December 1, 2009

I've decided to take the radiation treatments. He wants me to start as soon as possible so I will. I won't wait till after the new year. If I'm not feeling well when Christmas rolls around I will just stay home. I did last year because of my problems. He really wants me to get the Chemo also. Says I will have a better chance of not getting it back and having everything work better afterwards.. They changed my date to meet with the oncologist. That is next Thursday. I have to go back on Tuesday for the "Simulation" and fitting for the radiation machine and marking my body. I'm adding all this information so you will all know what I will be going through in the next couple weeks till I start the treatments. Hopefully my body will be strong enough to handle all this stuff. I'm getting sick of this ache in my butt. All I did today was bleed. Couldn't go to the bathroom very well. It's these kind of days that tell me I better start doing something sooner.
I am at the stage where it's very curable. If I wait too long it won't be. Just like I waited too long to get the damn Colonoscopy. If I had gotten one three years ago, instead of canceling the appointment, it would have just been a small polyp and would have been removed. I'm paying for that mistake now.
Dr. Crawford let me know all the risks and some of my questions were answered. He says that a lot of that stuff could be a problem and says what they all say. There are no guarantees. He says I will need a dialator because the radiation will practically close up my vagina. I had read all about that. I told him I didn't plan on having sex any more in this life. It's been ten years now. But he said that I'd still need to because of doctor exams, like pap smears etc. I told him I wouldn't be bothering with any of that stuff at my age. He knows he's up against a tough minded old broad. Ha! Ha!
This is a quote from someone who had to use one after surgery...
"It was really no big deal at all. It's one small aspect of your medical treatment, the goal of which is to prevent scar tissue and vaginal stenosis.