Starting a New Year Living with Cancer

Though I am glad that my chemo treatments and ovarian cancer surgery went so well, I have to accept that I will never be completely "healed" from cancer. The fact is that most cancer just goes into remission and may return at some point (recurrence). Ovarian cancer is particularly known for cycles of remission and recurrence, especially when you are not diagnosed until it has progressed to a later stage. By the time we discovered that I had ovarian cancer, I was at Stage 3c which means that though it had not yet invaded other organs, cancer cells covered all my organs in my entire abdomen. Most of this cancer was destroyed by the chemo treatments, then all visible cancer was removed during the surgery, but microscopic cancer cells still exist within me which could possibly grow in some other part of my body.

6 Weeks after Ovarian Cancer Surgery

 

It feels good to finally be recovering from ovarian cancer surgery. It has been a challenging six weeks with reacting to the general anesthetic and having a month of an abdominal infection and three weeks of heavy doses of antibiotics. I have received many blessings during this time. The Lord is helping me to heal from the exhaustion I've felt and the anxiety caused by the anesthetic. In the past, I've had days of tears after having local anesthetics which has been difficult, but I've really needed the Lord's strength to hold together through this sense of panic. I could not have made it this last month without His help, and I am so grateful. 

I am also grateful that though the ultrasound showed a possibility of an infection pocket in my abdomen, just three days later, the CT scan indicated that I would not have to have more general anesthetic so I could be "opened up and cleaned out".  I feel that the Lord has been aware that I am too worn down at this time to endure this treatment and has blessed me with healing, so that I don't need to do it.