Fast forward to 2008 – 4 years ago. I was now working in the medical profession and had been for a number of years. I had gone back to school to study Medical Systems Technology – sort of a cross between nursing and computer data collection. I worked with doctors every day and was involved in the testing of some of the newest and best (sometimes worst) drugs in the pipeline. I began having strange abdominal symptoms. I talked it over with my primary physician and agreed to an ultrasound.
The results were in: nothing but a “harmless” ovarian cyst which had ruptured. Lots of fluid in the abdominal cavity, but I was told my body would re-absorb it. I was told it was nothing serious and it would go away on its own. I was told to go home and not worry about it. WRONG! All the alarm bells were going off in my head. I had never had an ovarian cyst in all of my 63 years. Why now? And no follow-up??? That seemed very odd. To make things even worse, this was a doctor I had worked with for years, considered a friend, and actually respected for his diagnostic abilities. I had just been misdiagnosed and, to this day, he has never had the guts to apologize or acknowledge his error. Obviously, he’s no longer my doctor!
Back to the test results: fortunately for me, I don’t believe everything I’m told. When it comes to my health, I believe in listening to my own body. Some doctors over the years haven’t always been too fond of my questioning nature. But, be that as it may, I faxed a copy of the report to my gynecologist and was immediately scheduled for another scan. Once again I began the “Just To Be Sure” journey of tests and biopsies and surgeries. My gynecologist became my first guardian angel of this siege. She ordered a variety of tests and called me with the unpleasant results. (For those of you who like statistics and understand the ambiguous CA-125 test, I had gone from 2.1 six months prior to 487.) She immediately scheduled me with a relatively new specialist in our area. He is a Gynecologic Oncologist, one of a very small and elite specialty in this country – and the current Leader of my band of angels. This time around, it was primary peritoneal and ovarian cancer. Had I gone home and not worried about it, as had been originally suggested, I’d be on the other side of the mulch today. (My son dislikes that expression, but it’s true!)
I was scheduled for the new DaVinci Robot-Assisted surgical procedure on August 21, 2008 (my Dad’s birthday). This procedure would have meant less chance of infection and a faster healing time. The extent of the cancer turned out to be more expansive than originally thought so a full incision was done. Five and a half hours later, I was in post-op with my husband and daughter telling me I would be fine. “They got it all!”
As I was about to find out, this type of cancer is insidious. Cells lie silent and furtive only to smugly reappear months or years later. The fight was on!
SURVIVAL TIP: BE PROACTIVE! Don’t accept information that, in your heart, you believe is wrong. YOU must be your own advocate!
Oh, yes. As a family we know about misdiagnosis. My youngest daughter had low-grade fever and headaches and was told by one doctor to come back when she had more symptoms. When she was finally admitted to the Behavioral Unit and roamed the halls pulling her hair out, they finally did a spinal tap after a week's delay. A diagnosis of encephalitis finally came shortly before she went into a coma for two months. Yes, we quickly learned to be her best advocate, insisting strongly that things get done correctly going forward.
ReplyDeleteThat was really bad. If only your condition was pinpointed early on, it would have been treated right away. Thankfully, you followed your gut instinct and asked for a second opinion from the other doctor. It could have gotten worse. However, your former physician should have at least addressed and acknowledged the error that had been done.
ReplyDeleteSabrina Craig @ Medical Attorney