Back home!

Im back home after my surgery. Im feeling great (a bit sore but not as much as I thought I would). The surgeons removed my ovaries, tubes, womb, omentum and appendix. Unfortunately my consultant told me the next day that it is almost certainly cancer that was also evident in my spleen and diaphram. They didnt remove my spleen as they felt it would be too traumatic for one surgery. So depending on the lab results I will have chemo and then more surgery. I will know in 8 days when I see my consultant what the plan of action is. They still are not sure where the cancer originated but this should be more clear when the lab results come back. I am so much more comfortable now the big tumour has gone. I was really blown away by the courage and optimism of one very eldery lady in my ward who had the same op as me. For someone of that age to come out of major surgery and still be smiling and joking is an inspiration and I will never forget her! My family and friends have all been amazing and I am lucky to have their support even if they do make me laugh (it really hurts!).

Fingers crossed for next Friday.

Jane

33 Replies

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  • Hi Jane!

    So glad that you have got through your first, big, hurdle. It will all be easier from here, I'm sure. There is so much that can be kept at bay with chemo and,as the results are not yet back until Friday, I will be hoping that the treatment you have next will be as untraumatic (is this a word;-) ) as possible! You sound as if you have coped really well. Families and friends are so great at times like these ..they let us know what they really think and it sometimes surprises us.

    Continue getting better and treat yourself really gently. You have been through a lot

    Love Wendy xx

  • Thanks wendy, I will try and relax and take it easy. The consultant has told me that I will have chemo within the next 4 weeks, Im hoping that its not too severe but I will take whatever comes! My friends have some wigs lined up for me and I think Im going to go quite glam for a change, I might have to fight with my daughter over them though!

    Jane xx

  • Welcome Home Jane,

    Good to hear your op is behind you, sorry about the news of likely cancer, you sound very upbeat and I am sure you will cope.... I know what you mean about the elderly lady..... I had a lady in my ward who was eighty five she was such an inspiration .... she had an hysterectomy as well and was brilliant and such a laugh....what I didn't realise until she told me she only had a four inch scar, I said " how come?" to which she replied when you get older your womb shrinks and so there was no need for a bigger one... Haha! call me thick but I didn't know that lol..... she was still an inspiration with such a sense of humour we need a person like that in our lives, the world is full of grumpy people. :-) :-)

    Anyway take it easy and look after yourself best wishes. X G X

  • Thanks Gwyn, they are amazing ladies so brave and stoic, I thought if that wee lady can get through this without feeling sorry for herself then so can I (although I may indulge in a feeling sorry for myself 'moment' when I have more treatment!). I work with people with learning difficulties and it really irritates me when healthy people moan about how awful their lives are. I often think of the people I have known who are confined to wheelchairs cant see or hear and have great difficulty eating and drinking, are often in pain and still manage to laugh through their day, its humbling. Everyone needs a wee kick up the perspective now and then!

    Jane x

  • Hi Jane

    Glad to hear you're home and you're sounding pretty good. Just try and take it a step at a time, both in terms of what happens next and with your recovery from the op. It's summer so you don't need to go out to chop firewood and hope all those family and friends are taking care of housework and shopping as well as making you laugh!

    Hope the sun comes out again so you can go out and relax in it.

    Be kind to yourself

    Linda

  • Thanks Linda, I just knew as I looked out those funny windows in the City at the clear blue skies and the nurses (and doctors tut tut they should really know better) came on shift lobsterlike that it would break as soon as I got out! Seriously though I dont mind as I am having hot flushes and prefer it cooler. I am being lifted and laid and keep getting told 'would u just go and sit down!' I am used to being very busy and it is hard to slow down but I want to recover well so I will force myself.!

    Jane x

  • Hi Jane

    Welcome home and well done on your impressively positive attitude. Try and take things very easy, as it's a big operation you have had.

    Treats and time with loved ones seem to be what helped most of us on here.

    Fingers crossed the worst is over you now, and don't forget to stay in touch.

    Big hugz

    Charlie xxx

  • Thanks Charlie, I know its a cliche but my whole attitude to life has changed and its all about enjoying the moment and not dwelling on what might happen. Everyone has been saying to me that I am dealing well with what is happening but I really dont see the point in freaking out. That said i am not belittling those ladies and their families who are finding their diagnosis difficult to deal with I just feel lucky that I have such amazing friends, family and ladies on this site who have helped me to get this into some sort of perspective.

    Jane xx

  • Dear Jane I was really pleased to read your surgery had gone well and you're making a good recovery. You've had a lot to take in and it was good that you had some convivial company in the hospital. My surgeon's advice post-op was to lift nothing heavier than a credit card! Make sure you have plenty of rest and treats from your family. Let us know how you're getting on.

    With love xxx Annie

  • Thanks annie, Im sure I have gone against ur surgeons advice a few times already I will have to wise up before I rupture something! My family have been great and my poor daughter is having to grow up very fast, imagine having to fetch ur own cereal at the tender age of 10 (she is outraged!). I think I may have spoilt her just a little :-)

    Jane xx

  • Dear Jane

    It is incredibly difficult to do NOTHING with a 10 year old. Takes me back to post surgery 20 years ago when I had similar advice and was a single parent with two children of about that age. I hope you can get some support so you don't overdue it - there are a lot of stitched inside to heal and they really do mean it when they day don't lift the kettle.

    It's not such a bad thing to learn a bit of independence and caring for Mum at the tender age of 10.

    Take good care of yourself. You can't do anything for anyone else unless you look after your own health first.

    Loads of love and healing wishes. xxx Annie

  • Hi Jane the thing is to be good to yourself. Do things you like doing and maybe some retail therapy when you are up to it. Rest when you need to and go out and enjoy when you are well. It's a balancing act at first but I'm now at 4 years and doing better every day.

    Lucy x

  • thanks Lucy, I am already planning little excursions with family and friends to prevent cabin fever. I am a very independant person and its hard to sit back and watch other people do your housework i have been told off several times already for doing too much. Its great to hear you are doing well, long may it last!

    Jane xx

  • Welcome home and to membership of the full frontal zip club Jane!

    Once the scar had settled I recommend Bio oil or Superdrug's cheaper version to help make it supple and fade. Mine has been opened up twice but is fading nicely!

    Glad to hear you have come through well but do take it easy, plenty of rest, lift nothing, fill the kettle using a small jug and the mug by tilting the kettle without lifting it and holding the mug below the worktop. A dry digestive biscuit and a cup of ginger and lemon tea before getting up helps if you feel nauseous in the morning. It helps durng chemo too! As a cold drink ginger ale or ginger beer is refreshing and settling.

    Enjoy the sunshine and remember the sunbloc!

    Take care

    Margaret

  • Thanks for your advice Margaret, i was actually thinking id getting a zip fastener tatoo'ed at the top of my scar for a giggle (I have no other tatoos and always wanted one). I am feeling really well much better than I did before I went into hospital and my appetite is picking up. I have now lost 2 stones in a week! My mum has just bought a load of healthy but calorie packed food for my fridge as I think the weight loss is a bit of a shock to her. I will nibble at bits and pieces and ask her to get some ginger tea and beer the next time she goes to the shop. Unfortunately the sun disappeared as soon as I got out of hospital (typical!) but the garden needed the rain so I dont mind. Hope u are feeling ok.

    Jane xx

  • I can remember getting into a real panic when I came out of hospital, ten years ago now, about my big weight loss. I rang the specialist nurse and she explained that a lot of the loss was the removal of fluid, all my bits that they had taken out .... I had a big scar from tummy button to near my unmentionable bit .... but she said just eat what I fancied and drink whatever I wanted (it was just before Christmas) Boy! Did I take her at her word ... after a lifetime of watching what I ate, I ate really well, whatever I fancied and drank industrial quantities of mulled wine too. I am still trying to lose the two stones that I put on after my op :-( I have lost about one stone of it, but it's a really hard slog, so beware the blow-out that I over-indulged in, if you want to regain what your figure was like before. You will have to compensate for the menopause, too and it gets harder after that. Of course you may need to put on a lot of weight after losing two stones, but from my experience, I didn't need to put on QUITE so much ;-)

    Take care, rest and relax

    Love Wendy xx

  • I want to regain my figure from 20 years ago! I am lucky in that I prefer healthy food to junk food with the odd treat. I was well overweight by the time of my op so losing 2 st has brought me back to where I should be. I cant wait to be able to use my treadmill again it might cure my restless legs at night! Any tips for restless legs they are driving me nuts!

    Jane x

  • I get restless legs - particularly if I haven't had any exercise - difficult when you're in recuperation - or when I get overtired.

    A friend taught me to do stretching exercises. Start with the feet. Tense them and stretch them as far as you can, then relax, now tense the legs and buttocks and feet and then relax, next tense and stretch the upper body as well as the rest, and relax. For some reason I finish up turning on my tummy, hooking my feet over the bottom of the mattress and stretching out so from my hands to feet I take up the whole full length of the bed. For some reason it relaxes me and helps me to get to sleep.

    zzzzzz

    Annie

  • Thanks annie I will try your exercises, I have also found that keeping a hot water bottle on the offending muscle seems to help relax it.

    jane x

  • When I had my op it snowed! I threatened my grandsons with a tatoo! I also threatened them that I would have a face painted on the back of my head so when I unwrapped it I'd look like the character from Harry Potter. The worst threat however was to have my regrown hair dyed red? They were apalled, can't have grandma looking like a chavvy teenager! Needless to say I did none of these things! LOL! How boring can one get!

  • I wouldnt dare to try and tell my granny what to look like she would tell me to mind my own beeswax! I think you have to have a sense humor at times like this and i am going to do what I want and blow what other people think! I have always wanted to have my hair bright pink and this seems like a good time to do it! My daughter is going to be mortified!

    Jane x

  • Ah but a couple of prototeenaged boys are sooooooo conventionbal! Grannies are not supposed to be outrageous! LOL! I love to tease them! offered to let them play OXO on my scars!

  • Hi Jane

    Great to hear that you are out of hospital and feeling better. Although the op was obviously a major one, it must feel great to get rid of that huge lump.

    Take it easy and take advantage of all offers of help.

    I remember the long list of don'ts I was sent home from hospital with....some of them I ignored, some I took full advantage of.

    Don't walk anywhere except round your garden, that went out the window after a week.

    On the other hand no hoovering or ironing..... I tried to keep those going as long as possible....got away with it for about 6months.!

    Take care

    Juliex

  • I remember on my list, .......... sex and driving were on the list of things to avoid until after 6 weeks.

    I wondered if they imagined I'd do both together, a spot of dogging maybe? .........or did I have to decide what my priorities were ;-)

  • He he I would rather be driving, the other is definitely not on my to do soon list! I would rather eat chocolate.

    Jane x

  • I remember a driving ban - so I took to my bike after 3 weeks and got ticked off. Don't remember them banning sex but it's not exactly the first thing I thought of is it when I came out of hospital.

    There were many more ridiculous dos and don'ts for having chemotherapy which I ignored totally. I did love getting such a wonderful tan from just being out-of-doors and not necessarily in the sun.

    I did enjoy having a size 8 figure for nearly a year and thought I could never be hungry again. Alas - or should I say hooray - I have my appetite back and have regained most of the weight. Wisdom comes with experience. I no longer hanker after a zero figure. I'm happy as I am - in remission and looking healthier than I have for years.

    Enjoy life to the full!

    xx

  • haha.well I have to agree that sounds a little strenuous......

  • I had to get my list of dos and donts this morning to convince my mum that I really need to stay in my pyjamas all day. She seems to think that I should get up and dressed and go for a walk, maybe I am looking too healthy for having major surgery a week ago! My friend called up yesterday and she ended up picking up dog poo from my garden 'cos i really cant bend over you know!' My daughters job is the hoovering so needless to say the floors are minging. I have a feeling that I will be doing all the 'donts' by next week.

    Jane x

  • No harm in PJs all day. It's quite fashionable. A friend who picks up your dog's poo is a true friend. All 10 year olds need to know how to hoover.

    Please don't do any of those don'ts! We'll have to all think of things to keep you occupied whilst your poor body is still recovering - even if you do look as fit as a fiddle.

    Take care!

  • Hi jane

    I am sure your daughters hoovering will improve with practice.My daughters were 15 and 18 when i had my op.One didn't 'do' smelly rubbish bins, the other didn't 'do' lawn mowing (in case anyone saw her!....bad street cred) but luckily what one wouldn't do the other would.

    seriously though, the hoovering should stay on the don't list, hoovers are really heavy.

    Juliex

  • I agree ....hoovers are definitely too heavy. LEAVE ALONE!!!!!!!!

  • The daughter did the hoovering and the granny mopped the floors whilst I sat apologising on the sofa. The house looks great :-)

  • No more apologising Jbodot! Enjoy! xxx

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