The Initial Shock

January 15, 2015 was the day my life changed.  I received a call from my gynecologist who had pathology results from a surgery I had six days earlier.  She quickly asked how I was recovering from the surgery and then said that she had the pathology results.  She said, "The polyps tested positive for cancer."  It was awkward.  It was relayed via a video relay service (VRS) interpreter who was a male and who I knew vaguely as he previously dated one of my good friends.  I could see he was taken aback by having to interpret that information.  It suddenly became a blur.  I asked what I needed to do next.  My gynecologist said that I needed to see a gynecologic oncologist right away who would help me figure out the next steps.  She recommended Dr. Diaz-Montes.  I was completely lost.   The call ended quickly.  An hour earlier I found a DevaCurl hair specialist in my new town of Annapolis and had booked a haircut for the following weekend.  I thought to myself, "Do I even keep that appointment?!"

I walked up to my partner, Mike, and told him I had cancer and started crying.  It was like a death sentence was just given to me.

I was in such a fog but managed to call Dr. Diaz-Montes' office right away to see when I can book the first appointment.  After getting records sent over to their office, they called me to book the first appointment for January 21st.  I had to wait SIX days in the dark wondering what this all meant for me.  I was sent some paperwork to complete before the appointment.  One question that stood out for me.  DUH!  I just found out I have cancer.  What would my stress level be like?

I asked Mike to take me to the stores so I could just escape from all that for a moment.  Window shopping became fruitless because I was wondering things like, "Will I live to buy that kayak?" I told some friends and they had a million of questions.   "What kind of cancer is it?"   "How bad?"  I didn't know the answers.  I decided to reach out to a friend of mine who survived a battle with breast cancer because I knew she would understand.  We connected via video that night and that talk was instrumental in terms of what my next steps should be.

What was clear is that I need to know more from the pathology report because my gynecologist just said the word: CANCER.  I could have asked more questions but I was in complete, utter shock to be able to think of more questions.  The next morning, I went to the ob/gyn office to get the pathology report.

"INVASIVE WELL DIFFERENTIATED ENDOMETRIOID TYPE ADENOCARCINOMA FIGO GRADE 1".

I really wanted to research online about this.  I was advised to wait until I meet with the oncologist before getting lost in the Google-land.  I briefly looked anyway and learned that it is endometrial cancer.  It is a form of uterine cancer.  Then I waited just for a day.

The next day, I looked more.  And I started to break down.  Treatment options typically include surgery.  I had to give up my entire reproductive system to beat this cancer?   That sucks.