cancer free!

Hallelujah! You have no idea how badly this has been eating at me. I've already given the back story quite a few times, so here is the short and sweet version. In September 2011 I was told that lumps showed up during my barium swallow and that it concerned the doctors enough to want to make sure they weren't cancerous. After 4 long months of fighting for a referral, I had an endoscopy done on January 3, 2012 where they indeed found a few decent sized polyps which they removed to be biopsied. The results would be in on February 15, 2012. Shortly after the procedure, I found out I was pregnant.

Needless to say, the past month I have been a wreck wondering about the "what if's". I woke up at 6am and felt sick all day long. Just as I had expected, the day dragged on and it felt like forever before 3:30 rolled around. Every single minute that I was in that room waiting for the doctor to come in felt like an eternity. Now let me tell you something about Dr. Zuckerman. He sounds just like Bill Lumbergh, the boss from the movie Office Space. Taking his sweet time to say things. It almost makes me laugh, though, because I just assume he always has a case of the Monday's (if you've seen the movie, you'll get the joke). He's starts out with 'So, I'm glad you are feeling alright but... -insert ridiculously long pause before any kind of excplanation- I have good news and bad. Which do you want first?' I asked for the bad news. 'You have eosinophilic esophagitis. It can be treated, but not while you are pregnant.' So I left this sit for a minute and then practically yell at him, so what about the polyps? Are they malignant or benign? They are benign. Cancer free! I'll just have to suffer a little for the next however many months until I have the baby, but at least I know there is an end in sight to the worst of it.

So, what is eosinophilic esophagitis? In the easiest terms possible, it is an allergic inflammatory reaction typically caused by food allergies, but can also be caused by GERD. As far as I know, the only food I am allergic to is strawberries, which I avoid at all costs. And as everyone already knows, I was diagnosed with GERD back in September, as well. So there is our nasty culprit. The symptoms are difficulty swallowing, food impaction, and severe heartburn. Those of you who have been around me the past few years know that I've had those times where I can't breathe due to food getting 'caught' in my esophagus. It's awful, and I don't wish it on anyone. However, there is a sunny side - it can be treated. Usually they would do an allergy test, but we already know there is nothing new to be found there. In the event that any allergens are found, I would have to alter my diet to excludes those things. I've already done that since I know what some of my triggers are. Again, not an allergy, just causes of the severe heartburn. The treatment involves a liquid corticosteroid, which I am unable to take during pregnancy due to the fact that too much of it may be absorbed and transferred to the baby. That just means I have to be very careful of what I eat and head to the ER asap if it flares up.

So I have to suffer a little for the next 7ish months. That kind of sucks, but it's a huge burden lifted off of my shoulders to know that there is no cancer and that this can be treated. The GERD is there forever, unfortunately, but there are medicines I can take to help keep that to a minimum. Overall, I am very happy with the outcome, and I have a feeling that with this being over with for the time being that I will be a lot less stressed out. I appreciate everyone who to time out of their day to message or text me and those who have been praying for me since the beginning of this whole ordeal. It's really nice to know I have so many people on my side when it comes down to something like this.