A Happy Anniversary
Eight years ago on January 4, I had what is referred to as debulking surgery. My surgeon removed three very large tumors, my ovaries, fallopian tubes, omentum, 12 lymph nodes, and every speck of cancer he could see. I had already had my uterus and cervix removed earlier, so he basically cleaned out my abdominal area. I remember being so naive, that after the surgery I asked him if I was going to need chemo. He looked at me like I had just arrived from another planet, and he said, "Uh, yeah." So after healing and getting a port, I went through six rounds of chemo and two years of a maintenance drug, and besides a bout of a barely there bladder cancer, I continue to be cancer free, eight years later. Despite everything I have gone through since then, I have to consider myself blessed. Crazy, no? I am pretty certain I survived everything I have survived for a couple of reasons. First off, amazingly skilled surgeons. It is not all that common for someone with advanced ovar...