"Everything's Gonna Be Alright"

So after a day of phone tag, I finally spoke with Dr. Numnum this morning. He said that the results from my D&C are not as "ugly" as the first biopsy, but still show Endometrial Cancer grade 1-2....no 3, which is good news...but not fabulous news! Of course, I was hoping for it to be precancerous, but I'll deal! He said that he actually took the results back to the pathologist and had several of them look at the cells up close to be sure of the outcome.

He is still offering me the hormone therapy treatment as a first option - preserving the baby maker, as I like to think of it!! We spoke very briefly about harvesting eggs and surrogacy (since Chase will STILL need a reversal after all of this)...we had played with the idea of surrogacy, but I don't think I ever really imagined it happening! We have an appointment on May 5 and he wants to have an open discussion with me and Chase regarding treatment, risks and alternatives! I'm nervous as hell, but I'm ready to get the ball rolling and get this over with!

Keep on praying...I know it works!

"Dreamlover"

No news from the doctor today. It could mean that nothing has changed OR more than likely, it means he just doesn't have the results back yet! I have an appointment with the him (the oncologist) on May 5th to review everything and decide on treatment! I'll keep you updated as we get news!

PS: I'm so very touched by all of the prayer requests you guys have made! I know everything will be just fine because we put our complete trust in our Lord!

"Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"

So this past weekend we took a little road trip down to Dallas to have a 30th birthday shin dig with some friends and to see Zoren!! We took her to see Monsters vs. Aliens and when I asked her what she thought she said "it was ok, but i didn't laugh!!" LOL!! The next day we met up with some friends at Main Event and took Zoren with us for a day of bowling!!! That night we all went to Blue Fish for some sushi (and Chase ate it...YAY) and then out to a bar!

It was SO much fun and it was SO good to see everyone, so of course it was SOOOOOO hard to leave! Every time we go to Dallas, we dread the drive back and then for the next few weeks all we do is contemplate how to get back there as soon as possible! It all kinda dies off for a while, then we visit again and it starts all over!! I want to give a big THANK YOU to Cortney and Jeremy for letting us crash at their place with the little one - those dogs wore her out LOL!!! OH...and HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEIDI!!!! You caught up with me!

Today is Monday which means that my D&C was scheduled at noon! Chase took off work so that he could bring me to and from and I really truly appreciate him being so patient!! Anyway, so I check in at 10am and basically did the same "prep" we did the first go round for my initial testing - blood work, 8 million people asking me questions, then the "happy go night night" juice! The surgery itself started a little late, but we were able to meet with Dr. Numnum right before I went in just to verify the purpose of our visit! As discussed, he wanted to get a larger sample of uterine tissue to do a biopsy on so that we will truly understand what we are dealing with. I think he still can't believe that someone in my health and at my age would have Endometrial Cancer! And I'm praying and hoping he's right! He should have the results by Thursday and, although we are meeting with him again in 2 weeks, he is going to give me a call to let me know how things pan out! EEK!

It's actually quite amusing because my heart rate never elevated (per the monitors I was hooked up to) - I was calm the entire time. I wonder why that is?! I tend to "sweat the small stuff" yet going under for a surgery seems to not even phase me. I do believe that if it comes down to the hysterectomy as the only option, I will be a total mess in the OR! Actually, I can pretty much guarantee it! The women next to me in prep was having a hysterectomy and she was a nervous wreck!

Of course, we are praying HARD that it's not too serious and that it will be easy to treat! All prayers and thoughts are welcome! I will definitely post results as soon as I get a call from the Dr. For now I need to lay down for a while! The anesthesia was fine, but I'm still a bit groggy! More later...

"COCO JAMBOO"

http://www.wcn.org/

It's a women's cancer website and it's got alot of great information!

"Happy Birthday to YOU"

So today was my first appointment with the gynocological oncologist...oh yea, AND it is my 30th birthday. My oncologist is Dr. Numnum and he was so nice and personable. First, though, I was 20 minutes late to my appointment because I swear every single building looks the same! I guess that was a good thing (being late) because it really took my mind off of what I was actually going there for! So I get a quick exam and then it's off to his office for a discussion. He was very up front with me and explained the diagnosis, treatment and risk factors very well!

So I was diagnosed with Endometrial Cancer grade 1-2. There are 3 grades. The 1-2 means that most of the cells are grade one (the best) and a few cells may have been grade two! It is stage one cancer and is still only confined to the uterine lining. He was honestly very shocked and concerned that someone at my age and with my health was dealing with this type of cancer. All of my other test results were great...no blockage, no abnormalities...just cancer cells.

The next topic was treatment. There is a 90% cure for this type of cancer...with the treatment being a hysterectomy. He said that any other patient of his that walked through that door with endometrial cancer would have been told to have a radical hysterectomy. But my situation is very different. I'm young and I want a family.

He scheduled a D&C for next week so that he can get an accurate idea of the type of cancer we are dealing with. If it is truly a grade one, I will being a hormone treatment immediately - Megace. After 3 months of treatment, I'll go in for a biopsy. If the results show that the cancer is regressing, then we will continue treatment until it's gone and then we'll need to get pregnant pretty quickly. If the cancer has not moved or if it's progressed, then the next route would be a hysterectomy. Yea...scary.

I have to admit, though, the word cancer was tossed around quite a few times and it never scared me. But the moment he talked about a hysterectomy, I broke down. Not because I was scared - because I was sad. Very, very sad. To not be able to have a baby is so heart breaking.

I'm so blessed to have such a strong Christian family to pray for me. I really appreciate everybody who is thinking about us. It means alot. I'm so thankful for the moments that have passed (meeting Chase, researching reversals, etc) that brought us here because without them, this would have gone on for years and may have ended up much worse.

"Building a Mystery"

So today is my day off but all I can think about is what happened yesterday! I'm not devastated, I'm just confused and seriously concerned! I hate that I have to wait until next week to really understand what is going on! UGH! Chase called me a few minutes ago to let me know he is coming home early to spend time with me! Now tell me, could I have a better husband or what??? He's so wonderful!

I suppose I should get started cleaning the house so we'll be ready to go out of town next weekend for my birthday - and so that my friend who is house/dog sitting won't think we live like slobs!!

"Blame it on the Rain"

So today I recieved a phone call at work that was probably one of the worst phone calls you can have. It was my doctor. Now...I know that anytime a doctor calls you before your next visit, it is NOT with good news!!! He started off the conversation with "do you have a moment to talk?" Well..yea, of course I do!! Basically he told me that when they did my biopsy and other misc testing, he found something a little alarming and sent it off for further testing. The results came back that I had endometrial adenocarcinoma! I had NO idea what he was talking about! The next few phrases that came out of his mouth scared the crap out of me..."cancer", "survival rate", "hysterectomy"! I asked several time again what this carcinoma thing was. He assured me that because of my great health and my age, this should be an easy treatment but that it IS a form of endometrial cancer and it will require treatments.

Immediately my mind darted all over the place! What kind of treatment? What's the survival rate? And most importantly, will I be able to have a baby? The treatment will more than likely be light - Progesterone (a hormone) should get rid of it if it is stage one...as he believes it to be. I will then go back for additional biopsies to be sure it is in remission and then we can start with fertility treatments. So yes...I will still be able to have babies!!! An oncologist called me soon after my OB hung up to set up an appointment and discuss treatment options. I never thought at 29 years old I would be meeting with an oncologist - seriously...that scares me! My appointment, ironically enough, is on my birthday!! Happy 30th birthday Lisa!!!

He warned me against looking anything up on the internet when I got home because it may scare me. As soon as I got home and told Chase the news, we Googled it! Endometrial adenocarcinoma seems to occur most often in women 50-59 years old who have never had children (nulliparity) and may be obsese. Less than 5% of women under the age of 40 have been diagnosed!

I will continue to pray about it and as soon as I know more after my appointment next Tuesday, I will definitely post it! I know God has a reason and a way for everything, so all I can do is trust in Him!

"All I Need to Know"

We met Dr. Vasquez with the Center for Reproductive Health early March. We honestly believed the process would go like this. Make appointment. Meet with doctor. Discuss the cost of the reversal. Schedule surgery. Have babies. WRONG!!!! We made the appointment and met with the doctor. Through our initial consultation we learned several things. One, it will cost close to $7000 for the reversal (still less than IVF) and two, I had to undergo testing before anything could get scheduled. I will admit, I was a little put off. Afterall, this was all about Chase, not me! The Dr. explained that he wanted to just be sure that I was "working" properly before we go through the costly procedure with Chase. I was actually pretty grateful for this - it made it evident that this was an ethical doctor and not just in it for a quick buck!

I went in for blood work and an ultrasound. The nurse turned the monitor toward me and pointed out a black outline. "There is your ovary," she said. "The black lining are little follicles evident of poly cystic ovaries." Well...what the heck does that mean!?!?! I had worked with some clients at my previous job who had Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, but I never thought it was something I would hear about me...and my overall knowledge of it was very weak. The nurse reassured me that it was very minor and nothing that couldn't be treated. I had always been very irregular so it wasn't surprising when she said that my uterine wall was very thick as well. It was all starting to make sense. Obviously, if I'm not having a period, I'm not ovulating, which means my ovaries are not creating a mature egg, which means I can't get pregnant. It was after this initial visit that I began to feel a little worried. What if it's me? What if I'm the reason we won't be able to have children. Even now, thinking about it, makes me upset.



The Dr. then set up a Lupron Challenge test as well as a biopsy, HSG (hysterosalpingogram) and a Sonohystogram. This all occurred on April 2nd so I'm still on antibiotics, but other than that, there was no pain or discomfort after the procedure. The HSG is basically an xray of the uterus and the fallopian tubes which shows the inside of the uterus and tubes. The picture will usually reveal any abnormalities of the uterus as well as tubal problems such as blockage. The Sonohystogram is used to look for any fibroids and polyps, or any other abnormalities of the uterine cavity that could interfere with pregnancy. I'm still not 100% sure what the Lupron Challenge is, but from what I remember, it is the process of using a dye to view the number of eggs available. The Dr. gave me a picture of...well...my insides! LOL! He explained to Chase several things regarding what they found, but I'm still not quite sure what anything means. We have a follow up appointment on the 15th to sit and talk about all of the results and figure out where to go from there! I'm so nervous!!!

"This Thing Called Love"

I suppose since this is my first entry, I should do a few introductions! My name is Lisa and I'm 29 years old (I'll be 30 next Tuesday...EEK)! I am married to the love of my life, Chase (32 years old), and we live with our 5 year old dog, Preston, in Hendersonville, TN. I work full time as a Customer Service Trainer for Bed Bath and Beyond and my husband is a retail store manager. Chase and I have a very unusual "love" story that we both enjoy telling because we get a great response from others.



I had been living the fabulous - and sometimes not so fabulous- single life in Dallas, Texas whenever God decided to introduce Chase to me. It was September 1, 2007 and I was out with some girlfriends during our monthly girls night out! About an hour before we left the bar, Chase entered. Our eyes met instantly and we stared at eachother for a good 2 seconds (are you nauseous yet??)! I stood beside him just to prove to my friends that it was nothing, saying "he'll never say anything, he probably wasn't even looking at me". "Will you hold our spot?" WHAT!?!?! Yes, those were the first heart melting, head spinning words my one true love spoke to me. I held his spot. A couple of minutes later he came back and we talked for a few minutes, as my friends were preparing to head home for the night. Ok...actually, I talked to his friend most of the time. I managed to get minor information from Chase, but he was clearly letting me know he was not there to pick up a girl! Fine! I left with my friends without an exchange of phone numbers or an email address. Monday came around and my accomplice Cortney proposed we find him on Myspace! TADA!! There he was! I sent him a "hey, you probably don't remember me and no, I'm not a stalker" email and within an hour, had a response. We emailed back and forth for a couple of days and finally set up a first date on September 8...and every day after that was heaven!

Long story short, he was offered a job in Nashville that he had already accepted before meeting me. He moved to Tennessee on September 25 and without hesitation, doubt or regret, I moved to Tennessee on October 28! Yes, 2 months after setting eyes on eachother for the first time, I not only moved IN with him, I moved 700 miles with him!!! We were engaged on Christmas 2007 and married September 13, 2008! We are about to celebrate our 7 month anniversary and I've never been happier or felt more blessed in my life!





Now let me introduce you to Operation Baby Dodson! Chase was married before and has a beautiful 5 year old daughter. Not long after his daughter was born, he underwent a vasectomy. As some of you may know, I have no children and had always dreamt of being a mother! I was insanely jealous of my friends who had begun their families, yet I was secure that God had a great path paved just for me so I was enjoying the life I had been blessed with.

I can remember the day Chase told me about the vasectomy like it was yesterday. I got a queasy feeling in my stomach and my eyes became teary. I immediately told him that if he did not want children, this relationship would need to end. His response was quick and he said that he always wanted a big family and he would love to have more children. Until the day we were married, I probably asked him the "baby question" a million times. I just really wanted him to understand how important being a mother was to me.

If I were 5 years younger, I'm sure my "clock" would not be ticking like it is, but I'm not and it is. Luckily we both agreed that if we were going to have kids, we wanted to have them in the near future so right around our 6 month anniversary, we decided to start visiting doctors to explore our options.