Today, Feb 23, 2022, I had my total hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy removing those organs reducing my risk for uterine, cervical, and ovarian cancers. The surgeon didn't see any reason to remove any of my lymph nodes to biopsy, but they did send a specimen of my peritoneum wall to the lab to test and it showed that no tumor cells were identified!!!!!! Yay!!!!! The surgery was done laparoscopically, so I only have 3 small holes to show for it 😎 My 1st surgery (with breast cancer) I was a difficult intubation, so I reminded anesthesia about that. For my RT friends, whether or not they used the CMAC, I don't know, but it was in the OR just in case and I was having tiny bouts with heartburn this last week, so I reminded them to hold cricoid pressure! 😉 I'm told surgery went well, but afterward, rolling down the hall to recovery and having just woken up, I had the worst pain I think I've ever had. I feel I have a pretty high tolerance for pain, but this was awful! I felt like I had to go to the bathroom and after peeing about a half a teaspoon OR LESS, that didn't relieve my pain!!! The RN asked what my pain level was on a scale of 1 to 10, and I said about a FIFTEEN!!!!!! Well, eventually, the pain was finally at a tolerable level and I was able to pee about, hmmmm, a half a cup, but it was more than a teaspoon! We picked up my meds and headed south!!! I was the 1st case which ended up starting at about 7:45 a.m.(after everyone showed up) and we got home around 3:30 p.m. I think. It made for a long day when we had to be at the hospital at 5:30 a.m. Jeff was proud of himself for getting the best parking spot EVER in the ramp. He said even if I have appts at noon, we should go up and park in the ramp at 5:30 a.m., so we can get those prime parking spots!!! 😏 What a ding dong!!! I've been pretty tired since home and I'm trying to stay on top of the pain which so far, I've been able to do. Soooooo, surgery #2 is in the books🎊🎊🎊

I met a breast cancer survivor Tuesday before surgery and she shared some of her experiences. She said she had lymphedema in her arm after her mastectomies. It was so bad she had to resolve it with a procedure to help drain the fluid buildup caused by the removal of her lymph nodes. She said to take measurements and record them to keep track of different spots up and down my arm to detect any swelling and contact my MD immediately. Info, good to know.

To change the subject a bit, part of this whole journey has been having to deal with the things outside of having breast cancer and that has been a nightmare. I'm fortunate and blessed that my cancer and the side effects have been tolerable. I noticed today my toenails took a big hit from the chemo though, but anyway....dealing with HR, Benefits, figuring out who to talk to for leave guidance, and getting paperwork filled out and on time, etc, etc, etc has been very chaotic and frustrating. On Feb 15, 2022, just last week, I was informed in a ZOOM meeting that my Dept officially terminated me. I didn't know what to expect and how this all would play out, but that caught me totally off guard. So my UIHC RT life went from November of 1994 to February 2022. I'm hanging up my stethoscope from the U. It's been an emotional roller coaster ride throughout all of this. Everyone keeps saying how I'm so strong and brave, but the fact is I'm stubborn and I'm depending on my stubborness to get me through ALL of this, the cancer, the recovery, and even the paperwork end of it! I will win!!! 😉

Thank you, as alwayz, for your continued support. I'm truly blessed💓 Take care. Stay safe and healthy….