Aa
For those of you that don't have a diagnosis yet
Dear Everybody,
I know a lot of you on this forum are playing a waiting game. I know some of you may be telling yourself that it IS all in your head like the Drs and your family keep alluding to, but if your issues have brought you here, you most likely have something wrong no matter how many Drs or loved ones say otherwise, or you would not still be searching. I did not have that experience (I started cysts @ 18 and had so many over the years, they looked at that FIRST) so I can only imagine, but I have friends on here whose family and Drs got impatient with them insisting something was wrong and felt isolated because of it. You know your body better than they do (unless you are having an affair with your Dr., oops I know one of you has had a 20 yr affair with your Dr. LOL) so don't let anyone discourage you from finding out what it is. Non cancerous issues may not be as life threatening, but from having had 5 surgeries for OvCy and a bunch that burst, I know they can be VERY painful and disrupt your life completely.
It is my most fervent hope that none of you have OvCa, however, I would like to suggest that ALL of you read Gilda Radner's book, "It's Always Something". I read it after I had cancer and had I read it sooner, I would have known. The "accepted" symptoms for OvCa are a load of horsesh!t. Most women have those symptoms all the time. They are the same symptoms as IBS which I had for 24 yrs and so I never thought anything of it. It wasn't until my ovaries were 11 and 14 cm that the pain in my hip and leg sent me screaming to the Dr. Gilda talks alot about her everyday experiences leading up to the diagnosis and like me and others, some of her symptoms were so subtle and not on the accepted list that we just schluffed them aside. Woman are so used to caring for others that we "work through" the pain or whatever other symptoms may be presenting themselves. I had a low grade fever for the ENTIRE month of March 06, but I thought it was just a bug I couldn't get rid of. Everybody had something so.... Gilda talks about her fevers and other little symptoms that separately don't mean anything, but all together they added up to cancer.
Most every public library should carry the book and if you are fortunate enough to live in a city with a Gilda's Club, you can find several copies there for borrowing.
Oh, this is a very cool site from the NIH on OvCy and it has an interactive tutorial on cysts so you just watch it and answer some questions.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/ovariancysts/htm/index.htm
I hope all of you find out quickly that you don't have cancer and can move on from this. A lot more of you have small children than on the cancer forum and I can only imagine what it must be like trying to raise little ones while trying to figure all of this out. Good luck to all of you and PLEASE read the book.
Jan
I know a lot of you on this forum are playing a waiting game. I know some of you may be telling yourself that it IS all in your head like the Drs and your family keep alluding to, but if your issues have brought you here, you most likely have something wrong no matter how many Drs or loved ones say otherwise, or you would not still be searching. I did not have that experience (I started cysts @ 18 and had so many over the years, they looked at that FIRST) so I can only imagine, but I have friends on here whose family and Drs got impatient with them insisting something was wrong and felt isolated because of it. You know your body better than they do (unless you are having an affair with your Dr., oops I know one of you has had a 20 yr affair with your Dr. LOL) so don't let anyone discourage you from finding out what it is. Non cancerous issues may not be as life threatening, but from having had 5 surgeries for OvCy and a bunch that burst, I know they can be VERY painful and disrupt your life completely.
It is my most fervent hope that none of you have OvCa, however, I would like to suggest that ALL of you read Gilda Radner's book, "It's Always Something". I read it after I had cancer and had I read it sooner, I would have known. The "accepted" symptoms for OvCa are a load of horsesh!t. Most women have those symptoms all the time. They are the same symptoms as IBS which I had for 24 yrs and so I never thought anything of it. It wasn't until my ovaries were 11 and 14 cm that the pain in my hip and leg sent me screaming to the Dr. Gilda talks alot about her everyday experiences leading up to the diagnosis and like me and others, some of her symptoms were so subtle and not on the accepted list that we just schluffed them aside. Woman are so used to caring for others that we "work through" the pain or whatever other symptoms may be presenting themselves. I had a low grade fever for the ENTIRE month of March 06, but I thought it was just a bug I couldn't get rid of. Everybody had something so.... Gilda talks about her fevers and other little symptoms that separately don't mean anything, but all together they added up to cancer.
Most every public library should carry the book and if you are fortunate enough to live in a city with a Gilda's Club, you can find several copies there for borrowing.
Oh, this is a very cool site from the NIH on OvCy and it has an interactive tutorial on cysts so you just watch it and answer some questions.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/ovariancysts/htm/index.htm
I hope all of you find out quickly that you don't have cancer and can move on from this. A lot more of you have small children than on the cancer forum and I can only imagine what it must be like trying to raise little ones while trying to figure all of this out. Good luck to all of you and PLEASE read the book.
Jan
**this is the post that led me here. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. This post is a must read :)
FYI ... the book is no longer in print so i guess i need a used copy
(probably find it on e-bay)
love,
sharon
FYI ... the book is no longer in print so i guess i need a used copy
(probably find it on e-bay)
love,
sharon
Awesome post Jan, and thanks again for sharing your wisdom and experience on this forum. You just never know when the right words will find the right person at the right time. It's why we're all here.
Joelle
Joelle
Just wanted you to know that I have read Gilda's book and it is awesome. Like Jan I only wish that I had found it sooner. I really think that you will like it, I know that I did.
Chris
Chris
Jan, thank you so much for your post. We so appreciate your help, especially as you go through so many challenges of your own. I love the link you gave and found some helpful links there for other conditions that affect my family. I will definitely get the book too.
Hugs,
Trudie
Hugs,
Trudie
Jan214 is a beautiful lady with OVCA. Her suggestion is excellent and her advice even better.
Thank you Jan, for your warm & thoughtful post.
Gilda was a great lady, and is sorely missed.
Donna
Thank you Jan, for your warm & thoughtful post.
Gilda was a great lady, and is sorely missed.
Donna
Thank you Jan for the post. I too, am going to get the book, because I am one of those who the doctors are brushing off and I vacillate between "in my head" and "real!", so I can relate. Thank you!
Colleen
Colleen
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