Worst week of my life.

I don't have any idea to start this post.

The has been the toughest week of my life. I found out on Monday that I have cervical cancer. I am overwhelmed with disbelief and sadness if I think too much on the subject.

How this all started: I was having some minor female issues that were consistent. They weren't typically abnormal, but I was concerned that they weren't going way. I assumed they were related to my IUD in some way. Very quickly my doctor noticed some irregularities, and did a cervical biopsy. At this visit she was still doing this simply as a precaution to rule out cancer. The doctor scheduled a follow-up visit for Monday to review the results.

On Wednesday at noon, I was called by the doctor's office and told it was urgent that I come in that afternoon. My ob/gyn told me that it was cancerous, and that based on what she knew so far was "unusual and semi-agressive." We were both completely caught off guard by this as I am 31, had a normal pap 18 months ago, and a baby last year. Words can not describe my feeling at hearing this. In the simplest of terms I have a one year old and a five year old. I think any mom can understand my overwhelming sense of anxiety.

Today is a bittersweet day. Today is my dad's birthday, as well as my grandfather's who past away last November of cancer. It hits home that I am dealing with cancer one year after he was dealing with his. At 2 pm, I went to a gyn oncologist. He performed an exam, and found a medium sized tumor on my cervix. Apparently this is a good thing, because it likely means that the cancer is localized in one area. We are having to wait for a PT scan early in the week to see if the cancer has spread to other parts of my body. If it is localized, my prognosis is much better. The oncologist was very positive that this is treatable.

For the treatment we are looking at some combination of hysterectomy, radiation & chemo. For radiation treatment I will have daily treatments M-F for 5 weeks. I will also have chemo once a week at the oncologist office. We won't know for sure until after the PT scan results. (Please pray that it is isolated and I don't have pockets of cancer hiding out.) He's anticipating me starting treatment in about a week and a half. It's going to be a hard road ahead, but I am hopeful that we are able to kick cancer's butt.

I am grateful for the outpouring of support that my friends and family have offered me. Many of you have asked how you can help.

Currently, I am fine. As I begin treatment I am anticipating we could use help with dinner meals. My mom will be helping a lot during this time taking care of me at home, but I don't want to stretch her too thin. She will already be taking me to treatments, taking care of the kids, and me. I'm imagining it will be more challenging to plan meals & grocery shop during my treatment stage.

On a different note, if anyone knows of a good, local photographer that would be willing to volunteer their services and take some quality family photos of us in the next week, I would appreciate it. (Please check with them before volunteering their services.) If I have chemo, I'm expecting the hair loss that comes with it. In case the worst case scenario occurs, I would have comfort in knowing that my family had at least one good, recent photo of us to look back on from our "normal" days.

I'm headed to uncharted territory, and I don't know what to expect. As I can, I will update the blog to keep you all posted.