Cancer

Don't you just hate the very word itself?  I do!

I originally talked to my Dr. about feeling bloated in early August.  She had recommended an MRI; which I thought was absurd - I was bloated for goodness sake just recommend lemon water or something.

I didn't think much about it and attended Lee & Jamie's wedding (look for that in a future blog).  My dress was two pieces and the skirt was super tight in the middle, but that is where I've always carried my weight.

On 9/29/11 I finally went for that MRI.  I had not been back at my desk for an hour when the phone rang.  It was my Dr. telling me I had a large (the size of your fist) tumor in my right kidney.  WWWHHHAAATTT?!?  She felt sure it was cancer.

I called my husband and informed him and then went back to work... ya I know but what was there to do really?

We went to the Dr the next day to get more information.  It appeared I had a kidney tumor and another tumor where the appendix and bowel are connected.  My surgery was scheduled for October 6th.

My daughter and her husband came.  It was nice to have her there - she even stayed in my room one night.

They took the kidney and the appendix and re-sectioned the bowel.  Good news - no chemo because the tumor had been encapsulated in the kidney - and the appendix/bowel tumor was benign.

Now my mid section wasn't pretty or sexy but it also wasn't shanked like it is now!  The worst was the fact that all my hard work to lose 75 lbs seemed to be for nothing :-(  I know it shouldn't have been my primary concern - but frankly I was pretty angry. 

I gained 45 lbs back.  Now, I've lost 25 of those and am working on the last 20 BUT damn it sucked!  It took 2 years for my body to reorganize my organs so that I could lose again.

Shortly after my surgery my husband was hit with several medical issues:  Gout, Pulmonary Embolism and Prostrate Cancer - yup you heard me right!  We handled the Gout with diet, The Embolism had him on blood thinners for a year (shots for a good portion of that) and the prostrate ws removed.

It was an ugly year for us both.

Glad it is over!!

Watch for better days next post as we review our two children's weddings!

Pam