“I want to have this dance with you, the first one and the last one too
Come with me darlin’ if you will, we can’t win if we’re standing still
Let’s change our point of view. Let’s go where the sky is blue” – Colin Hay
Click play for the musical stylings of Colin Hay
Friends and Family,
We have had an interesting and informative past four weeks. First of all, allow me to explain the headline and my song selection today.
The Headline: Patrick and I have a long standing debate going on. I have always insisted that I am Low Maintenance. The evidence to me was clear:
1) I am Perfectly Fine going to a concert alone (dare I say I prefer it?) and would rather do that than drag him to see someone he is not into.
2) I love Thai and Indian food, but never ask him to take me to these restaurants. Instead, I wait for the right time and score carry out when he is not around.
3) I long ago established the Milestone Birthday rule. The person celebrating the milestone birthday picks the location. No questions asked. The milestone birthday rule has afforded him not one but two visits to South Africa.
Even Patrick would agree that I had a very strong case leading up to my medical escapades beginning in 2013. But alas, you simply can’t claim Low Maintenance when you are on your fourth surgery in 5 years. With this missive I waive the white flag of surrender…Patrick is right. My name is Dawn Werner and I am High Maintenance.
Let the gloating begin.
The Song: First a bit of context. One of the tests I have taken recently is a PET scan. The test results are very valuable and it is unlike anything I have experienced to date. You arrive one hour before the test and are seated in your very own small reinforced room equipped with a Lazy Boy type chair, a TV and a video camera so a control desk can see you. One nurse gives you an IV line and shortly thereafter another nurse, trained in nuclear medicine, brings in a vial of radioactive isotopes. This vial is heavily protected. It was in a metal container that had another metal container surrounding it. Your nurse carefully removes the vial from its protective casing and injects this material into your arm. Then she quickly removes the IV, leaves the room and shuts the vault like door.
When you have a PET scan they ask you to avoid pregnant women and children for the remainder of day since you are “slightly radioactive”
Your only job at this point is to wait ~45 minutes for this nuclear material to make its way through your entire body.
This was an eerie moment for me. It seemed so counter intuitive to volunteer to have radioactive material injected in my veins and to willingly sit there so it could work its way through my system. I will confess to feeling sorry for myself in that moment. I was the picture of deflated and starting to tear up. Then, almost on cue, this song came on. It was like having Patrick pull up a chair and try to cheer me up. I was much more relaxed after that….you gotta love Colin Hay.
What We’ve Been Up To
March 27: First appointment with oncology.
Dr. Kendrick was, in short, baffled. He had not seen a case of pre-cancer originating in the cervix that had spread to the ovaries before. He suggested we hold on doing anything until we do three things; have a PET scan, re-run the pathology results and have my case presented to the Florida Hospital Tumor Board.
The Tumor Board is a multidisciplinary team of physicians that gather weekly to discuss cases. The idea is to harvest the best thinking from doctors across a wide range of specialties and experience.
April 10: Our first Big Reveal with oncology.
During this appointment we learned the outcome of everyone’s “homework”.
PET Scan – the results were promising. This test provides a picture of your entire body and will essentially “lighting up” areas where cancer cells are present. My scan lit up only where we expected activity, suggesting that the cancer had not spread beyond the ovaries.
Pathology – the third (yes third) run of the pathology reinforced what we already knew. This was metastatic adenocarcinoma that had originated in the cervix and spread to the ovaries. In Dr. Kendrick’s words “this is very rare”. He shared that his pathologist conducted a bit of his own research and found cases of women with this form of cancer that have had “positive outcomes”
The Tumor Board – the board essentially reinforced that the treatment four years ago made sense and that there was no reason to believe that my pre-cancer would one day become ovarian cancer. They also agreed with Dr. Kendrick’s recommended next steps.
Next Steps
Dr. Kendrick recommended another surgery to do three things; remove the remaining ovary, conduct a biopsy of another area in my abdomen (omentum) and to extract lymph nodes. Once this next surgery is complete my cancer will be able to be surgically staged.
This surgery is scheduled for May 3 and we will have the results back by May 11.
A Twilight Zone Moment
While we were talking through the next steps above with Dr. Kendrick he looked up at me and said “weren’t you trying to go on a trip here soon”? The answer was yes (Jazz Fest in New Orleans) however I SWEAR I DID NOT TELL HIM THAT. I had been working very hard to put on my big girl pants and not let my big easy weekend of fun in the sun (did I mention…Sting) get in the way of life saving surgery.
So, since he asked, I let him know that yes — we had planned to go to Jazz Fest the weekend of April 27 – 29. After we exchanged Jazz Fest stories (turns out he went ~20 years ago to see the Allman Brothers) he suggested that we hold off on surgery until we get back from New Orleans! Fear not, there was medical logic. He likes to wait 6 to 8 weeks between surgeries and in early May I would be in my recovery week 8.
Another silver lining is my Disney team and leaders. They whole heartedly supported our escaping for a few days before surgery despite the fact that this will mean 4 weeks (instead of 3) away from the office. I have shared with each of them that I hope to return the favor one day…ideally for a Much More Fun reason.
So there you have it. We are 4 days away from flying to New Orleans and I don’t have to be a cancer patient again until May 3.
Thank you once again for your care, concern and prayers. You lift us up when we are low and are actively helping to maintain our positive outlook. I am honored and blessed to have you in our corner. Cancer has no idea what it is up against with this crew!
Dawn
“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” – Lao Tzu
Dawn's Tribe 