Know Your Body

The moment I was told I had cancer, it was as if suddenly I could feel every twinge, every pain - the division of each cell. And yet, what my doctors told me they were looking for made no sense to me. In my heart and my gut, I knew that the prognosis was not as bad as they feared.

I was able to find solace during this very stressful diagnosis time through a physician friend, who affirmed that yes, the dire prospects being explored were quite improbable. "But Amy," he cautioned, "I can tell you this as your friend. You want your doctor looking at this from every single angle to make the most accurate diagnosis." And he was right. I am immensely grateful for the incredible physicians whose care I have been in.

After multiple tests and procedures, I was diagnosed with Stage IBI Cervical Cancer, though the pathology of the tumor was incredibly rare - hence my physicians' very diligent efforts to rule out stomach, colon, liver, pancreatic, gall bladder and esphogeal cancers. After a radical hysterectomy, I am still facing courses of radiation and chemo to be certain all of the cancer cells are gone.

Before the diagnosis, I had no symptoms. But as I look back,  I wonder if I was too busy to really pay attention to what was going on. The moment I was tuned into the presence of Cancer, I became much more focused on listening to what my body was telling me. If you are still enough and quiet enough often enough, you will know when something isnt' right. Or maybe you will, like me, be able know what's happening with an eerie certainty even when the doctors are still working to make sure they do too.