This past week, the wife was diagnosed with cervical cancer. The doctor is optimistic though since it turns out the cancer has not spread like was initially feared. It looks like it can be addressed with an operation. We’re meeting with a specialist on Monday to determine exactly what type of operation will be best, then set a date.
It’s not been a good year for the wife healthwise, what with this now and Covid in March. Plus last December, she had a growth removed from her breast, although that turned out to be benign. She is in her early 60s and hopes this is not setting a theme for her senior years.
Sending healing thoughts, SS. I’m glad the investigation shows it has not spread. That is actually great news.
I’ve had pre-cancer removed but, being me, ended up with a lot of scarring, which can be an issue romance-wise. Be sure to ask the surgeon. On the other hand, a friend of mine got cervical cancer when she was 30. But she managed to get pregnant and hold the baby to term afterwards. So far, she has had no recurrence. She is 60 now.
I have an aunt who, in her 20’s, was diagnosed with early stage cervical cancer (yes, I know it’s unusual that early, but it can happen). She underwent surgery and treatment and remained cancer free for the next 50 or so years. Round two with the big C resulted in another remission and she died in her late 80’s of an unrelated illness/condition.
In other words, caught early enough, cervical cancer is very, very treatable.
Thanks to everyone. I’ll keep you posted on developments. It’s still somewhat unreal to both of us, as she does not feel the least bit sick. No symptoms yet, it was caught during a routine check-up.
I hope this means it’ll be cured as easily as it was for my mom, who was diagnosed in the mid-90s. She never really felt sick either (she got a call after an abnormal pap smear), and wasn’t treated for terribly long before it was resolved.
Damn, I hope this isn’t a theme. Nobody should have to go through this. But it’s good the doctor says it’s early days. Please, if you feel like it, keep us Dopers informed. Would it make her smile if I said I’m sure the pidgees are rooting for her?
We’re hoping it’s early days. She wanted to see her regular OB-GYN in Bangkok, but then because of Covid restrictions it was 2-1/2 years until she got back to Thailand – they pretty much closed the country even to nationals unless you were willing to spend weeks in quarantine upon arrival even if vaccinated. So she just waited, and it turned out to be awhile since her last visit. She was first told they found something while she was in quarantine in Bangkok after contracting Covid there and said she needed to follow up. But the policy in Thailand now is you cannot go to a medical facility at all if you’ve had Covid until a month has passed since your first negative result after recovery. She could not wait there that long, so went to a women’s health clinic after returning here. In Bangkok, they just said an anomaly was found – the wife didn’t learn it was cancer until the doctor here told her. And the Honolulu doctor was afraid it had already started spreading, but the pathologist’s report showed no spread yet. I think we dodged a bullet, and the wife now promises to see the OB-GYN in Honolulu every year until we move back to Thailand a few years hence.
My cousin had cervical cancer at a very young age: She was in her thirties. She recovered fully after treatment and now, some twenty years later, she is perfectly healthy. I hope the best for your wife.
My mom had X-rays when she had a bowel obstruction and that’s when it was found that she had “spots” on her liver and spleen. But it was early days for her, barely Stage One, so she had chemo and radiation, and was clean for several years before dying last year, sitting in a chair at home. I’ll include your wife in prayer next Sunday in church.
Adding my voice to the healing wishes, as a cancer survivor. It is a bit like playing Russian roulette over & over again. Tests! And then more tests which in turn require… even more tests. As you can see it’s possible to recover so think about that for your wife and we will, too.
Sounds like she may indeed have dodged a bullet. I had something similar happen - in 2002. Very early stage cervical cancer caught on a routine Pap smear - in 2002. (I believe the terminology on the pathology report was “microinvasive.”) Had a LEEP under local anesthesia shortly thereafter, which actually removed all the problematic tissue, and have been fine ever since, though I had to get Pap smears every 3 months for a while there.
It was very scary at the time, but as others have mentioned, extremely treatable if caught early. But she definitely shouldn’t skip any exams in the future!
My friend with cervical cancer at age 60 had the uterus removed (through the vagina) and was back bicycling and lifting canoes much earlier than her doctor predicted. She seems completely fine.
It was scary, though. She went in for surgery and literally didn’t know what they would do and how many holes she’d have in her when she woke up, because the doctor said it would depend on what she saw after she started. I think it was one of those things where the pathologist is looking at the removed tissue in real time, guiding the operation.
My mom had cervical cancer many years ago, when cancer treatments were way less sophisticated. She did exceptionally well, and passed of entirely unrelated causes some 50 years later.
We had some good news. Seeing the specialist this week, he told us that despite what the Ob-Gyn said, it’s actually not quite cancer yet. It’s dysplasia, and abnormal transformation of cells that is well on its way to transforming into cancer and so needs addressing pronto. A hysterectomy is scheduled for mid-June, although they’ll move it up if they can.
Thank you for all the well-wishes. Looks like I’ll have the old girl around a little longer.
That is excellent news. What a relief. That sounds like the stage I was at. May all go well in surgery for her and may she be around for a good, long while.
