Cancer update

Yesterday I went to my NP’s office to schedule an appointment to visit with her to figure out where I’m going to go now, considering Moffitt cannot take my case at this time. It’s scheduled for Monday. Which I now have to cancel.

The NP’s office called me today to inform me that they are going to send me to a local gyn doctor for further testing… My appointment is going to be in early August unless there’s a cancellation, at which point, they could get me in sooner.

Talk about feeling not important… Shoot, I guess cancer’s just not that big of a deal anymore. Who am I to expect treatment in a timely manner. After all, they ONLY found it approximately 4 months ago now!

In talking with some friends of mine who live out-of-state, they suggested looking into patient advocates. My brain is completely fried at the moment with everything going on lately, so I have not yet had a chance to look into it yet. The same friend who suggested it also did some research and dug up a phone number for a patient advocate program in a town that’s approximately an hour-ish away. I think tomorrow I shall give them a call and see what they say…

I’ll keep you updated!

Moffitt update…

My assigned “counselor” at Moffitt is great. The problem is that she said that at this point in time, they cannot help me unless I have cash to pay! They do not have any funding available for me at this time!?!

Come Monday, I have to get ahold of my NP to find out – what now. I would have gotten ahold of her right away except that she was on vacation this past week and is not due back in to the office until Monday…

I also think I’m going to go in person rather than call because I’m thinking I want to get a copy of my records so that I do not have to play the waiting game again for an office to receive all my records.

With that going on, along with other personal life issues, I haven’t had time to do much of anything. I feel as though I’m stuck in a hole and I can’t tell which way is up at times… I really need to get my head out of the sand.

On a positive note, I believe I may have a job. I went for an interview on Thursday and I believe it went well. I’m supposed to hear back around Tuesday. Keep your fingers crossed for me please!

Paw Paw extract for Cancer

A very dear friend of mine who is also into herbal remedies, suggested Paw Paw Extract to help me fight the C battle. After looking into it and doing some research online, I’m going to try it! Now, to just find some in a shop nearby and I’ll be good to go!

It is my understanding from what I’ve read that cancer cells are high users of adenosine tryphosphate (ATP). Studies have shown that cancer cells need anywhere from 10-17 time more ATP than normal, healthy cells.

The Paw Paw tree produces acetogenins which drastically reduce the ATP production of cancer cells. Hopefully, destroying them from lack of energy.

Well, that’s the condensed version of everything I’ve read…

Still no word…

from Moffitt Cancer Center about if they have received all my records or not… *sigh* I’ve left several voice mail messages now and have not received a call back. I think I’ll be driving all day on Thursday if I don’t here something by then… In one direction to my NP’s office, then back this way and over into the opposite direction to drive almost 2 hours that way to go to Moffitt in Tampa.

I’ve got strange and random pains in my lower abdomin that has me concerned. I would like to get an appointment with them as soon as possible so they can do further testing to see just how bad it is…

On top of that, from what I was told by my NP, I have one of the rarer forms of HPV which is what is supposedly causing the cancer… I was floored! I honestly associated HPV with warts and other yucky stuff! That was until she explained to me that there are OVER 100 types of HPV and only the STD types cause warts… I don’t know. All I know is that mine is, thankfully, not the STD type, nor does it cause warts. While normally, I’ll soak in every drop of information she wants to tell me, my head is STILL swimming around the fact that my cancer is back, so I’m not too concerned about what I don’t have.

The Big C – It’s back…

Right after my son my son was born in 1995, I went for my 3 month post-c-section check up. Well, they found Cervical Cancer… Luckily it had not spread further than the cervix, but it had managed to make it to a stage 4 before they were able to perform lazer surgery and remove it all.

That was it. Relatively easy, out patient, 1/2 day in the hospital, surgery. I was out cold for the whole thing. I didn’t even want to know the how’s of what they did if you get my drift. Put me under so I don’t have to lay there wide awake worring the whole entire time. Nope. Not for me. LOL!

Well, I went for my checkups on schedule for the next 5 years. Nothing. Nada. Zip.

The next 8 years of regularaly scheduled paps and exams. Nothing. Nada. Zip.

Fast forward to the end of March 2009. Sitting at home, about 5 days after having another regularly scheduled pap and exam. My cell phone rings. My NP needs me to come into the office.

Time slows to a crawl. My heart has plummeted down into my stomache. Suddenly I’m cold and sweating at the same time. NO! WHY???

Cut to the morning of my appointment. I’m brought into my NP’s office and asked to please have a seat and she’ll be right with me. Abnormal cells on my pap. They need to schedule another exam with further testing. A colposcopy is scheduled. Unfortunately, it has to be scheduled around their 4x a month schedule as well as my monthly schedule. I’m not able to have that done until the end of April.

Colposcopy time. *** 3 *** biopsies removed. I did not take any pain killers or anything. Boy, did I hurt for the next week or so.

Fast forward to the end of May. I’m brought in to go over the findings. My NP is referring me to Moffit Cancer Center……………..

Currently, I sit here waiting. And waiting… And waiting some more… There was some confusion between Moffit and the NP’s office. Seems like as of Tuesday, Moffit STILL has NOT recieved all of my records that they need to start reviewing my case to see if they will accept me as a patient… *sigh*