What the Polyp is that.........

"What the fuck is that...... " I said when the nurse who was giving me a smear test announced whilst she was at the business end "oh you have a large polyp". Apparently I have a large Polyp in my vagina wall, its a lump (yes another fucking lump) that thankfully is benign....phew.....sigh of relief. The nurse promptly ran off to bring a Dr (thankfully a woman Dr) to take a peek at my neither regions and she confirmed what the nurse said. So a Polyp is a bit like a skin tag but downstairs, and mine is very big and is actually pushing on the walls of my insides, I've been feeling uncomfortable downstairs for sometime and I thought it had something to do with the menopause and a possible prolapse womb, but no I was wrong its a lumpy thing. Urghhh...... of course I panicked as soon as she said lump and had to wait for the Dr to come and take a look before I could breath a huge sigh of relief. Anything lumpy will always take me back to that day 6 years ago when another large lump was found on my lady hump leaving me in a state of sheer terror. So I've googled Polyps and found out the following information:

The exact reason that polyps form is unknown, but swings in hormone levels may be a factor. Estrogen, which plays a role in causing the endometrium to thicken each month, also appears to be linked to the growth of uterine polyps.

What are cervical polyps?
Cervical polyps are small, elongated tumors that grow on the cervix. The cervix is the narrow canal at the bottom of the uterus that extends into the vagina. The cervix connects the uterine cavity and the upper portion of the vagina. It acts as the passageway for sperm to fertilize an egg, which could result in pregnancy. During labor, the cervix becomes thinner and wider. This allows the baby to pass through the birth canal.

Polyps are fragile structures that grow from stalks rooted on the surface of the cervix or inside of the cervical canal. If someone has polyps, usually only one polyp is present, and two or three at most.

Cervical polyps are usually benign, or not cancerous, and cervical cancer rarely arises from them. Most cervical cancers are due to the human papilloma virus (HPV), which is also the cause of genital warts.

Symptoms of cervical polyps
Polyps on the cervix may not cause any noticeable symptoms. However, see your gynaecologist right away if you experience vaginal discharge of white or yellow mucus, or abnormally heavy periods.

You should also call your doctor if you experience vaginal spotting or bleeding:
after sexual intercourse
between periods
after douching
after menopause

Some of these symptoms can also be signs of cancer. In rare cases, polyps represent an early phase of cervical cancer. Removing them helps reduce this risk.


Why polyps occur?
It isn’t fully understood why cervical polyps occur. Their formation may be linked to:
increased levels of estrogen, which is the female sex hormone
chronic inflammation of the cervix, vagina, or uterus
clogged blood vessels
High estrogen levels

Estrogen levels naturally fluctuate throughout a woman’s life. Your estrogen levels will be highest during childbearing years, during any pregnancies, and in the months leading up to menopause.

Man-made chemicals that mimic estrogen are present in the environment. For example, xenoestrogens are in commercially produced meats and dairy products. Chemical estrogens can also be released into food that’s heated.

So there you have it bloody fucking Estrogen again..... WTF....... god I'm sick of these dammed hormones.

On a plus note I've decided after chatting with the nurse today and with the Polyp in mind that probably the best decision regarding ovaries is to have the bastards out, and whilst they are taking those out they can remove said polyp. 

Dairy, calves cancer?.......

You may be confused about this post and be asking yourself "what the hell has dairy and calves got to do with the big C. This is a question I am forced to ask myself every year in May. Around this time every year the field that backs on to our garden is filled with very young dairy calves it always reminds me that each one of these represents a mother cow who produces milk. The calves come from the largest dairy herd in Devon around 3,000 cows are said to be milked down the end of our road everyday to feed our insatiable appetite for all things dairy. This in itself isn't a problem but the trouble starts with how they (the farmers) treat the cattle. All dairy cows produce a calf in order to produce milk how many calves a year they produce or in there entire lifetime is probably an absurd number but this is a fact that most of us don't really acknowledge when we pick up a pint at our local supermarket. The young ones in our back field (and they are pitifully young) are taken from there mothers soon after they are born maybe a couple of weeks judging by the size of the little ones in the field. Obviously they have to do this in order to get at the milk. Along the way the mother cow's are injected with various growth hormones so that they yield more and more milk WE CONSUME this milk and this is where the breast cancer connection comes in. Its female cows injected with female hormones that are in our innocent pint of milk, block of cheese, or clotted cream. Of course the injections are only one of the many process's  the cow's and milk go through pasteurisation is another dodgy process.

Where is all this leading you may ask yourself and indeed this is something I have pondered many times. At the beginning of my dx I went to see a clairvoyant who picked up on the breast cancer thing and told me it was in some way connected to dairy this has kind of stuck in my mind and very soon after I ditched the white stuff in favour of nut milks and a little skimmed goats milk. I don't eat cheese or cream and don't really miss it in tea and coffee although admit it took a little longer to adjust but I have settled for a good nut milk something like Rice Dream Hazlenut/Almond milk and a little dash of totally Skimmed Organic Goats Milk obviously its the same process for goats as is for cows except the demand for goats milk is marginally less than for cows milk and they don't inject hormones and other nasties into it. I seriously believe that if your cancer is ER+ you should consider the dairy connection and the possible impact it could have on your cancer. When you start to look into the alternatives to dairy you'll realise there are a lot of great choices and after a little time you wont bothered or feel that your missing out on cows milk.

Here's a photo of the lovely calves in the field all new and way way too young to be taken from there mothers. Bless them. I've also included a stunning shot of the cows making there way back to be milked as they do everyday at 2.30 following each other in a long train that goes on for miles!!!

Yoga, lymphedema, menopause

Started back at Yoga today after a break over the half term and I really was feeling it! It really does help if you keep doing it your stamina and flexibility increase and gradually you are able to do things you would never imagine you would be able to, Yoga is really good for you and I recommend anyone who can to join a gentle form of yoga ie: Kundalini or Hatha Yoga. The bunch of ladies that are in my yoga group are so lovely and always ask me how I am, I have told them what has happened to me I decided that they needed to understand why a woman whose not that old (45) was getting so out of breath and knackered doing the exercises, now I don't get the questioning looks from them.

Good news, I think I'm losing weight, finally!!! cutting out dairy and keeping sugary treats like cakes and pastries to a minimum are working, also the yoga with a good walk at least once a week probably has something to do with it. The Clonidine that I was on for my hot flushes I stopped about 4 months ago has finally worn off, there was a multitude of side effects from it one being weight gain and fluid retention, I'm putting up with the hot flushes and actually they aren't that bad at this time of the year, also drinking more nettle tea which helps with fluid retention and I believe is helping me to release all that water, as I've been going to the toilet more often.

The lymphedema on my right hand side of my body is being moved around by the wonderful lymph nurse who gives me a special massage once every 2 weeks also my partner has learned how to do it for me so if its really bad I get him to push it around this massage always makes me want to pee more often as well. I'm no pre-cancer size 8 but at least I'm not putting anymore weight on and feeling swollen all over my tummy, I think my organs were swollen from the chemo and its taken all this time for them to go back to normal, still got a bloody tummy tho but then what menopausal woman hasn't got a tire tummy it appears to be the norm unfortunately.

My girlfriends who haven't been through menopause just don't get it, however I have warned them what is too come, the menopause is definitely not a walk in the park, hormones are so very important for a woman they govern your life you don't realise it until your not producing them anymore or in my case blocking them with drugs.

Day four of taking the beta blockers that my GP prescribed for the migraines and so far so good, don't want to say any more about that just incase I jinx it!!

Love and light to all xxxxx