Womb Cancer at 35

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Does anyone else hate just waiting? 

Waiting for the pre op. Waiting for the surgery. 

We completed our family, the husband had the snip 4 years ago. But I can't help that once they have taken out my womb I'm gonna feel less like a woman. I'm scared that when I am put to sleep, I won't wake up. I have never had any surgery before and I am really scared. 

  • The waiting is hard but I found that once I saw the consultant on the Friday- it all moved very quickly. Preops literally straight from the consultant. Sunday was covid test. Monday was hysterectomy and home on the Tuesday. Seemed to be the consultant was waiting for all the test/scan results before he saw me and then it all moved quickly. Once i had name of consultant I was able to contact his secretary and the CNS direct and they were able to tell me more about timings etc. Good luck. I didnt feel any less of a woman after the op- just relief the cancer was gone

           

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  • Hi,yes waiting is very hard,some days  were ok and i pushed to back of my mind other days it was all i thought about.

    As for when your put to sleep,i looked at it as i'm getting a free nap, kid free ! and i'm in the right place if anything went wrong,the nurses and doctors were so lovely and for some reason i just felt so relaxed very quickly then  was out like a light,and when i came too i thought i was still waiting to have op done,you can do this ,you have had kid's thats scarier than being put to sleep plus pain free ;0)Good Luck x

  • Hi, as others have said, sometimes it feels as if the waiting is the worst part, and I've not even been diagnosed with anything yet (long story but been waiting since October for urgent referral to Gynae in Portugal where I live).

    I really wouldn't worry too much about the anaesthetic (I know it's easier said than done), I worked as a nurse and had a 3 week stint in theatres as a student nurse and the anaesthetists are fantastic, really know their stuff and always seemed completely on top of everything. 

    Good luck with everything x

  • Hi Disney Lover, I hear you that all kinds of worrying thoughts are bombarding your mind at the moment and it can easily feel overwhelming. And even though it’s not how you’d want to feel, it’s honestly okay to feel anxious and overwhelmed. The whole cancer experience is an emotional roller coaster and though I was very aware of that at the time, I’m even more acutely aware of it now that I’m out the other side and looking back on it all. I’m a lot older than you so, though I feel for you, it wasn’t like that for me - though I did still wonder what state my bits would be in afterwards, what sensation would be there etc. And even though I had had surgery before under GA (carpal tunnel decompressions, Caesarean section and my hysteroscopy), I did still have the odd “what if I don’t wake up afterwards” moment. For me I dealt with that by reminding myself that the pre-op assessment was there to check my risk factors, and that though the op was a mega major drama to me, it was an everyday ordinary thing to the surgeon, anaesthetist and nurses, and that they know what they’re doing. Another thing that I found helped me was starting ky packing really early, making sure I had (or bought) anything I needed to make my hospital more comfortable. There’s a packing list thread on  here that I scrutinised, and I also did lots of research to make sure I knew all about what would happen before, during and after. For me, not having control over the situation was eased by knowing about what would happen and preparing for it. We are all different, and your way through this may be different to mine, but you will find a way through.

  • Here’s a link to the the what to pack thread:  community.macmillan.org.uk/.../1744221

  • And here’s a link to a thread I did, starting with my actual op day (I had mine 22/1/22): community.macmillan.org.uk/.../1679323

  • Don't be scared of the surgery, @disney. The day when you go in is nerve wracking, but once it all starts going you'll find you feel a lot less stressed and there will be people around you to chat to. I actually really love the feeling of going under - it's not at all like going to sleep. It's like stepping into a time machine and all of a sudden you are awake and it's done!