marissaf's Journey with Cervical Cancer

I was devastated when I returned from my OB/Gyn appointment that day. What made it worst is the nurse gave me a brochure about cervical cancer that stated, more or less, that I could die from it. I have a three year old and an eight year old at the time. My thoughts were, "Who's going to take care of them?, what's going to happen to them if I'm gone?" I wanted to cry, scream, punch someone or something. I was mad, sad, and experiencing a variety of emotions all at the same time.

My physician gave me several options. Having worked in an oncology office before, radiation and chemo was not something I was going to put myself through. God blessed me with two beautiful children and I figured, in His own way, he's telling me that's all I'm allowed to have. I made the decision of a full-hysterectomy. My husband also agreed with my decision.

Oh my goodness I thought my feet were on fire! The first week was fine and the doctor chuckled at first. He said in time I'll ask for something. In the meantime, he didn't prescribe any medication until he was sure I needed it. I didn't use any vicodins after surgery and the over-the-counter Tylenol was enough to suppress the pain. I was fine and recovered well....until two weeks later when my feet were burning up and I literally put ice cubes wrapped in towels, gel packs, and frozen packs of vegetables on my feet to keep them cool.

It's now 2012 and everything is A-okay. I am trully blessed.

My doctor gave me options and what the consequences would be. He also informed me that the likelihood of the cancer metastasizing into a Stage IV if I decided to not do anything about it. I've seen various cancers at Stage IV from working in an oncology office and I definitely do not want to go through that. It was not a difficult decision and I'm glad I decided on a full hysterectomy.