Old friends emerged again to support me. New friends were made. People offered me resources and referrals. Survivors of cancer offered their advice.
January 22: Cancer sucks. My perspective on cancer is forever changed now that I have cancer. I am posting this in hopes to be connected with other women who have had endometrial cancer. I am seeking support as I work through my own journey. Please send me contacts privately. Thanks.
January 24: Thanks for the support, y'all. I started hormone therapy today to start treating the cancer. Feeling okay so far-- although a bit tired. I don't know the stage of my cancer yet but finished some tests the past few days to get my stage. Still looking for other women who have had endometrial cancer before menopause. Thanks for all the tips and advice so far! Very helpful!
February 2: I just learned today that a social worker that works in my oncologist's office was assigned to work with me if I need any additional support. When they said it would be a team effort to get me through this, they really meant it. I work with my oncologist, the nurse navigator who takes the time to answer a million of my questions and now the social worker who will give me more resources and information. I understand that more individuals will work with me throughout the whole process. They are introducing them slowly to avoid overwhelming me.
A question emerged for me while talking with the social worker today...
Do I warn the video relay service interpreters that I will be talking
about cancer before the call is made? Some of the interpreters appear
to struggle with the call context. For me, it feels like an automatic
process... I gotta make a call and I get connected via an interpreter.
Now I want to be sensitive to the interpreter's ability to handle the
call as well. Ethically, they can decline the assignment if they know
it wouldn't make them comfortable but video relay service interpreters
do not know what would come up in calls. Thoughts?
Naomi's note: my experiment with this yielded interesting results. After trying to communicate with VRS interpreters that I am calling about cancer, I have decided not to warn the interpreters. The quality of their work is better that way even though they may wince.
February 4: Today is World Cancer Day. Wear purple.
February 5: Just went to the oncology lab for another test. They had bandages of different colors: purple, hot pink, red, light blue and lime green. Little things like that makes me smile. It's definitely better than the clinical tan! UGH! I picked my favorite color- purple!
February 5: Three weeks ago I got the phone call from my ob/gyn that changed my life. "You have cancer." I was quickly referred to a gynecologic oncologist whose nurse sent me paperwork to fill out THAT same day. This was one of the questions. I was like, "DUH!!" when I picked 10. That was why I got the call from a social worker earlier this week. She wanted to know if I was still at 10. I told her I was at maybe 7-8. There's so much information to learn and process that I am trying NOT to drown. I usually like to take my time to make life-changing decisions. I am on hormone therapy that is temporarily fighting the cancer while I figure out the best treatment options. Alas, I must move fast to make some decisions. All I can do is take it a step at a time while moving fast with all the information-gathering and tests. It does help to have something constant in my life: work, school, home and basic routine. It keeps me going. Thank you all for your support. I'm blessed.
February 15: One month since my diagnosis... I am still taking it a day at a time. It's a continual up and down process. I'm not stage 4 as confirmed by tests. To stage endometrial cancer, my uterus has to be taken out for further testing. I could be somewhere between stage 1 and 3. Right now I'm on a three-month hormone therapy treatment plan to see how the cancer responds to this treatment before going further with more aggressive treatments. I appreciate this time because it allows me to research and process although there are some annoying side effects. The Internet can be one scary place. There are a lot of scary information out there that can easily get me down. I am learning to filter those and keep on looking for valuable nuggets that would help me in the long run. Onward.
February 17: Cancer is expensive. Sure wish medical insurance companies would be more sensitive toward cancer patients. It's already stressful as it is to deal with the disease and now I have to fight them on paying bills. Bills are coming in. I already filed two appeals and won. Now two more to go. I expect to do more as more bills come in. Just got off a phone call this morning and the agent said, "that surgery was not medically necessary." Really? It was to remove cancer cells that kept on multiplying. Hmm. I don't understand this system.
Naomi's note: my experiment with this yielded interesting results. After trying to communicate with VRS interpreters that I am calling about cancer, I have decided not to warn the interpreters. The quality of their work is better that way even though they may wince.
February 4: Today is World Cancer Day. Wear purple.
February 5: Just went to the oncology lab for another test. They had bandages of different colors: purple, hot pink, red, light blue and lime green. Little things like that makes me smile. It's definitely better than the clinical tan! UGH! I picked my favorite color- purple!
February 5: Three weeks ago I got the phone call from my ob/gyn that changed my life. "You have cancer." I was quickly referred to a gynecologic oncologist whose nurse sent me paperwork to fill out THAT same day. This was one of the questions. I was like, "DUH!!" when I picked 10. That was why I got the call from a social worker earlier this week. She wanted to know if I was still at 10. I told her I was at maybe 7-8. There's so much information to learn and process that I am trying NOT to drown. I usually like to take my time to make life-changing decisions. I am on hormone therapy that is temporarily fighting the cancer while I figure out the best treatment options. Alas, I must move fast to make some decisions. All I can do is take it a step at a time while moving fast with all the information-gathering and tests. It does help to have something constant in my life: work, school, home and basic routine. It keeps me going. Thank you all for your support. I'm blessed.
February 15: One month since my diagnosis... I am still taking it a day at a time. It's a continual up and down process. I'm not stage 4 as confirmed by tests. To stage endometrial cancer, my uterus has to be taken out for further testing. I could be somewhere between stage 1 and 3. Right now I'm on a three-month hormone therapy treatment plan to see how the cancer responds to this treatment before going further with more aggressive treatments. I appreciate this time because it allows me to research and process although there are some annoying side effects. The Internet can be one scary place. There are a lot of scary information out there that can easily get me down. I am learning to filter those and keep on looking for valuable nuggets that would help me in the long run. Onward.
February 17: Cancer is expensive. Sure wish medical insurance companies would be more sensitive toward cancer patients. It's already stressful as it is to deal with the disease and now I have to fight them on paying bills. Bills are coming in. I already filed two appeals and won. Now two more to go. I expect to do more as more bills come in. Just got off a phone call this morning and the agent said, "that surgery was not medically necessary." Really? It was to remove cancer cells that kept on multiplying. Hmm. I don't understand this system.
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