Cat Walking: Fight like a bear

Today we'll be returning to the reason I began this blog in 2012. As a way to update people on my health challenges.

A recent biopsy has come back as pre-cancerous. When I texted someone earlier today spellcheck changed that to pretty-cancer. Not so sure about that :-)

From what I understood at the doctor's today pre-cancerous means there are cancer cells there but they have not necessarily reached a thickness or depth to the point where they are called cancer. Another name for it is shallow cancer. So here's where going for check ups every three months was important.

It was a very long three weeks waiting for the biopsy to be returned. Then another week of knowing the results until today's appointment with the oncologist/surgeon, Dr Elit, in Hamilton to learn of the plan. I didn't feel like talking about it here until I knew the plan. Especially since my expectations from what the doctor told me at the last surgery was that a further surgery would likely be even more invasive and might result in the need for a colostomy bag.

So it was quite a relief to find out today that that will not be necessary. It was the best possible result I could have hoped for with a positive biopsy. The surgery will be deep and ugly-painful but I have survived it twice before and I will again. I have a family doctor who will follow me closely to make sure my pain needs are met.

Plus I have the best most supportive family and friends in the world. And I have you. Even if we don't know each other well I appreciate that you are reading this and I hope you are not embarrassed to know that my cancer is in the vulvar region. I'm not embarrassed by it, it's a fact of my life, so what's the point of being coy? Please don't feel you need to find just the right thing to say. That's pressure neither of us needs. Just come along for the journey if you want to.

If you've been around for my past two bouts with this cancer you know I always have a theme. First time it was pirates, second time I added sharks for even more fighting power. This time we are pulling out the big guns. That's right...

No not squirrels - honey badgers! When I tell people that they either go: Rght!! Of course!! Or they go okaaaaaaay, what's a sweet sounding animal like a honey badger doing in your cancer fighting arsenal? And to those people I say get thee to YouTube and search "honey badger don't care." I'll post links at the end. Don't leave yet :-)

I don't have a surgery date yet, I promise I will let you know when I do. I don't have any idea what the timeline is.

Mostly I'm annoyed that my volunteering will be interrupted, probably for a couple of months. But I'm sure I can keep the newsletter folks busy for nature photos anyway as I have thousands of pictures on file :-) And I can get my kid's stories done using all these odd set ups I've been taking for no good reason.