Good News

My scan results shows the growth is benign and though the path reports will only be in next week, I am not worried.

All is well.

However, this has really been a wake up call. Being a Dr, I probably know better than anyone how important it is to see a Doctor when things go wrong and to have regular check up.

However, that isn’t true at all.

I last had a pap smear 4 years ago and though the clinic has been sending me reminders, I didn’t have time to go and get it done. Besides, I am not sure what to call this notion of ‘I am fine, nothing will happen to me’ that I suffer from.

I never had a mammogram and kept thinking about getting one done as I do have a family history of CA Breast. But again, I didn’t have time.

I have had pain on the left side of my tummy for few weeks, I had to get up in the middle of the night most nights to pee and instead of going to the clinic, I assumed I had UTI and drank cranberry juice. Even when the pain increased, I still didn’t go to the clinic, I went to my friend’s house to get a script for antibiotic  and instead of a script, she gave me an earful.

Then everything happened really fast.

One of the advantages of being a doctor ( even when not practicing ) is that I didn’t have to wait long to get the scan done. Even then, the 5 minutes I waited while they were doing the paper work, felt like an eternity. I felt lonely and scared and more than anything, I was angry with myself because in my quest to be the best mom on earth, I didn’t have time for me and it was nothing but stupidity. My children really wouldn’t have minded if I didn’t take them for their game for a day and chose to go to the clinic and get a pap smear done..How selfish of me not to have taken care of myself?

So, if this has been a wake up call for me, I am hoping it would be for all of you as well.

Have you had a mammogram and pap smear?

Thank you all for the well wishes. It felt good to be loved so much.

34 thoughts on “Good News

  1. Shoot!…Cannot believe you missed it being a doctor!

    I haven’t done my pap smear in ages either, I have promised my GP this year I’ll go…
    I’m not old enough to get a mammogram yet, at least in US.

  2. Oh God ! So great to hear you are good Sara! Feels like you are an older sister or something bcoz of the blog.Though I dont comment daily , am a regular reader and I love going through your thoughts. 🙂 Take care of yourself… your kids do need you around for a longer time !

  3. Oh…relieved Sara….am a regular reader of your blog for a very long time, though I dont comment….yesterday when I saw your post….I just went blank for some time…..Please take care of yourself Sara. Your children need you…and we want to read your posts of becoming world’s best grandmother.
    Sumitha

    • Sumi: I too would like that. I would love to see my grandchildren.. imagine a house full of little monsters.. Yaya insists, she is not going to have children because she knows how difficult she was when she was little and don’t see the need to go through it again, my son says he will have 4 children, 2 boys and 2 girls, he even has the names picked. Baby thinks 3 is a good number..

  4. Good to hear that all is well. I hate the word cancer, it should be removed from vocabulary. Take care and have a great weekend.

  5. Hi Sarah, I am so glad to hear this. I am also one of those people that read your blog regularly but don’t comment. Anyways, excellent news! Take care of yourself for the kids and for us readers who feel like we are part of your journey 🙂

  6. I was supposedly to have a pap smear and went in for one, however since I never had intercourse, the doctor said it’s best to wait till I’m married and have kids lol. However she told me I’d def need to go when I’m much older just to check if everything is normal. Pap smears are good to have, can be a good indication if there is anything abnormal with the cervix or signs of cervical cancer.

    I don’t about in India, but in US, we are required to have a yearly mammogram once we hit 40 years. I still have like 15 years before that happens. Since I’m on my own, am thinking of finding a doctor to do yearly physicals and make sure everything is ok since I’m half way done in nursing school and am learning-ALOT !

    • MS: I thought of opening the bottle..but the relief was just so immense and I was so exhausted..so I hugged my youngest and went to bed.

  7. So so relieved to hear this. Hugs to you. I am mortally scared of pap smears (even though I am getting a doctorate in public health) and try my best to avoid the annual ritual. But not anymore. Thanks for getting me into that realization!

    • Jina: My obstetrician is a male doctor and I didn’t even think of going to a female doctor. However, when it came to pap smear, I didn’t want to go to a male doctor. Most of the female doctors near where I live are my friends and I didn’t want to go to them either. That was the main reason I delayed it this long..Weird eh?

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