I’ve learned the hard way.
Just because a woman is past 65 doesn’t mean she can entirely forget about possible diseases and maladies of the female reproductive organs. I know many of you would never dream of discussing or writing about something as private as this, but I hope you understand that it’s really a serious matter, and the more knowledge, the better.
A few months ago, I glanced in the full-length mirror (which I try to keep hidden behind boxes of books) and noticed I had put on some weight over the winter.
Winter fat. Easy to fix. I bought a magazine at the checkout counter at the grocery store. The headlines proclaimed, “Lose that Belly Fat” and it would only take 23 days. Diets for slimming down were tried and I even went so far as to do exercises in the privacy of my living room. Still, that winter accumulation around my middle did not go away.
I found it impossible to pick something up off the floor and even to tie my shoes. I felt ridiculous and helpless and so I re-read the articles, thinking I’d missed something. I started eating a high-fiber diet and went easy on the ice cream and snacks.
About the end of May I attended an event with one of my sisters and although I’d been telling her in phone conversations about my weight gain, it wasn’t until we visited in person she noticed my swelling abdomen. She called me and urged me to go to the doctor. She told me I looked pregnant!
Two days later, I visited my primary care physician; I felt a little foolish because I didn’t feel sick. I just couldn’t seem to get rid of what felt like a basketball in my lap. Dr. Piraino immediately set up two appointments for me: one to have a CT scan, followed by a visit to a gynecologist/oncologist at the Maine Women’s Cancer Center. Now I began to get scared.
After fasting for eight hours and drinking some weird fluid, I slid through the CT scan machine and the results were sent off to the gynecologist.
In the third week of June I visited him and one of his first questions was ‘When did you have your last pelvic exam?” I said I couldn’t remember but that at my age PAP tests were discontinued. He patiently explained that these are two very different procedures – a PAP test is not a pelvic exam.
He pointed out the purpose of each exam. He showed me the film of the CT scan which was mostly taken up with a large round object. He told me this wasn’t “winter fat,” but a tumor, which probably had been developing for several years. A pelvic exam probably would have revealed this at a much earlier stage.
There is no alternate treatment other than removal. It is called a laparotomy and while some of my friends can’t understand why I haven’t already had this thing removed, it’s not as simple as that.
Ten years ago I had open heart surgery and have a mitral valve implant; before surgery I need to have “cardiovascular clearance,” and so another two weeks of exams and reviews is required before surgery. This includes a nuclear stress test (more weird liquid, more fasting – including no coffee) and other exams of the heart and arteries. My cardiologist will review the test results, report to the gynecologist and a decision will be made as to how to proceed.
Meanwhile, I could kick myself for not even thinking about a more thorough exam back several years ago. I was so concerned about bone loss, arthritis and other age-related conditions.
I can now throw away the “flatten that tummy” articles, quit the exercises guaranteed to tone up my abdomen muscles and go back to eating hot fudge sundaes. I know that after all the tests and exams, soon I’ll be spending more than a week in the hospital but I’ll emerge a lot thinner and a lot more energetic. And after that foot-long scar heals, I’ll be able to tie my own shoes.
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