my NORMAL now....

To begin understanding my journey, I'll need to time back to October 2006.  Just three months after marrying my best friend, I missed my period.  As much as I would have loved to been a mommy I think I was in love with just being a newlywed.    All my good friends would say "Oh- its just the stresses from the wedding that my have thrown your period off schedule". I figured- heck next month I'll get it check next month when I go for my routine pap smear.
My doctor at the time was proactive and decided to have an ultrasound performed just to make sure everything internally looked good.  The following morning after my ultrasound, I got the phone call that my doctor was referring me to OB surgeon.  The ultrasound illustrated I had a mass on my ovary but it appeared to be a fibroid.   In January 2007 I had surgery and had this 'mass' removed.    The pathology came back that the mass was in fact a Granulosa Cell Tumor --- cancer.  I then had to see an oncologist.  At  the age of 26, I had absolutely no clue what an oncologist even was!  The oncologist suggested another surgery be done to have my right ovary, fallopian tube, and several lymph nodes removed to see if the cancer had spread.    All I remembered about both surgeries was that they were performed on Thursdays, my biggest concern was coming home to see Grey's Anatomy!
Years went by and Mike (my husband) and I began traveling.  It was important to us that we enjoy life to the fullest.  Dreams are so important to us, it really is the reason why we work so hard....
By 2009/2010 our failed attempts of having a family really began to weigh heavy on us.  By this time I'm almost 30, all of our friends and family are having children.  Baby showers were like invitations to be sucked into awful conversations that always seemed to begin "When are you going to have a baby", "What are you waiting for"..... it's amazing how insensitive some people can be.  In October 2009 I was a day late-  yes only 1 day late- I decided to pee on a stick.  Low and behold that stick had 2 lines!  At this point I was so obsessed with getting pregnant I was buying pregnancy tests in bulk.  When I ever saw two lines, I was beyond excited!  Two days later the doctor told me my level rather than multiplying were now declining which meant I would be seeing blood soon.  It was heart breaking to say the least.  At the point the fire that was burning inside me to have a baby began to burn harder.  I became obsessed with wanting a baby!  Mike and I turned to fertility!
We began doing fertility in January 2010.  We started with insemination's (IUI).  We did two, and both failed.  We decided to take the month of April off, and then pick up again in May.  By May I began to notice that my period was late.  I figured with all the hormones I took, maybe it was enough to throw off my cycle.  By the time I got my period, I was 48 days late.    The next time I got my period was 7 months later. 
Doctors had noticed a cyst on right side but, they didn't feel concerned because they thought it was remnant tissue from my surgery and the remnant tissue was stimulated from hormones.  Doctors decided to do a laproscoptic surgery in February to remove the remnant tissue.  During surgery they cut me open across because what they thought was remnant tissue was in fact a re occurrence of cancer.  What was suppose to have been a 45 minute procedure turned into a two hour surgery.
After being wheeled into my hospital room, the doctor then informed me that the next step would be chemo.  The suggested chemo was BEP- which would have been five days a week, six hours a day, every three weeks for a total of four times.  My first thought-  if the cancer doesn't kill the chemo will!  I listened to my instinct and decided to get a second opinion at Dana Farber in Boston.  Dana Farber was amazing!  The doctors suggested different alternatives for chemo, they talked family, they never once made me feel as though I was rushed out of the room.  All my questions were answered.
I began my first of six treatments on March 24, 2011.  I have done six treatments in total (one every three weeks).  My last treatment ended on July 7, 2011 (7/7/11--- lucky numbers right?)...  
I'm now back on the journey to recovery both mentally and physically.  I definitely do not know what the future has in store for me but, I do know that my life has changed.  The person I was five years ago certainly is not the person today.  Sometimes I feel blessed to have had cancer - strange right?! I feel blessed because I see things so differently, I'm so much more appreciative of the finer things in life.  Family- WOW!  The support I have received from family has been endless, I don't know how I will ever be able to repay them for the support that have provided.
Friends- AMAZING!  I have some of the best friends one could ask for.  My friends would check in daily.  We would all laugh about being bald (and not just on my head).  Most of all they would let me cry when I would have my bad days.
Husband- PRICELESS!  My husband has come home everyday with a hug, and he would always tell me that I was beautiful.  He cried with me many nights, he would hold my hand when I was scared, watched me shave my hair, made me comfortable the days I lay in pain, he prayed for me before he would pray for himself, and would help me walk when I had no energy.  He's love has been unconditional.  Our vow that in sickness and in health has been honored.