Day 1

Hi Jen,

I was diagnoised with vulva cancer in april of this year and was due to have the op then, l have put this of till 19th sep when l get the op, this was entirley my decision and l know the risks.  Feels quite nice that we are going to go through this together so to speak.. Like you l am scared but l have tried to prepare myself mentally for this. it is just myself and my 16 yr old son so have had to organise everything from finacial to practical and have told my boss l should be back at work in 6mths. My biggest concern is the lympe node being removed and the fact that the whole op will be very painful.  Its hard to get my head round the fact that just now l am, healthy.  At first l fely embarresed to ask the doctors questions and l definately kept well clear of internet ( thats scary).  L live in highlands so my hospital will be Raigmore which is 90 miles away, may l ask where you are?  I nevr got offer of mri scan  but l will check with my doc, are they removing your lympe nodes? You take care  and dont worry  

jayne

Hi Jayne,

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my blog; in a perverse way, it's made me feel a little better knowing I'm not the only woman in the world going through this!! I'm in Bedfordshire but will have to travel to a hospital in Hertfordshire for surgery (I've no idea why my local hospital cannot perform this!)  I have three grown up children and 3 Grandchildren so I HAVE to get better for them as well as my Fiancé...we were planning to marry on the 20th October but I'm unsure whether to postpone this now....Geez, life certainly changes when you're diagnosed!!

I would strongly urge you ask for an MRI scan just to give you piece of mind that the cancer has not spread.  My Consultant hasn't mentioned the lymph nodes but I will be asking when I see him tomorrow.  This is all surreal to me at the moment as I only found out through a telephone call from my Consultant last night (never knew NHS bods Consultants worked after 5pm!) so lack of sleep last night and some very raw feelings today.

I hope your operation is a success and you're given a clean bill of health, please stay in touch and let me know how you get on. I was working in Afghanistan until a few months ago and what got me through some very scary and dark moments was humour...I will use that humour to get through this next challenge of my life.

All the best

Jen xxx

thats the way humour and laughter, how old are you? l am 54................may l sugest you get a shewee and surgical doughtnut cushion for after the op, l think they might be a must given where they intend to operate, ask your gp about them. keep intouch. you can email with any advice  you can get and between us we can do it , maybe not smiling all the time but tell your friends no thongs for xmas . take care 

jayne

Hahaha! Definitely no thongs for Christmas!!!  My Fiancé has suggested the doughnut chair also, its not a bad idea! :)

I'm almost 42 but feel 102 this morning!! 

I'll definitely stay in touch and will contact you off this blog, it's really cheered me up hearing from you, thank you for putting a smile on my face this morning. xxx