Cancer taught me to find the "silver lining"
wherever I could during my illness.
A fait accompli at times and elusive bubble at others,
my life became about trade-offs:
chemo for a cure;
bilateral mastectomy for boobs that would make a twenty-something, green with envy;
and
an oophorectomy (removal of my ovaries) for the chance to say "bye-bye" to my period.
So when my I told my girlfriend, Gwen about my latest surgery,
(she obviously hadn't read my latest blog)
imagine my
SHOCK!!!
when she mentioned that losing my ovaries did not equate to losing my period. "You still have your uterine lining, which should shed each month. Your ovaries were removed, not your lining," she explained.
"Did I learn that in my 6th grade class, where the separate the girls from the boys?" I obviously wasn't paying attention in class the day that Ms. Cook, the girl's coach, covered the subject.
So much for looking at the bright side, I thought, hanging up the phone.
"Is that true?" I asked my favorite doc.
Jeff was pretty certain - since I hadn't had a period in nearly a year, now that my ovaries were out, my period probably wouldn't return.
Who would have guessed that my uterus held my silver lining after all?
There was alot that was not spoken about in health class! I think Jeff is right! I need to talk to that doc, btw!
ReplyDeleteNope, this discussion was certainly not part of health class back in the day. Even now, I wish more women talked about the change of life. And I want to hear the good parts, not just the bad and ugly.
ReplyDelete