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← Return to Survivorship: anyone else struggling?
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Survivorship: anyone else struggling?
Gynecologic Cancers | Last Active: Sep 2, 2023 | Replies (47)Comment receiving replies
Once one has had cancer it is hard to go back to one’s life before. Your have to be overly proactive make sure you have your doctor use a speculum each time you have a visit, several of mine didn’t and they missed my recurrence. I now have an gyno oncologist and a regular gynecologist. My gynecologist is fabulous she explained everything she does from putting her hand on my thigh to explaining what she sees. Maybe you could ask your doctor to do the same for you? It’s hard unless you’ve had cancer your friends really cannot understand how you feel and the frustration that you feel wondering if you are getting all the examinations and tests needed. Be well.
Replies to "Once one has had cancer it is hard to go back to one’s life before. Your..."
So very true and well said. It's funny...I fear recurrence of the breast cancer (dx 2019 Stage IIIC) daily, and this recent one (vulvar, 2 surgeries, neg. lymph nodes) a lot less (probably because of the stages). Nevertheless, I was driving myself crazy! I have my follow-ups at cancer centers and stay really busy. Except for the actual check-ups (every 4 months with someone on the team for each of these cancers), I really am forced to forget about it. Striking the balance between reasonable follow-up and scans, and over doing both, has been the challenge for sure.
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Thank you for sharing your experiences and thoughts, Jean. May I ask if you could speak a little more about the use of the speculum? My OB/GYN never used(s) a speculum, and I was curious how a recurrence could be missed if one was not used during exam…being as I think they feel the new growth rather than to see any changes? Thanks for your thoughts when you have a moment and best wishes.