A Rat Indeed

So. This ones not going to be much fun to write. Or read.

As most of you know I had surgery in April to temporarily replace an infected knee joint, then a month later I had some skin cancer removed from my perineum and lymph nodes removed to test to see if the cancer had spread internally.

I saw Dr Elit in Hamilton today and she said that one of the lymph nodes they tested came back positive for cancer. She said that I have a decision to make with regard to whether or not I have another surgery to remove all the lymph nodes in the area on both sides. This surgery would go deeper than the one I already had. She explained that doing that surgery would not be a life saving measure but rather a tool to test all the nodes to see if radiation is in order. (I asked her to say that twice to be sure I understood) The other option which I am leaning toward is to go the radiation route, if feasible, right away without the surgery. Dr Elit was not sure what the radiation therapy would look like but she thought maybe every day for 4 weeks.

In either case the first course of action is to have a ct scan and get a date set up to see the radiologist both of which are in the works.

Also neither the radiation or surgery if I chose to have it can be done until my current lymph node wound heals which it is in no hurry, it seems, to do. It is messy, boring, getting more painful, and I've had quite enough thank you very much!

No one has said anything about chemo. I asked her what kind of cancer I have and she said I have vulvular cancer that has spread to my lymph nodes.

I don't really have a peppy way to end this but I know that I have a great deal of support and love in my life for which I am really grateful. If radiation is the way to go and it is every day for weeks then I will be contacting the cancer society for rides to Hamilton. However they need 5 working days notice so there may be times when I'll need to put forth emails to see who's available. After having taken some - ahem - creative routes I can now say I know exactly where I am going! Please let me know by email if you wish to be on that "looking for a ride" email list. Thanks.

I do feel like I am being helped in a very timely manner by this cancer centre which is a relief from what you all hear these days.

Oh and I see the knee surgeon this next Tuesday. Dr Elit said I am likely at least 6 to 8 weeks away from even considering having the second knee surgery which makes it such an extreme blessing that the temporary knee is functioning on such a high, nearly pain free level. It is all I can do to remember to use my cane or rollator because it just doesn't feel necessary anymore. But I will try because they don't know the limits of this new kind of temporary knee and I need to respect that!

I changed my mind about not having a peppy ending. Over the next while I'm going to recycle some of my cards and poems that people made for me. I probably won't be posting many updates to Facebook or emails. Drop by this blog to catch up if you want to. My blog is a really important tool for me to talk out my life right now but if blogs baffle or bore you I can email you the link on days when I think important stuff happens like today. Just let me know. I much prefer blogging to being in everyone's face all the time. Mostly I'll bore you with cat pictures but hey, that's the price of admission!