Cervical Cancer: A Diary - Part 3

Eventually the 19th of August rolls around, 5 days before my birthday and I have the meeting with my doctors. I have to just interject here that I have the most divine doctors. I have a team of 5 people working on my case and they are all without exception, amazing. There’s Dr Heinz, the surgeon, Dr Sparkly Eyes, the gynae oncologist, Dr Young & Pretty, intern gynae understudy and 2 random others (names have been changed to protect the innocent) whom I did not meet with on a regular basis. My doctors are all very intelligent and extremely well qualified and keep me informed of everything every step of the way. They also have a great sense of humour which helps me cope through this. I am literally trusting them with my life after all.

After waiting for what seems like an eternity, it is eventually my turn to meet with the doctors. In I go and it’s Dr Heinz who breaks the news to me. The good news is the cancer is stage 1 and that it’s operable. The cancer is nowhere else BUT in my cervix and has not spread according to the test results. The bad news is the recommended operation is a radical hysterectomy. He explains the ins and outs to me while I sit in a blur of terror not really taking a word in that he is saying. I am half happy that it is operable and half totally panicked about the thought of a knife cutting into my insides. I ask him whether I should be panicking at this point. He looks bemused and assures me that this is a normal reaction but that he is very experienced and that I am in the best hands possible. I walk out on shaky legs to tell my friend the news. The operation is scheduled for the 8th of September. He did have an opening earlier but that would’ve clashed with my birthday plans and I told the doc that me and my uterus wanted to have a party, thank you.