Cervical Cancer, 1990s, by Karan Wroten

From MemoryArchive

Who: Karan Wroten
What: Cervical Cancer
When: 1990s
Where: San Antonio, Texas

I have always been a picture of health. I eat right and exercise extensively. I had been somewhat negligent in keeping up with yearly check-ups since the birth of my daughter. There was never enough time, and I wasn't having any symptoms that would suggest I should be more diligent. When my pap test came back as irregular, I assumed the medical staff was at fault. Even when a biopsy was recommended, I looked upon it as a minor inconvenience, worth the effort so they could find their mistake. No problem! It wasn't until the biopsy came back as positive that I even started thinking that there may actually be a problem. Dr. Edwards assured me that we had caught my cervical cancer early, and it could be surgically removed.

My family had planned a vacation to New Hampshire and Maine the following week, so my surgery was scheduled for the week after my return. Throughout the trip, my mind was besieged with questions I should have asked the doctor. How extensive would the surgery be? Would it be followed by chemotherapy and radiation? Would I be guaranteed to be cancer free? Would I live? Our fabulous vacation was very difficult for me to enjoy. My goal was not to let my worries keep my family from having a good time.

When we returned from our trip, I prepared for my operation. I told my husband not to bother taking off work, that I could drive myself to the hospital and I would simply call a friend to give me a ride home afterwards. I had only been in the hospital once, to give birth to my daughter, and had returned home the next day. After realizing that perhaps the surgery was more complex than I originally believed, I called my husband and suggested that I needed him to escort me to and from the hospital. Buck stayed with me until the anesthesiologist arrived. There was almost a severe mistake made at that point. Apparently, there were two doctors with very similar names scheduled to perform surgery at the same time. Dr. Patrick Edwards, my doctor, was to operate on me, while Dr. Edward Patrick was scheduled to perform back sugery. You guessed it! I came eerily close to having back surgery.

Fortunately, before dropping off to sleep, I identified myself as being scheduled for cancer removal. The surgery was successful and I learned that when the doctor had told me to allow six weeks for recovery, he meant it would be six weeks before I could begin to return to partipate in the things I had previously done. I had assumed he meant I would be back to peak performance in six weeks. I later learned that if I had waited much longer before having my pap test, I likely would have died. To this day, I am an advocate for all ladies being very diligent in getting their yearly examinations.