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Surgeon TestimonialOsvaldo C. AnezWhen I first met Dr. Anez a couple of years ago I remembered he was very soft spoken and smiley. He was all business and he talked to me about the procedure and walked me step by step through the diagram of the surgery he was going to perform. He used colored pencils to show the differences in the organs and wrote down all the steps. He seemed a bit \"robotic\" in his presentation and made me think to myself, wow he has been doing this for a really long time. He was very scripted and didn't really venture off his path. While I appreciated his professionalism, he definitely lacked in the \"get to know you\" aspect. On the other hand, he isn't a therapist and I didn't expect him to \"help\" me with my emotional journey. He is a surgeon and a very well qualified one at that. His credentials and experience speak for themselves. I actually like his soft demeanor. Nonetheless, his part was done after surgery anyway. Post-op I started to see his P.A. Tiffany. She is fantastic! I can see why Dr. Anez hired her--she is the one with the more outgoing personality. It's a good balance. Everyone from the beginning was great! Ashley the insurance coordinator was on top of everything and was really organized. I would recommend Dr. Anez and his staff to anyone looking for a competent surgeon. Member Interests
- Travel - I have traveled and lived all over the world! Too many places to name here!
- Parenting - I have 2 boys ages 6 and 16 months! Being a mom is so great!!!
- Dancing - I LOVE to dance-Although I don't do it as much as I used to!
- Music - I love all kinds of music!
- Radio & Television - I love my XM satellite radio and I am addicted to Reality T.V.!
- Collectibles - I am a Hello Kitty fanatic! Ever since I was a little girl I have loved her!
- Jewely Making - I love making jewelry and I have a ton of different beads and stones!
- Cake Decorating - I love to decorate cakes! I try to do my sons birthday cakes each year!
- Vacation - When we vacation, we go to Israel. We have family there and love it!
- Cancer Survivor - 2 time Survivor! Finally had a full Hysterectomy and now Cancer FREE!
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4 1/2 months out--229lbs---Down 84lbs! on January 18, 2010 7:59 am
I am now 229lbs! It feels great! The last time I was 229lbs was 10years ago! It's wonderful to be more active and feel lighter. I am still recovering from my hysterectomy, and that's been okay also. I got the results of a CT scan I had 2 weeks ago, and they are good! There was no evidence of any cancer anywhere! While that may be good news, I still have to undergo some type of preventative treatment. The type of cancer that I have is Endometrial Stromal Sarcoma--and while I don't have a uterus anymore the chances of it recurring elsewhere is a definite possibility unless I take medication to suppress it. I have been referred to another Oncologist to see what my options are. Within the last week I have been feeling very Menopausal. I have had hot flashes, and fatigue, and just an overall odd feeling. The hot flashes are very strange--it feels like someone suddenly turns on a heater that is blowing really hot air on you. It is uncomfortable. I have definitely been irritable, I am a lot more impatient than I was before. My Dr. has told me I "will NEVER be able to take hormone replacement drugs, EVER!" He was emphatic about it. The hormones could fuel my cancer for sure. I am going to have to research my options. Other than ALL THAT, I am feeling great. I have a positive outlook and I know that I am going to be better really soon!
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Christmas Day---236lbs--down 77lbs! on December 25, 2009 3:42 pm
Happy Holidays everyone! A lot has happened since my last post. On December 9th I had a total Hysterectomy due to cancer recurrence. Almost 6 years ago, 9 months after my first child was born, I was diagnosed with endometrial cancer and underwent surgery to remove a large tumor and my right fallopian tube. A year of treatment later and I was given a "clean bill of health" to try to have another child in May of 2005. Due to my PCOS, irregular/heavy menstrual cycles (both due to my obesity) and only 1 fallopian tube, my chances of conceiving naturally were pretty slim. My husband and I decided to go to an infertility specialist, and we hadn't even finished with the preliminary tests, when we had already spent about $1,000. It was very discouraging and frankly we didn't have the kind of money that it took for all the treatments. So we just tried ourselves, but after a year or so of trying I almost gave up. I desperately wanted another child and got a little depressed about it and ended up gaining weight. My friend food made me feel better. Mid 2007 I started to buy those over the counter ovulation test kits. I went through one kit and nothing happened. I tracked all my cycles to perfection and was totally aware of the signs of ovulation. So I bought another test and another test. Finally, one day in January of 2008 I tested myself and was positive for ovulation, Michael was about to leave the house to go to a party, as it was Superbowl Sunday. He was literally, out the door and I had to stop him to tell him I was ovulating and he is NOT going anywhere!!! (at least not for 2-5 minutes he wasn't...tee hee) Anyway------so while it wasn't very romantic, the job was done. I propped my legs on the wall for about 1/2 and hour and let gravity help. I was confident that would do the trick. The next month I got my period. I was devastated. I was so emotionally spent. Hoping every month for those little lines to show up. In March 2008 I had to go to get my bi--annual ultrasound to monitor any growth on my uterus. What was supposed to be a 20 min. appt. turned out to be 1hour and 45 min. After 2 Techs and not much being said a Radiologist came in and I bluntly asked him "Whats going on? Did you find something?" I thought the worst. He said "Well Mrs. Gross, whats going on is we think you are pregnant". I was in complete shock--I told him " I am not pregnant, I think I would know if I was" and then he scanned me and there it was--this little tiny sac with a teeny beating heart. My own heart started to beat so hard. I was overwhelmed with emotion and I started to cry. The Tech said " Are you okay Mrs. Gross?" I said to her "I have been trying to get pregnant for a couple of years now and I was told I never would be able to!"I then got really excited and drove all the way home crying to tell my husband! We made phone calls to family and then to my Obgyn to start prenatal care! Superbowl Sunday will always be special to us, and I was never really a fan to begin with.;) In Oct 2008 my miracle baby was born. Nadav Eitan, all 12lbs 3oz and 21in. of him. It was actually on the operating table that my Obgyn stated "I think this is it for you, isn't it?" I didn't realize it then, but I obviously knew that he really was a miracle and when I delivered him I was my heaviest weight ever at 333lbs. Talk about a really tough pregnancy. 2 months later I started to go through the steps I needed to get gastric bypass. A few months later after I finished breastfeeding I had started to get my period again. It was heavy and irregular more so than anything I had ever experienced. Then I got bypass 9/1/09 and it wasn't until early November that I finally went to my Gynecologic Oncologist and told him that I was miserable with my periods and I had even thought I might have needed to go to the ER at one point. He told me it was time to have a hysterectomy and that there were no other options. I had pre-surgical testing and my ultrasound came back with a mass in my uterus. Dec. 9th they went in not really knowing what they were going to find or what they were going to take out. The initial plan was to leave my ovaries but as they went in (laproscopically first, but that proved to be too difficult with all my scar tissue) all the scar tissue from my previous surgeries had adhesed everything together, even my bladder. To even try to pull it all apart would do more damage. They biopsied all my tissues and nodes and sent them to the lab. I woke up to find out that they indeed took everything. While I was informed about that possibility, I fooled myself to thinking that I was emotionally prepared for that. My Dr. came in the next day to discuss the surgery and their findings and that was it. I was in the hospital for 5 days and I was actually relieved at the idea of never having a period again! A little over a week later and I went to get my staples out and get the pathology report. First of all, let me tell you my recovery would have been much worse 70 lbs ago! My incisions for my previous surgeries always healed very nicely and quickly, this time is was terrible. It looked like a train wreck. It opened a little and it oozed and smelled! Not good! My Dr. said it was normal and it would stop, so I dealt with it. Anyway, my results were for the most part good. My cancer had indeed come back. The biopsy of the other tissues, (the nodes and surrounding) all came back negative but because the tumor was positive and it went deep into my uterine wall some cells could have gotten into my blood stream. So, I need to have a CAT scan and he will give me his final report in 3 weeks. So there it is. I am staying positive although it is very hard at times. Especially when I look at my beautiful children. I actually had a bad night last night. After dinner I felt miserable, I had the chills and ached. I couldn't get warm, so I got into a hot shower. My mind was thinking of the worst and for the first time I had a vision of my body being ravaged by cancer and that was why my body hurt and ached. I started to cry at the thought of dying and leaving my husband and kids with no wife or mother at such a young age. It really bothered me. I never entertained thoughts of death before, I have always been very positive about my diagnoses, past and present. It scared the shit out of me to think that I could die. I am going to focus on my health and my family's health from now on. Losing 77 lbs. so far has been fabulous! I feel so much different, my clothes feel different, eating and food don't hold me hostage anymore. I am a new woman and I have lots of hope for the future. I love my life and my family and plan to "live" for the first time in many, many years. I am jewish and celebrate Hanukkah but this is in a way my "Christmas Miracle" story! Happy Holidays everyone and Have a Happy, Healthy New Year! See you in 2010! Peace out!
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