welcome to spiceland.

Das pumpkin.

Los pumkinas.

I have been having some abdominal pain for a few weeks. Since I just stopped using my hormonal birth control in favor of a nonhormonal type which does not prevent ovarian cysts and I have a history of ovarian cysts, I figured my cysts must be back. When the pain got worse than I’d experienced from cysts before, I called my gynecologist and made an appointment. Today at that appointment, she did an ultrasound on my ovaries and found what she is pretty sure is a dermoid cyst, or ovarian teratoma. An ovarian teratoma is a tumor made from various types of body tissues, which can include skin, organ tissue, hair, neural tissue, bone tissue, and teeth, that grows inside an ovary. Most ovarian teratomas are noncancerous (benign) and can be removed very easily with laparoscopic surgery. She told me there is a small chance that this is a normal ovarian cyst with solid tissue inside that will be absorbed naturally by my body, but she’s pretty sure it’s a teratoma and that it will need to be removed. There is a small chance (1-2%) that it is malignant, but it is usually very easy to remove all of a teratoma since these types of tumors tend to form inside nicely secluded, sealed membranes. I have a second ultrasound scheduled for a month from now. If the mass is still there, she will schedule me for surgery sometime in December.

Please pray first and foremost that God’s will be done in this situation. Secondly, pray that this is indeed a benign tumor that can be removed easily.

Tru and Heidi had adorable matching Halloween outfits on yesterday that they received from Papa and Nana. I had to get a few pictures, including these:

We got Tru’s school pictures back today, and they are so cute! If anybody wants any, let me know what sizes and how many. Note that the lightish discoloration that starts above her left eye (your left) and extends rightward into the background is not in the picture, it’s on my scanner.

Update: Remember to let me know if you want any pictures! I’ve only gotten one order so far.

Who out there shops at Publix grocery stores or CVS Pharmacy? Would you be willing to let me send you a Publix or CVS card that is linked to Tru’s uPromise account so that you can save money on things you buy and earn cash back for Tru at the same time? Bonus: Since you’ll get it from me, it won’t have your contact information linked to it, so you won’t get any extra junk mail!