My surgery is over, and after an overnight hospital stay I am safely home. The doctor took many things out of me and she biopsied the rest. My doctor is a GYN oncologist surgeon, Sara Jordan. She is amazing and couldn’t be better. She feels that my serous uterine cancer, a rare subset of endometrial cancer and known for recurring, needs to be treated aggressively. I completed the first step, surgery.

Prepping for the surgery was a challenge. I was required to spend Mother’s Day on a clear liquid diet. Then on Monday I was reduced to NPO status even though surgery wasn’t until one pm. I was running on empty so when I approached my preop, well-padded bed, I was relieved to get in. Stripped down like a hijacked car, clothed in the traditional blue gown, IV successfully inserted, I was ready for surgery. OR nurse stopped in. Anesthesiologist checked in. Dr Jordan reviewed the surgery again and introduced me to the second surgeon. Time seemed to accelerate. It was five minutes past one when I was wheeled toward the OR for major robotic surgery.

After time in the recovery room, I was brought to a private room and to my sons. All was well. The good news was that the cancer had not spread. Caught early. Still I had to be catheterized in the middle of the night. Not much there. Bummer. The nurses kept pouring in the IV fluids. Not much in there to come out. I was dehydrated. Next day I peed on my own. It was my pass to go home. My boys took me home. Very glad to be in my own bed in my own room.

I felt crampy but otherwise I felt fine. For robotic surgery five small incisions were made across my upper abdomen. The middle incision, a little larger than the others, is where the camera was inserted. The other four incisions were entry points for the robotic arms. I had two IVs as a safety measure.

After surgery I was given IV ibuprofen. I loved the stuff. I had not heard of it. I think it is fairly new for post op patients. With my joint pain being relieved, I felt very good indeed. Mobile. I wish I had some right now.

I started thinking about the next step, chemo. It will start in a few weeks. My doc has ordered a ton of meds including Ativan and two strong medications for nausea. This suggests to me that I will not want to eat very much. The chemo is the standard for this cancer consisting of two drugs. It will be given every three weeks for six doses. That will take me up to October. My year shot again. Sometimes I feel that I have to go through an awful lot just to stay alive.

Now I was getting depressed, but I continued on to thinking about the third part of the treatment. Brady radiation. It is where a devise is placed in my vagina and then the radiology oncologist places a powerfully radioactive material into the devise. I will be left alone for about 15 minutes. Then the radioactive material and the devise will be removed. That’s about all I know about it for now. Maybe it is too much to know. Not a comfortable type of a treatment. Now it takes me into November. I am definitely spending my year as a patient. I became depressed after thinking through the timeline. Big mistake.

This thinking does not work. I need to stick with the one day at a time theory. I can handle that. Divide up my day. Make chocolate bread. Watch the squirrel and the chipmunk. The quail. Write. Knit a bit. Tomorrow will come soon enough. See. Happier already.