Another bump in the road. . .

Okay fellow OPMers. This is a post I seriously thought about before entering.





Sometimes I feel like there are so many bumps I have to overcome to complete medical school and become a physician that I wonder how I’m going to get over them.





This new one is a big one. But like all the other littler bumps (such as COMLEX), I will get over it, too.





So by now you’re probably wondering what “it” is. Okay. I’m trying. It’s just kind of hard to get the words out.





Last Wednesday afternoon, my gyn doctor came over to the surgeon’s office where I’m rotating to give me some news. I think I knew what she was going to say before she said it, but when she said, “Your biopsy came back positive for endometrial cancer”, I felt stunned.





Now what? In mid-January (the date isn’t firm yet), after I get medical clearance, I will be undergoing a TAH-BSO with lymph node biopsy. There will be a general surgeon present as well as my gynecologist, whom I trust completely. Depending on what the outcome of the lymph nodes is, I may or may not need chemo and/or radiation.





The good part. If I have to have chemo or radiation, I might lose some weight, lose my hair, and have an excuse to be a blonde or a redhead for a while!





Anyway, I guess I’m just asking for the continued support and encouragement of my friends and fellow OPMers. It will be a hard road, but like I told the dean, I will get through it and still become the compassionate osteopathic physician I had planned to become.

Oh Linda. There aren’t words and so I can only say, you are in my thoughts and prayers. It is good to hear the confidence in your voice as you talk about the future. You’ve worked so hard to get where you are today and I am very sure that you are going to reach ever higher - this is a pause, an unwelcome but perhaps needed way to catch your breath before the next part of your climb. Hang in there, be sure to get all the hugs and support you can from those around you, and try to be as selfish as you possibly can during these next several weeks - that is a demeanor you’re not familiar with, but it’s time to make yourself #1 for awhile!
Hugs,
Mary

Linda -
You have already demonstrated such courage, that I have no doubt that you will persevere and overcome this new obstacle.
My thoughts and prayers are with you.
Amy

Linda you are one strong woman! and you will get through this of course. You will be in my prayers and just hang in there and I love your humor! he he…finding something positive even in chemo you go girl!

Linda,
Your spirit is infectious. I am sorry because of the fear factor and having to have a break in your stride.
You will do this too. Keep us posted…please. I will be thinking about you.
When this is done, tell the road crew to stop putting “road humps” (as we call them in Texas) on your street! Enough all ready.
Do we ever really know why we are handed these things to live through?
Thinking about you,
Michelle

Hi Linda,
I think I can safely say that the thoughts and prayers of everyone on OPM are with you.

Ditto to all. You are in my prayers.

Hey Linda,
It’s been a tough road for you. You spent a good part of your first year confined to a wheelchair yet you gritted your teeth and got through. You suffered the loss of your brother and your little best friends during second year and you still got through.
Now you face another hurdle and guess what? I have total confidence that you will get through this one too. You have a strength of purpose and a single will that will get you to the other side of this hurdle too.
I cannot do anything but admire your will and your serenity in the face of adversity. One of my greatest professors, LaSalle Lefalle, Jr always says “Equanimity Under Duress” and you embody that phrase more than anyone I know.
Did I also mention that I have the greatest admiration for you? You are an example for us all to follow. Keep strong and keep your focus on where you know you will be going. Your patients have been so fortunate to have your gentle caring hand and need for you to get back soon.
Natalie

Linda,
As with others, my and my wife’s thoughts and prayers are with you.
I also wanted to share with you what I hope you already know is true. Although you are not yet a doctor, you have made an impact on so many of our membership with your openness and your example of optimism, perseverance, and passion. Have no doubt that we, as with all those poeple with whom you come in contact, are blessed for having you share yourself with us.
Larry

As I privately wrote to Linda, she is a beacon of optimism and strength for us all. As others have said, she surely has our prayers and hugs.
More hugs,
Judy

Oh Linda, I’m very sorry to read this. You will be in my thoughts and prayers.
Many years ago my mother was DX with Endometrial CA, I was a new Nurse Grad and she checked into the Hospital I worked at. Everything turned out okay and she has been cancer free for about 17 years now. I will pray the outcome for you is just as well.
Bill.

I have to say “Thank you” to each and everyone of you. You have no idea how much your words of support and encouragement mean to me.
When I started my diary with OldPreMeds, I had said that I would include everything that happened along the way. . . the good and the bad. Although I am no longer updating my diary, but rather posting in threads in the forum, I still intend to post the whole trip . . . and the trip will be completed!
Thanks again for all your encouragement and prayers. It is really helpful to know I have somewhere and lots of someones to turn to when the going gets rough.

Oh, my. I am so sorry you have to go through this. It really seems as if you keep getting chosen to show others how to climb over obstacles with optimism and grace. I still cherish the hope that someday you will be chosen to show us all how to be a gracious PowerBall winner. But soon enough, you’ll be showing us how to be a gracious physician, and that’s pretty cool, too.
Here is an additional great place you can go for support with the hyst and the cancer. The women there have been very good to me over the years, some of them inspiring me onto this road, and I know they’ll be good to you, too. I’m rooting for you.

Denise,
Where is this great place? (I think you forgot to include the web address)

It’s in the word “HERE” in the previous post, but here it is where you can actually see it. Sorry about that.
http://www.hystersisters.com/vb2/

I’ll tell you the Internet is a great place! 10 years ago we would not have this extended family and friends!

Linda,
I just received an email with your news and wanted to let you know that you are in my thoughts and prayers as well. I can’t say it any better than anyone else, but you are definitely an example to those who sometimes feel the road is getting to be too hard and long.
Kathy

Best wishes Linda, I know that this has to be a double disappointment. Get well soon.

Just to keep you all posted. Next week is a colonoscopy and a CT of the abdomen and pelvis, just to check for anything that might be visible outside the uterus or in case of metastasis. Then on the 16th I see both the Internal Med doctor for medical clearance and my gynecologist. Surgery is scheduled for the 24th.
Funny, but as time goes by and I have time to put things into perspective, I know it will be okay. Women face this problem every day and come through it just fine, and I will, too.
Thanks again for all your good wishes and prayers.
Linda

Linda,
You are a total rock. Most women I’ve known found this period of waiting for the procedures and surgery to be the very worst part. For you to have found perspective already is another tribute to your amazing resilience. Sending you big hugs and best wishes!