The year is 2025, and I have not written on my blog for years, in fact. I'm a 55-year-old woman who is now due to a cancer diagnosis is a stay-at-home grandparent, mess cook, cleaner, and many more..
My sisters and I had been taking care of my cute mom for quite some time. She had also been diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer's. It was a pretty rough few years for us all, which also included my amazing dad (whom I miss every day). I had been feeling crappy for a while, but pushed it off until the pain was tolerable. I made an appointment at the Preston clinic with whoever could get me in. I was seen and told that I had a bladder infection, which was in January 2016. Later that next month, still no better, I went back, and I had a full workup from one of the lady doctors there. Still thinking it was a bladder infection and upped my dosage. The next month, still feeling awful and no relief in sight, I went back again(dumb idea), and they gave me a shot this time of a big dose of an antibiotic. My mom was a handful to say the least, strong-willed and strong-minded, and all our time was devoted to her, so I hoped for the best and coped through the pain until I couldn't. Mom passed away on May 14, 2016.
We had all gathered at their home, she had taken a turn for the worse, and the family that we are gathered on a Saturday afternoon to wait. Her breaths were shallow, and she was in and out and always looking up at the corner of the room. With dad by her side, rubbing her hand, we thought we would take him for a ride just around the hill and up to Franklin. We had a wonderful young lady who watched over my folks and took amazing care of them (Natasha). We knew she would be in good hands. By the time we had gotten back, she had left us to go see your family on the other side. Boyd was holding her hand when she left, and he was totally distraught and left the home right after. She always did give him a run for his money!! We miss you, Mom, but so glad that the pain you felt through the process is over. Why is it hell to get out of this world?
(This is Natasha, the caregiver. She was always there for both my parents.
After mom had left, things had settled down, and yes, I still felt like crap. I finally made the best decision that I could have ever made and called my qyno in Logan, Dr. Ken Wade. Whom I had gone to since I was 17 years old. I had to wait a few weeks until my appointment, which after the waiting was in June 22 of 2016. Ken came in and asked what was going on. I had told him that I just didn't feel good and hadn't for some time. The pain was coming from my back. He lay me down and started feeling my abdomen, he said You have a mass, I can feel it. He sent me right over to get an ultrasound, and ironically, the tech was my mom's friend's(Dorothy Workman) daughter, Rosie. She started looking and couldn't give me the details, but did say that the blood was going in the wrong direction, which somehow was an indication of cancer. Not knowing that at the time, but still calm, I walked back down to Ken's office to wait for him to go over the results. He came in and said Sam, it looks to maybe be cancer. I'm still looking at it, but I will call you when I know more. I left distraught and not sure what to really do, I called Fred to let him know, not sure what it would be like for me as far as work went. I don't really remember the call or the words of our conversation at this time, but I know Fred was kind and caring. I came to the shop where Lexy was doing hair and had a total meltdown. We hugged, and I just said I'm going to work. No need for me to sit around here and wait, I told her. I left. I got the call on the way, and yes, it was cancer. The young nurse had let me know that a place in Salt Lake would be getting a hold of me to schedule an appointment. I had never heard of the hospital that they had me going to, but at the time, I was just in slow motion it felt. I walked in Valley, and by chance, Rachel was walking by. We walked back out the front door, and all I could say was I have fucking cancer......
We cried, and I headed back home and called Brady on my way. I couldn't stop crying and just said I have cancer. He met me at Mom and Dad's house as I paced the floor. The whole family gathered and supported me; I don't know what I would have done without them.
The results were given to me on a Thursday, and on Friday, I had to go in and have a blood transfusion
(My brother in law Casey)
By looking at this picture, you could tell that I was highly anemic. This pic was taken within a few weeks of my surgery. Looking at it now, and the one from my mom's funeral, I should have known we had a problem. As I waited for the Oncologist to call me, I was feeling like crap and absorbing the results of it all. My sisters on Saturday night got together and decided that they would take my life into their hands. I'm so thankful that they did too. Diane called the Huntsman to see how to get me in, and they said that I had to be seen at UofU's emergency, so my sisters swooped me up on Sunday morning, and we headed out for a girls' trip. We got to the University of Utah's emergency department, they helped with my pain, and we were set. I always tell whoever asks about my journey that I wouldn't have known what to have done if it wasn't for my advocates Lexy and Diane, with Laurel also telling them what was best by way of her friend, who was a nurse. Within the next few days, I received a call from Huntsman, and an appointment was set up for the next week with Dr. Soisson.
(This is a picture of my dad and me after my blessing on that Saturday) xoxo
Brady and I met with Dr. Soisson, and he had looked at the scans. He said I see you have a mass but to tell you the truth, I'm not sure what we have until we get in there. Surgery was scheduled for July 5th, 2016. At the time, I worked for an outstanding company, Valley Implement. I remember bits and pieces of this time because it was just so much coming at me, and I just didn't remember it all. Richard Nelson and Matt Wakley, whom I worked with, came over the Saturday before I left for surgery to give me a blessing. My whole family was there and had been for some time that whole week; it was a sober feel, but you could feel the love all around. Brady and I headed out on Sunday night and stayed overnight at Little America to be at the Huntsman early in the morning on Monday. We could hear all the fireworks going off throughout the night, but I was in so much pain that I just lay in bed and worried and not knowing what my future was going to look like. I was a mom to three children, Shelby, Tyson, and Jessie. Also, my first grandson, Kaisen. I really wasn't sure how this was going to go, but I knew it was coming.
July 5th 2016
I had to be there early in the morning. I really can't remember a lot after that morning, but to give you the skinny, Dr. Soisson did however, write a whole page about the procedure
Exam was performed. This was consistent with her having a fixed mass filling of the pelvis that
appeared to be slightly more left sided than right and arises to her umbilicus. lt was immovable.
The abdomen, perineum and vagina were prepped and draped in a sterile fashion. A transurethral
Foley catheter was placed. We made an incision from a point just above the umbilicus to the
symphysis and we entered the abdomen Upon entering the abdomen, we noticed an obvious
malignancy. She had ascites and some of thiswas collected and sentforwashings. Therewere
bulky large tumor metastases on the anterior bladder peritoneum. There was bulky tumor
metastasis on the peritoneum just at the lunction of the bladder and the uterus, there was an
extremely large left ovarian tumor that had the omentum densely adherent to it, the right tube and
ovary was normal. There was a Iarge right retroperitoneal metastasis measuring 4 x 4 cm. There
were multiple large bulky tumor metastases on the right hemidiaphragm. Both paracolic gutters
were normal. The small bowel was normal from the ligament of Treitz to the mid ileum. There was
an extremely large tumor mass involving the base of the cecum and terminal ileum in the vicinity of
the appendix. Based on her presentation, it was my opinion that the patient l,ikely had an
appendiceal cancer or cecal cancer with metastases to her left ovary and multiple peritoneal
metastases. I transected the left round ligament and entered the retroperitoneal spaces and
identified the ureter. The ovarian vessels were isolated, cross-clamped. transected and ligated
times 2. We then crossclamped all of the omental vessels from the transverse colon and ligated
them with O Vicryl and removed the left tube and ovary and omentum en bloc. A frozen section
analysis of thiswas consistentwith a mucinous tumor, likely metastaticfrom the appendix lthen
dissected the left anterior bladder peritoneum off of the abdominal wall completely mobilizing
across the dome of the bladder. I was able to completely mobilize and removed all of the tumor
nodules on the anterior bladder peritoneum We then mobilized the ascendtng colon. We
transected the ileum about 15 cm from the ileocecal valve with an 80-mm GIA stapler. We
transected the ascending colon approximately 1O cm from the ileocecal valve with the GIA stapler.
All of the mesenteric vessels were isolated and ligated with 0 Vicryl and we completely removed
the cecum and ileum and isolated and ligated the ovarian vessels times 2 with 0 Vicryl and
removed the ovary en bloc with the ileum and ascending colon. We were then able to place the
Bookwalter retractor. We dissected both ureters off the medial leaf of the peritoneum. We were
then able to remove all of the tumor plaque on the right posterior pelvic peritoneum. The uterine
vessels were isolated, cross-clamped, transected and ligated. The uterus and all the pelvic
peritoneum were then removed en bloc. The vagina was closed with interrupted sutures of 0
Vicryl. This removed all tumors from the pelvis. We then removed the right pelvic lymph node
metastases. We then reexamined the small bowel There was no tumor nodules on the small
bowel. We anastomosed the ileum to the ascending colon with the same 80-mm GIA stapler. We
oversewed the staple line with interrupted sutures of 3-0 silk. We then repositioned the Bookwalter
retractor. We curetted all of the tumor from the right diaphragm. By doing this, we were able to
grossly remove all tumor from the abdomen and pelvis. We then rechecked the anastomosis, it
was wateftight and airtight. We then irrigated the abdomen and pelvis with 6 L of normal saline.
We changed our gown and glove prior to closure of the abdomen. We then closed the fascia with
a running nonlocking suture of #1 PDS. Subcutaneous tissues were closed with 2-0 Vicryl. Skin
was closed using staples. The patient tolerated all of this well and left the suite in good condition.
In the end, it was determined that I had Stage 1 Uterus cancer and Stage 4 Colon cancer in the large intestine. Mastiated through my abdomen.
The surgery was around 5 hours after they wheeled me into my room. My family was all waiting for me
In Brady fashion, he was trying to make a funny, and I had no haha in me, and told everyone that he wasn't that funny. I was at Huntsman for about a week until I could come home. I had to poop before they would let me leave, and I walked the halls twice or more times a day to get things moving. I was cut from the middle of my ribs to the cestion scar that I had after Tyson and Jess were born. Looking out of my room, you could see the helicopter over at the U of U hospital. It came and went all night long, it seemed like. Brady was there with me for half of the week, and I sent him home. Shelby stayed and brought me home on Friday. I was so glad to be home!!
I was introduced to my oncologist, Dr. Garido, a few weeks after my surgery. From there, we got a plan together and put a port in after a few weeks, and started chemotherapy. I also have what is called Lynch Syndrome, which means
💡 What Lynch Syndrome Means — in Real-Life Terms
🧬 Lynch syndrome is something you were born with
It’s a genetic condition that:
It affects how your body:
Because that repair system doesn’t work perfectly, cancer can form more easily in certain organs.
🎯 What Cancers Are Most Common With Lynch Syndrome?
People with Lynch syndrome have a higher chance of getting cancer in:
✅ Colon
✅ Uterus (endometrial)
Ovaries
Stomach
Small intestine
Urinary system
Pancreas (less common)
So when you had:
Endometrial cancer
Colon cancer
That combination is actually a classic Lynch syndrome pattern.
It explains why you had both cancers
Through this journey, I have had various types of chemotherapy and radiation. In the last almost 10 years, I'm still fighting and living my life thanks to the support of my amazing group of Family, Friends, and the silent ones who gave money to help me through the early years of this disease. As I end for the night, my journey will be going on as will. I hope to keep on updating this blog, if not for me, for my kids to look back at the life we have lived together.
