I saw Dr. C today. She checked my breasts because I've been having pains on the left side. Dr. C didn't feel anything but she ordered a breast ultrasound (finally!) just to be sure.
Anyway, I also saw Dr. C to let her know that I was recently diagnosed with polymorphous low grade adenocarcinoma of the palate or PLGA for short, after all she is my family doctor. She was very sympathetic when I told her what's happened in the last month and all she could say was it's very unfortunate, how was I handling it, take it one day at a time, you know, the usual schpiel. Based from our conversation I sensed that what I have is not really that good or not as easy as what Dr. A led me to believe was nothing. Dr. C didn't offer anything positive about PLGA. Dr. C said that if it was a regular cyst, I shouldn't worry about it, however the fact that it's low-grade means it is something else. Of course, after hearing those words, my mind was going a mile a minute. The anxiety level went up but I still managed to put up a brave face. The only positive thing she said was the hospital I'm going to is one of the best and the treatment in the oral surgeon field are excellent. Even though I still do not have a clue who my doctor will be it is good to know that I'll be dealing with one of the best medical teams in our area, at least that's positive.
Dr. C and I talked for a bit and she touched on the issue of work and family. Dr. C said that it might be a wake up call for me after having two types of cancer to rethink my priorities in life. Spend more time with family and not to let my work lead my life. Was quitting my job an option? No. Can I work part time? Maybe. Can I find a less stressful job at work? Yes. Dr. C said I should have a good balance of family and work.
These have been on my mind the whole day so I surfed the net tonight to get more info about PLGA. I googled it and the results are minimal, less than 80,000 results popped and only 387 pages in Canada. Not a good start.
What I found out was very depressing. PLGA is a very rare type of cancer of the salivary glands. Yes, it's rare. (WTF! I cannot believe it. That's probably why Dr. C talked to me the way she did.) Most articles I read said that the treatment is to have a surgery and to ensure regular, very careful and systematic check-ups happen after the operation. However, some people do have recurrence which led to death after a few months. Among the few who were diagnosed with PLGA, majority didn't have any recurrence. Dear God, I hope I will belong to the latter group for our sons' sake.
I have been crying since I read it's a rare type of cancer. I'm scared. All I can think of is our kids. Are my days here on earth numbered? Just when I thought I recovered from my bout against breast cancer, I'm back to square one, battling yet another cancer, a very rare one at that! It is so depressing!!! Am I running out of luck?
Staying positive will be harder this time but that's the only thing that will keep me sane. Searching for that silver lining, a glimmer of hope that everything will be ok, eventually.
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