The wind that blows can never kill
The tree God plants;
It bloweth east; it bloweth west;
The tender leaves have little rest,
But any wind that blows is best.
The tree God plants
Strikes deeper root, grows higher still,
Spreads wider boughs, for God's good-will
Meets all its wants.
LILLIE E. BARR.
There is a question that I get asked almost everywhere I go, preferably by other women. It doesn't matter how old they are or what position they hold, even in the medical field. How did you know you had ovarian cancer? How did you know?
I'm not surprised. Ovarian cancer is known as the silent killer, undetected by the average pap smear. By the time one is diagnosed, there is a large tumor that is felt or found by chance via a ct. scan. Women are not comfortable speaking about such an intimate area anywhere around the pelvis.
I felt my tumor, but I had no idea what it was. I just felt something. I wasn't concerned, thinking it was just some minor thing. Emily was graduating High School and I wanted to wait until she was done with all of her Senior year activities. It could wait. It ended up being a 7 lb. cancerous tumor.
At my last GP visit, she asked me this famous question. We actually held a conversation on why women are afraid of speaking about this topic. I mean, everything is about breast cancer out there, why not ovarian or uterine?
Honestly, I believe it's because of embarrassment. We as women go through so much with our bodies. We have urinary infections, yeast infections, cysts etc. We could go on and on with all the medical things we go through as women down below. It's embarrassing. We don't want to feel isolated from others, especially young women. They end up thinking that whatever they have involving "that area" no one else has. They might be considered unclean or even possibly slutty. So we end up keeping things to ourselves.
Ladies, this is truly scary. If we as women don't speak up about our bodies, we could die. It's especially important if you have daughters to talk with them honestly and without shame about their body. Build a relationship with your little girl that at least she can come to you if something isn't right. This is so important.
I know that sometimes I write about things that may make others cringe, but it's only for others to be aware. It is the same when it goes for treatment. I have many questions, but if I'm too embarrassed to ask them, how will I ever know what to do? How am I going to learn? How am I going to deal?
This is my body. This is my cancer. This is what happens when I go through treatment and it may be very unpleasant to talk about, but it's truth. Maybe there is someone out there who is asking the same questions and they have no one to turn to. That is my hope here, that I can help someone as they begin their journey.
Have a Blessed day everyone.
P.S.
The Gratitude Challenge:
I am so grateful to God in helping me stay on course with my giving up coffee from my diet.
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