My D&C, or when they took my tumor.

After my hcg came back around 277,000, my OB scheduled me for an appointment with Dr. Cadungog, a gyncologic oncologist. I had an MRI and chest X-ray that very same day. The following day, I met Dr. C, and the day after that I had a D&C. I know that I have broached the subject of this on the blog already, so this is just the complete story. 

My mother in law, Sandy came along and Jim drove. She is such a sweetheart. She is all crunched up in the backseat of my tiny Honda Insight (slightly smaller than a Prius, with an infant seat the size of Rhode Island in the middle seat,) happy as a clam and smiling at Jack. I have never once heard this woman complain, and she has some stories! 

We get to the hospital, which is almost two hours away and in the parking lot my cell phone rings. It is the surgical nurses and they want to know if I can be there earlier. Its about 11:00 AM, and my surgery was scheduled for 2:30, but I'm already there so I rush in. There is this really nasty tech who takes me back to pre-op and won't let my husband come back. I'm crying and crying, tears streaming down my face. Then she comes back and tells me I have to take a pregnancy test. I undress and pee in a cup. Of course it's positive because of my levels.

They walk me into the surgical unit and I get in the bed. This is when I start sobbing in earnest. I'm telling the nurse, you don't understand, a week ago, I was fine. Now I have fucking cancer. The anesthesiologist comes in and numbs my arm with Novocaine before giving me an IV. I could have kissed her. Several members of my surgical team come back and meet me, and a nurse anesthetist. He tells me that he is giving me Versed, which is going to make me feel like I've had a glass of wine, well, it makes me feel like I've had 8. That's when I start feeling like I just don't care. They wheel me into the OR, and all I can think is how beautiful the lights are. They are purple and red and orange. Gorgeous. 

The next thing I know I wake up and they are giving me a suppository. It seems cruel that they wake you then do that. The surgical resident is leaning over me and tells me they got it all. It turns out 3 days later, my uterus is filled up again with blood and tissue, but for now, they took between a baseball and softball sized ball of tissue out of me. I can't believe it. I'm just so glad I am awake and I am begging to see my baby. I start shaking all over, it seems I will never get warm, even though they put like five warm blankets on me. 

I look something like this at that point.


They bring Jim back and I start crying again because I am so relieved. The nurses are so kind to me, and they are trying to shuffle things around to get me in a private room so they can bring Jack to me. A tech comes back and swabs my mouth out with a sponge and I am so grateful. I call my brother Ed and demand that he bring me a pizza. I'm still waiting, Edward! I know you're reading.....!!! Delaware pizza is just terrible. I miss Vincenzo's, and my baby brother just happens to work there.

Finally, they decide to take me back to pre-op to recover. They tell me I lost a liter of blood, so I need to sit tight for awhile. They bring me some gingerale, then, THIS:

He's mad they hurt his mommy. 

All in all I feel ok. They keep giving me fluids, so I am peeing like crazy. They tell me they gave me methergine in the OR to stop the bleeding, and give me a prescription for cytotec, which is a cervical dilator and gets contractions going. If I'm contracting, I'm not bleeding. I am so scared because I feel like its going to be like going into labor, but I have tylenol #3, and I barely need to take them. I smell strange. But I feel triumphant.

They tell me they will have pathology in a week or two and when I speak with the doctor again, he says it is mostly uterine tissue, but that it is consistent with choriocarcinoma. The bad kind. So we are on to chemo......