Going public

Okay, I have decided I need to go public with what is going on with me. Be warned - this may be a bit more information about me that you may be uncomfortable with but I was vocal about the need for mammograms and feel I need to be just as vocal about the need for pap tests.

Pap tests? Now, I bet you are wondering what the heck pap tests have to do with breast cancer. In my case, absolutely nothing and it is actually a cause for celebration. The past few weeks I have not been dealing with a recurrence of breast cancer. No, I have been dealing with another type - cervical. (Here is the too much information part....) The good news about this is it means my breast cancer has not spread - woo hoo! The bad news is I now face a total hysterectomy: uterus, ovaries, and cervix all to be removed. Ouch.

As most of you know - I have no plans on using these organs to have a family (that is an entirely different story!) but they are a part of me. I am already less one appendix and now will be down a few more body parts. Thankfully I have already entered menopause due to my chemo/tamoxifen combo so will not have to go through that on top things but I am somewhat attached to my organs - using them or not!

So here is what I figure - I'll weigh less; I will not have to worry about ovarian cancer which is what my maternal grandmother passed away from 20 years ago; and I'll gain a few more scars to add to my artillery cabinet when telling stories about myself; "What? Oh, that - I got that catching a tasty wave off the shores of Tahiti." Or something like that.

So anyway I advise all my female friends to get their Pap tests - they would not have caught this without my annual check -up. Sound familiar? That is why the timing is eerily the same as my breast cancer detection, I am a creature of habit when it comes to my annual exams. So for 2010 here is what I am dealing with:

Adenocarcinoma in Situ. Adenocarcinomas originate in glandular cells. This cancer tends to be more aggressive than the more common squamous carcinoma in situ. Some evidence suggests that it develops in numerous sites rather than a single location. Hysterectomy is generally recommended. In women who wish to retain fertility, cone biopsies may be performed, although this procedure sometimes causes sterility and it does not always remove all adenocarcinomas.

Looks like my procedure will be in June after my dragonboat competition in Canada and my traithlon on 6-19. It will require an inpatient stay and a decent recovery time. That is what I fear most - being told I can't do anything!!!