It is difficult to write when I am traveling and dealing with unexpected stuff that come up. Life is always full of curveballs. Whether it is cancer or something else. I just gotta keep on rolling with it. I am truly blessed that I am still alive and kickin' to be able to face life head on. Each day comes with a lesson, big or small. I keep on learning each day.
I saw my doctor yesterday. I was nervous that I might have to face the big bad monster, "Silver Nitrate," once again. Nope. The wound has finally healed. That little stubborn part is merely a scrape now and will heal in couple of weeks. Whew. Finally. The infection began haunting me mid-April last year. I joked with a few friends that because the wound was in a wet, dark place, I might heal faster if I just went to live in a nudist colony for a while. There's no need for that now. Almost a year later, I am done. Phew. Earlier this week, I got news that I won the last one of five appeals against my insurance company. All the bills related to all of my surgeries and treatments in 2015 have been closed forever. Now I can move forward.
As for the Lynch Syndrome question... genetic testing was done on the polyps found in my uterus by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. My doctor explained what was done: "They did special stains on your initial pathology to look for Lynch using a technique called immunohistochemistry. This test looks for expression of four proteins that if missing can mean you have Lynch. In your case the proteins were all expressed. The option after that, if you want, is to do formal genetic testing where your DNA is checked for mutations that could be sometimes be missed despite the normal expression of the proteins."
I decided that I would like to meet with the genetic counselor. In the past year, several doctors highly recommended genetic testing to make sure I don't have any further risks. If I do, I can take action sooner. While I was trying to decide, I was stuck on the fence-- ignorance can be bliss. At the same time, I don't want the ignorance to kill me. The bigger question is... will my insurance pay for the genetic testing? Maybe not. It is worthwhile to explore that avenue.
While I was dealing with recovering from the hysterectomy and fighting the post-surgical infection, I was rushing to meet deadlines that the editors gave me. The first draft of the manuscript was actually submitted in May 2014. I forgot all about it. In May 2015, the editors said it was time to begin the editing stage. It was a back-and-forth process as I worked on the paper. At one point, my co-author got injured and hospitalized that she couldn't do anything. I was on pain medication. I decided to get off the pain medication just to write and edit while I was in pain. What a wild ride that was. The final draft was submitted at the end of November. I remember feeling relieved. I wouldn't recommend working on a publishing a paper while dealing with all the medical stuff but... I made it. It was an opportunity that I couldn't pass up. My very first research study in print. The book was released last month. I feel damn good.
Life has its ups and downs constantly. I am just moving forward. I dealt with cancer, the infection, and waiting what felt like forever for the wound (hole) to heal. It is time to see what the next chapter is all about. I do not know what lies ahead. What I have survived so far keeps on making me stronger for what is coming ahead.
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