"Leep"s and Bounds

There has been a whole lot of junk going on in my life the last while, and as a result I have been a bit neglectful and careless in certain areas of my world.  There is one specific thing that I have failed to give much love & attention to.  This one thing is centered within myself, an event that goes on inside of my very own body. 

I have spent the majority of the past two years fighting then accepting, grieving then overcoming, and forgiving then moving on from various external hardships.  All the while, I have also been monitoring a batch of icky bad DNA living inside of my own body that may one day lead to cancer.  They call it pre-cancerous dysplasia.  Sounds pretty, huh?

For over 2 years now, I have been visiting Sunnybrook hospital's colposcopy clinic in six month intervals.  Here, my wonderful doctor has been analyzing my "icky cells" to see how they change; too much change equals cancer potential.  Because I have this dysplasia, I am now required to take the trek up to the hospital twice a year, or risk the chance that the cells may mutate into cervical cancer unbeknownst to me.  Each time I visit I am reminded of the alternative, a procedure they call "LEEP" treatment, or Loop Electrosurgical Excision Procedure for Abnormal Cervical Cell Changes.  Also sounds fun, huh?  This procedure consists of the numbing of my lady parts, and then the cauterization of the bad cells using a thin, low-voltage electrified wire loop to cut out abnormal tissue.  Ouch.  All this, and then I get to wait for at least a week to feel like myself, and another 3 to 5 before I can resume regular activities like exercise, swimming, and , *gasp*, even sex.  In addition, there are also a few more gory side effects that I am not going to get into here.

Well today, didn't my doctor look up at me during my routine exam, and say..."this doesn't seem to be going away.  Might I strongly suggest we book you in for a LEEP procedure?".  I nodded in agreement, never one to disagree with my Doc, and I am headed back up to Sunnybrook again soon.  How soon?  In four weeks. In early December I am scheduled to have my insides electrified.

I had a hard time dealing with this today.  Mainly because this "issue" has been something that I have sort of sidelined for the past two years.  I haven't really given myself the time to think about it much, to worry, to feel what I need to feel about my own body creating potentially killer DNA.  It's weird.  And it made me a bit sad this afternoon.  But, like all things, this too shall pass, and I know that plenty of women go through this exact same process at some point.  I know of one girlfriend that has been doing her six month exams for some eight years now.  And guess what?  No cancer!     

So this is where my road has taken me, and I plan to do the LEEP thing in four weeks, and deal with the aftermath as it comes.  All this bearing in mind that I could get a call at anytime from my doctor to say I am no longer eligible for the treatment.  You see today I had a wee biopsy done and if the results do come back dodgy, then that's when I suppose we will have to pull out the BIG guns. But the Big guns means the Big C, so I am actually praying for the LEEP.  Who knew that THAT would happen?

Anyway, that's my story for today, and I guess the message I want to get out there, is go to your doctor!  Have your annual physical!  I have been doing mine consitently for YEARS and have managed to kibosh a suspected breast lump, bone density issues, and now have a choke hold on cervical cancer.  So my final words?

Please plan prevention.  Don't put off your Pap.