Tanner, September 14th surgery

Oh what fun a hospital can be! Everyone knows how plain Jane and boring I am... nothing like this ever happens to me. Well, on Thursday September 13th, I went to Prompt care with stomach pains. It takes alot for me to go see a doctor, since we pay for it... They took x-rays and said it was gas. Sent me home with laxitives and sopositories and said have fun with your toilet for a few hours. I knew there was something more to it, because the pains didn't feel connected. At 9:00 that night I decided this definitly wasn't gas and we went to the ER. The next morning we were sent home at 6:00 after a CT scan and they had found a large mass between my bladder and uterus. My GYN, Bartley, would have to remove it and to call her first thing when they opened. All they could do for me until then was to give me some percoset. Friday bartley saw me and within 2 hours of her exam, she had me in the operating room. They couldn't save my right overy, which it was growing on, and we were TOLD it wasn't cancerous. So I now have a cute little 6 inch incision similar to a c-section on my pot. I went home Sunday night and Junior, my mom, and dad were wonderful helping me recover. Especially my dad. I am so thankful he was there, and to have someone know what I needed before I did helped me so much.

The pathologists at University were supposed to tell me what type of tumor this was in 2 to 3 days, well it took almost 2 weeks. Apparently I had something very rare that they don't see in someone my age. It is a type of Germ Cell Tumor, more specifically, a Granulosa Cell Tumor. It was 10cm x 13cm and the pain I was having was it spinning and had twisted my overy 4 times. On October 3rd, Bartley sent me to Ghamande, who is apparently the man to see about gyn cancers. I thought up to this point this wasn't cancer and that I was meeting the pathologist just to hear more about the tumor. Yes, it was malignant but they feel they got it all and I won't have to go through any radiation treatments or chemo. He wants to start CT scans every 6 months, and as he says, "we will become best friends." He wants me to come for check ups with him every 3-4 months. He also recommended, very strongly, that we don't wait to have children, and in a few years or so, he wants a full historectomy.

Well, we have had alot to swallow over the last few weeks, but really, other than the historectomy, and the big "C" word, we are okay. We have been planning for a family anyway, which everyone knows, and I know I'm in good hands with Ghamande that he will catch anything if it tries to come back. So what a wonderful anniversary present! Junior and I just hit 7 years of marriage, and, I think I'll keep him. He's the most important person in my life, like I really needed to say that :)