One of the last posts I wrote before going silent was about how I wanted to take care of myself to avoid health problems. Well, they caught up with me, big time.
The condensed version is that by late summer, I started having gynaecological problems like prolonged bleeding and cramping. I had it checked out, got a preliminary diagnosis of PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) and was sent to a diabetologist because there was glucose in my urine. Long story short, the insulin resistance that often comes with PCOS had already manifested as diabetes type 2, and so I’m taking metformin for that now.
The bleeding also got worse, hypermenorrhea and menorrhagia for three months straight, so back to the gynaecologist, who did an ultrasound of my uterus. Turns out I had endometrial hyperplasia which turned the endometrial lining more than twice as thick as it should have been. I got a referral to the hospital for an abrasion and hysteroscopy. Everything looked fine on the outside, but when the histological report returned, it was endometrial cancer. Earliest stage possible, slow-growing, and the least aggressive variety, but cancer nonetheless. I had a number of tests done on genetic mutations, all of them negative. Caught the flu immediately afterwards and was sick right up until the date for surgery rolled around: ten days ago, I had a total laparoscopic hysterectomy. The ovaries could stay since I had no genetic mutation that would increase the risk of ovarian cancer; the uterus, cervix and tubes were removed. The procedure was a success and I’m now cancer-free since it had not metastasized or grown outside of the uterus.
So far the hard facts. As you can imagine, it was an emotional rollercoaster, and the whole part from the discovery of the hyperplasia to the hysterectomy played out in under two months, so I’m still feeling like it’s going to catch up with me and hit me like a boomerang.
Physical recovery is going well, even though I have to rest a lot, but the pain is manageable.
I’ll try to write in more detail soon; for now I’m tired.
Lugubrious Layara 