The not-so-short summary of my last two weeks:
As of January 31, it was unknown what was growing in my ovary and as of the afternoon of February 1, it was confirmed to be a cancerous tumor, but was also completely removed. So, by the time I knew I had cancer, I did not have it anymore. It is kind of strange and hard to process.
To be more medically specific: I had a granulosa cell ovarian tumor. Which is a rare, but very treatable type of tumor. It only makes up 2% of all ovarian cancers but has an 84-95% survival rate at 10 years. So great news on prognosis, not good news on the amount of research done. Mine in particular was huge. It measured 30 cm (~11.8 in) at its widest part and weighed 6.8 kg (~15 lbs). This weight also happens to be the minimum weight of bikes in international bike races (Ex: Tour de France). So needless to say I had been uncomfortable before it was removed. And it had grown fast. When I had my CT scan 10 days before surgery it was under 25 cm and a month before I had no idea it was there.
Another interesting fact is that these tumors are most common in overweight, non-white women between the ages of 50 and 54. So, yeah, not me at all...
The surgery was Monday, February 1. I was pretty miserable that day and into Tuesday and Wednesday. Luckily my family was there to support and help me and I had wonderful nurses. By Thursday I was feeling significantly better, Friday they sent me home, and yesterday I had my follow-up appointment.
The follow-up was mostly really great news. Everything (besides the tumor) that the doctor had biopsied came back negative (no cancer). This is wonderful and such a relief! It means I get to keep my other ovary, my uterus and all my other organs that could have contained cancerous cells (but didn't!). The part that does not fit into the mostly good news is that part of the tumor had ruptured. It was a small part and had happened recently enough to not have spread any cancer (thus the negative results). But because it ruptured it puts me at a stage 1c cancer. For stage 1a and 1b the recommendation is to just have regular follow-up appointments to make sure the cancer has not returned. For stage 2 (one stage higher than 1c) the recommendation is chemo. For stage 1c the recommendation is to "consider" chemo. So basically that means I get to decide. It is nice to have some control over my treatment, but really, how I am to make that decision??
My doctor (who I really like and trust) gave me the most recent article published on granulosa tumors and talked me through both options (I was surprised and thankful for all the time he gave me) but said the decision needs to be mine. I have been spending the past day reading anything I can find on the tumors (there is not a lot as less common = less research) as well as the side effects of the chemo. Basically what I have concluded is the chemo sucks but works, and it just may not be necessary for me. Which is about what the doc told me in the first place.
That may be way more information than you wanted to know, but it is helpful to my processing to write it down. Now I have until Monday to make a decision about the chemo. At that point I will talk to the doctor and know more about next steps. Overall, it is really good news and my prognosis is really good (regardless of what I decide to do). So, while this whole thing has been quite shitty, I am thankful that it was not more so.
Thanks everyone for your support, vibes, prayers, texts, cards, flowers, etc. I appreciate it all and the love makes everything easier. Love you all :)
