had a colposcopy to get a biopsy, just abnormal cells were found, we repeated this for about 5 years.
After having Ayla, things actually looked better according to my OB at the time, then 1 year later a little worse, so yet another colposcopy was scheduled, then she decided we would just do the LEEP to burn off the abnormal cells and all would be good after that. It was a minor surgery and I felt good going in knowing that it would take care of this craziness once and for all.
A few days later I received a call from the office, a different OB (mine was at the beach) he says please call me back, we have your results. My mind was spinning a little, what does he mean "result," everything was supposed to be fine. Why was this other OB calling me?! I remember being frazzled because it was a long summer day and the kids were wild, but I called him back right away. I thought he was calling to check up on me after the LEEP because I was feeling a little nauseous after the procedure.
I will never forget that call. He said....ummmm, so the pathology report found cancer, we need to send you to the Cancer Institute soon for treatment. I said, treatment?! What do you mean? Didn't I just have a procedure to get rid of these cells. He said, maybe a hysterectomy... So that began my cervical cancer journey. It's still hard to believe...
Fast forward to a week or so when I finally got to see the oncologist. After calling a few friends, I heard Dr. Puls was one of the best, so I knew I would be in good hands.
Before our first appointment, I googled everything about Cervical Cancer, which can be a very slippery slope. I followed up with my OB, upset that it wasn't caught sooner. She was surprised too, but reassured me that I would be fine and that I was in good hands. It was tough to believe any of that after that diagnosis. At this point all I could think about was chemo, death, and not being around to raise my children.
The oncologist told me that this was caught early and I was most likely Stage 1, they would need to do a PET Scan, if all was clear and cancer did not spread anywhere, then I would need a radical hysterectomy ASAP!!! The waiting a few weeks until the PET Scan was so tough. I chatted with friends, asked questions about this diagnosis, googled "Invasive Squamous Carcinoma" so much, cried a lot, tried to keep up with my job, tried to keep things normal for my kids, and just prayed that this was all caught early and I would be a survivor.
As I read more, I found that cervical cancer is known as the "silent killer" and many women don't even know that they have it because there aren't many symptoms. Also, women put off having their annual OB visits too. Thankfully, I was keeping up with my appointments, but this knowledge still scared me!
Good news! Pet Scan was clear, cancer was just contained in cervix (although they weren't sure how much was still there), my surgery was scheduled for Aug. 5th! My pre-op appointment was on my 43rd bday. I felt nervous, scared, but ready to put up the fight! I was thankful that I had 2 healthy babies and I was fine getting rid of my parts! My ovaries could be saved though, so I wouldn't go into menopause.
So, here I am 10 days later, I survived the big radical hysterectomy. The pathology reports came back good, cancer should be gone. I still worry about recurrence. I read about that all of the time. Sometimes it could return in a lymph node or another organ. For now I am going to remain positive that I was one of lucky ones who survived this awful monster, and I can raise my children as a healthy mother.
I knew I would be supported and loved by this amazing community. I called on a team of friends: social workers, cancer survivors, Nurse Practitioners, cancer mamas, and friends who told me to eat garlic everyday and friends who prayed. I kept running because my body needed to stay healthy and I needed that alone time to cry, pray, and build the strength to make it through that major surgery.
I am extremely thankful for my amazing husband who was my rock through all of this. He was my partner through it all, kept life normal for the kids, cleaned, made me food, and let me have time to reflect and be alone. He was there every step of this journey too!! A big shout out to Uncle Steve for flying down to be with the kids too! So thankful!
I believe that which doesn’t kill us only makes us stronger, and I also believe that we must remain positive in adversity!! That has helped me keep on keeping on too!! My tribe here has been amazing. We have had meals delivered, goodie bags, flowers, and things set from near and far. I am extremely grateful and know that people matter more than anything and that is God showing up everyday.
My kids do not know that their mom had cancer, but they know that I made it through a big surgery. Jayce visited me in the hospital and said, mom...you are brave. That's all he needs to know now. My sweet Ayla just shows up with smiles and tells me about rainbows and unicorns. I am so thankful that I get to experience more amazing adventures with them!
xoxoxoxo
I am post-operation 10 days. I had a radical hysterectomy (kept my ovaries) on Aug. 5th. I was diagnosed with Stage 1B Cervical cancer in June after having a LEEP procedure. My story started a few years ago when I had an abnormal pap, then I had a colposcopy to get a biopsy, just abnormal cells were found, we repeated this for about 5 years.
After having Ayla, things actually looked better according to my OB at the time, then 1 year later a little worse, so yet another colposcopy was scheduled, then she decided we would just do the LEEP to burn off the abnormal cells and all would be good after that. It was a minor surgery and I felt good going in knowing that it would take care of this craziness once and for all.
A few days later I received a call from the office, a different OB (mine was at the beach) he says please call me back, we have your results. My mind was spinning a little, what does he mean "result," everything was supposed to be fine. Why was this other OB calling me?! I remember being frazzled because it was a long summer day and the kids were wild, but I called him back right away. I thought he was calling to check up on me after the LEEP because I was feeling a little nauseous after the procedure.
I will never forget that call. He said....ummmm, so the pathology report found cancer, we need to send you to the Cancer Institute soon for treatment. I said, treatment?! What do you mean? Didn't I just have a procedure to get rid of these cells. He said, maybe a hysterectomy... So that began my cervical cancer journey. It's still hard to believe...
Fast forward to a week or so when I finally got to see the oncologist. After calling a few friends, I heard Dr. Puls was one of the best, so I knew I would be in good hands.
Before our first appointment, I googled everything about Cervical Cancer, which can be a very slippery slope. I followed up with my OB, upset that it wasn't caught sooner. She was surprised too, but reassured me that I would be fine and that I was in good hands. It was tough to believe any of that after that diagnosis. At this point all I could think about was chemo, death, and not being around to raise my children.
The oncologist told me that this was caught early and I was most likely Stage 1, they would need to do a PET Scan, if all was clear and cancer did not spread anywhere, then I would need a radical hysterectomy ASAP!!! The waiting a few weeks until the PET Scan was so tough. I chatted with friends, asked questions about this diagnosis, googled "Invasive Squamous Carcinoma" so much, cried a lot, tried to keep up with my job, tried to keep things normal for my kids, and just prayed that this was all caught early and I would be a survivor.
As I read more, I found that cervical cancer is known as the "silent killer" and many women don't even know that they have it because there aren't many symptoms. Also, women put off having their annual OB visits too. Thankfully, I was keeping up with my appointments, but this knowledge still scared me!
Good news! Pet Scan was clear, cancer was just contained in cervix (although they weren't sure how much was still there), my surgery was scheduled for Aug. 5th! My pre-op appointment was on my 43rd bday. I felt nervous, scared, but ready to put up the fight! I was thankful that I had 2 healthy babies and I was fine getting rid of my parts! My ovaries could be saved though, so I wouldn't go into menopause.
So, here I am 10 days later, I survived the big radical hysterectomy. The pathology reports came back good, cancer should be gone. I still worry about recurrence. I read about that all of the time. Sometimes it could return in a lymph node or another organ. For now I am going to remain positive that I was one of lucky ones who survived this awful monster, and I can raise my children as a healthy mother.
I knew I would be supported and loved by this amazing community. I called on a team of friends: social workers, cancer survivors, Nurse Practitioners, cancer mamas, and friends who told me to eat garlic everyday and friends who prayed. I kept running because my body needed to stay healthy and I needed that alone time to cry, pray, and build the strength to make it through that major surgery.
I am extremely thankful for my amazing husband who was my rock through all of this. He was my partner through it all, kept life normal for the kids, cleaned, made me food, and let me have time to reflect and be alone. He was there every step of this journey too!! A big shout out to Uncle Steve for flying down to be with the kids too! So thankful!
I believe that which doesn’t kill us only makes us stronger, and I also believe that we must remain positive in adversity!! That has helped me keep on keeping on too!! My tribe here has been amazing. We have had meals delivered, goodie bags, flowers, and things set from near and far. I am extremely grateful and know that people matter more than anything and that is God showing up everyday.
My kids do not know that their mom had cancer, but they know that I made it through a big surgery. Jayce visited me in the hospital and said, mom...you are brave. That's all he needs to know now. My sweet Ayla just shows up with smiles and tells me about rainbows and unicorns. I am so thankful that I get to experience more amazing adventures with them!
xoxoxoxo
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