I have some great news to share!

The surgery went very well.  I was in the hospital for six days.  I was a CCU patient for three days afterwards, then they switched me in the computer to a "regular" patient, but I still got the VIP treatment in CCU.  The regular floor was too busy, so they let me stay there the whole time.  I was so happy.  The CCU nurses at Witham are absolutely awesome! 

The doctor was very pleased with treatment results.  The tumor had shrunk down to the size of a quarter!  He removed about a foot of my large intestine and the surrounding area.  He seems pretty confident the cancer hasn't metastasized to any other organs.  Of course, this was sent off to a pathologist to do the final staging of my cancer.  Well, the pathologist called my doctor a couple of days later to be sure he removed the right section.  There was NO EVIDENCE of cancer at all!  This only happens to about 15% of people, though I've been told more than once that sounds like a high number. 

The hysterectomy portion of the surgery went very well.  My GYN is the best ever!  He was able to remove everything without any complications.  He found I wasn't near as damaged from radiation as we feared.  He also found no evidence the cancer had spread to my "girl parts."  Now I'm on an Estrogen patch and life is good.  I am still a tiny bit bothered by the fact that I won't have anymore babies, but it seems to get a little easier to deal with.

The ostomy did not go well.  Physically it did, but emotionally I was not prepared for it.  It was very difficult for me to deal with and accept for the first week or so.  I think I cried on every nurse, including my home health nurse.  I am dealing with it a lot better now, but counting down the days until it is reversed!  He could actually reverse it six weeks after surgery, but if he does it would delay treatment by 12 weeks.  He also seems to think it will easier for me if I have this during chemo treatment.  He's right, but boy I wish I could get rid of this thing as soon as possible! 

I start chemo again on the 25th of this month.  I am not looking forward to it.  They are going to be hitting me harder with it this time around.  The one that makes me sensitive to cold is what I dread most.  I will have this one every other week for four months.  Eight treatments total.  The pump I wore the first time around will be for 48 hours this time instead of 24/7, thank goodness.  I tried to get out of having chemo at all since we got such great news, but the chemo doctor said nice try, but it's not a deal.  He said he'd rather over treat me than under treat me.  His fear is there could be one teeny tiny cell floating around, and if it sets up camp somewhere in my body, it could be a lot harder to treat than the first time around. 

So I've literally been given a second chance at life.  I owe it to every single person who said a prayer for me.  I know God had his hand upon me, even though at times I struggled with believing this.  I can't thank everyone enough for thinking of me and praying for all of us during this time.   

Sorry to be so long-winded!  There's more to come.  I have a mission to complete.  I will be blogging on this very soon!