Friday, February 19, 2016

Exhaling...

The aforementioned surgery was a week ago; today I had my first post-op visit.

Now that it's going to be just fine, I'll spill.  I had cancer.  That is SUPER hard to tell people, because often they get all upset, and you feel that you need to be making them feel better, rather than the other way around.  So I didn't share much beforehand.

The doctor called a couple days after the Solstice Ride (pro tip: whenever the doctor calls YOU, in person, the news is not good).  I spent some time being stunned and stressed.  After the first visit, the surgeon assured me that it was early, and surgery would likely be all I'd need.

Given that I'd been working harder than I should have had to so as to finish rides in a reasonable time, I took this as a message that I did not have to keep fighting it for the time being.  Seriously, I'd ride 100k and nap for a couple of days (!)

I did abandon my current R-12 run, because I'll probably not be 200k recovered by the end of March.  The P-12 is still a "maybe".  I'll see.  The surgeon thinks not ("how long would it take you?" About 6 hours.  "No").  The PA and I were trying to decide if she meant no you may not do it, or if she just didn't think it was one of the best ideas I've ever had.

During surgery, the surgeon harvested a bunch of lymph nodes, so we've been waiting for the pathology report.

All good.  No more cancer.  No subsequent treatment.

Now I need to work my way through recovery - it was robot surgery, but there was a lot of internal rummaging around!

I'm walking - distance record is 1.6 miles, 90 vertical feet.  Also staying within the neighborhood, because going anywhere useful and interesting is a steep downhill/uphill with no pedestrian accommodations.

I'll probably stick to that for a few more weeks, until my core recovers somewhat, then take the bike out for a short spin in the neighborhood.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

That's great news!!! Thanks for sharing with us.

CA said...

You don't know me IRL, but I stumbled across your blog a few years ago and have loved reading it for inspiration. Just wanted to say yay for clear lymph nodes! Be kind to yourself and take it easy - the cycling will be there when you're ready!

EvoDavo said...

More people are rooting for you than you know. Go Lynne !!

Janice in GA said...

Quick and thorough healing to you, and no further problems in the future! Mojo ACTIVATED.

Srsly, take time to heal. The bike will wait for you. :) (((internet hugs))) if you want them.

Michael R pdx said...

Wowza. Your riding along through it all is amazing.
Enjoy your extended life!

Unknown said...

Internet hugs indeed! I'm looking forward to more pics of rides, ride food and post-ride drinks soon.

Rando Richard said...

So Lynne, isn't surgery a much "better" solution than going through a bunch of chemo? Heal up and hope to see more or your ride reports. I too, gave up on my R-12 last December (after 7 uninterrupted years), after a long bout of colds and coughs — perfect timing as I then had major life altering stroke and surgery in 2016! So now now both my R-12 and P-12 are toast.