Part 3: Action Plan

Part 3: Action Plan

26. I was 26 years old when I was told I was going to see an oncologist. Women at my age see OB/GYN’s, not GYN Oncologists.

The week leading up to the appointment was my county's Fall Break, so I had plenty of quiet time to mull over everything I was told and what we might learn at our consult. Honestly? It was hell. I've never wanted a break to be over more. Thank goodness for friends and family who kept me busy!

When Patrick and I walked into UGO for the first time, it was easy to see I was the youngest patient there by at least 20 years. The sweet woman at the front desk looked at me skeptically as I signed in. I knew at that moment that this wasn’t normal, that women don’t often get sent to an oncologist for a bad case of Endo.

Right at 11:00am, my name was called and we were taken back. I couldn’t stop shaking, I was so nervous. I just kept telling myself, “Dr. Parker still thinks that it’s Endometriosis. That has to be it. She’s just taking precautions.”

Dr. Cantuaria was awesome. He looked at my last ultrasound, listened to my story and symptoms, and came to the same conclusion: his gut was saying Endometriosis. He said that during surgery, he’ll remove the two persistent cysts, clean up any Endo he finds in my abdomen (he anticipated a lot due to the flair-ups I’ve been having since I was a teenager), and flush out my tubes to make sure there weren’t any blockages. He even said that if things go well, we could get pregnant within 2-3 months! I was elated! To imagine not being in pain, no more bed-ridden flair-ups, and the possibility of getting pregnant soon just brought me to tears.

We scheduled the pre-op for October 3rd, ultrasound for October 7th (I’m allergic to the MRI contrast, so we opted for the next best thing), and surgery for October 14th. It was going to be a busy few weeks, but the thought of being healed and the support from my husband gave me the motivation I needed to get through it.