Dear Shannon,
I am so sorry that I have not responded to your message before now. I somehow got so distracted with everything going on around me that I lost track of many messages and of time.
With the news alone there was so much grief and turmoil for my family, work, and friends.
Our lives were turned upside down as I am certain was yours.
I hope and pray that all is well with you. No one knows torment experienced with this kind of diagnosis unless they experience it themselves. I am certain this mental torment is only the tip of the the surgery iceberg. With
everything in us we must fight. I pray you are fighting. If you had
the surgery, keep fighting. If you have not had surgery, keep fighting
I was scheduled for surgery August 30, 2007, but I went back to my doctor and asked him to retest me. A week later I got the call from his nurse saying the test came back cancer free. I asked them to fax the information to MD Anderson and soon after I received a call from Dr. Ramirez. He asked, "so what do you want to do". I said, "well, I'll tell you what I don't want to do, and that would be the exenteration". He asked me to come as scheduled but instead of the exenteration, he take more samples of tissue to send to the lab. They called it surgery only because I had to be knocked out before the procedure. I went home that day, and a few weeks later I received a call and the faxed results, which were all negative! They took a total of nine samples in five locations and all were negative! Anyway, I have to go back to MD Anderson on November 27th for another PET/CT scan and to see Dr. Ramirez. They want to keep a close watch. I believe I am healed, but I will go back to Houston as the doctor suggest.
Please let me know how you are doing. You will remain in my thoughts and prayers.
Big Hugs,
Glenda