How and when did you learn about your cancer?

When did I personally discover the area which I would later learn was the cancer site? Okay...this is quite embarrassing! Thank God my mother doesn’t have e-mail! I was masturbating during phone sex with a new beau. I felt something different down there and upon completion I looked at the area with a mirror and saw a small round white spot. Since I am a Black woman I knew there was not supposed to be anything white down there; unless it was attached to a very handsome man ;-) I called my gynecologist the next day. He examined me two days later and said it was just a wart but also scheduled me for a vulvar biopsy in a week just to be safe. Note: Always ‘google’ the procedure rather than the diagnosis. I wasted a week googling genital & vaginal warts. I should have been googling vulvar biopsy and I would have been better prepared. My vulvar biopsy was done under a light local anesthetic took & about 20-30 minutes. It hurt like hell! I heard the doc repeatedly asking the nurse for silver nitrate. I asked what that was for and he said to stop the bleeding. Not a good sign. After the biopsy my gynecologist told me it was definitely NOT: a wart, a Bartholin cyst, Bartholin Abscess, nor was it an infected hair follicle. All of which I had suggested. During the procedure I heard a serious sounding ‘hmm’ from my gyn. He said “it” was hard like cement and he had to chip away at it to do the biopsy. The biopsy was on 2/3/06; on 2/10/06 I went to his office for the biopsy results. My gynecologist said he considered the results to be inconclusive & planned to call the pathologist that day to have him re-check the slides. WTF!?!?!? The only thing the pathologist had written was 'squamous mucosa verruca' and the dimensions of the biopsy samples. My doctor explained this diagnosis and that sometimes these types of warts become cancer in 10-20 years. My doc was perturbed at the lack of information in the lab report and needed to know more; he told me if it was the type of wart that could become cancer he wanted to remove it now and not take any chances. I agreed that this was the best course of action. He explained that he would probably do a narrow margin excision and how this procedure was done. When I asked about recovery time he told me it would take about a week of me being not just off work but off my feet.

What types of treatment(s) have occurred?

Thus far just the wide margin excision of the carcinoma on my vulva.

What have you learned from your experiences that you would like to share?

1) ASK QUESTIONS!!! My gynecologist told me that recovery would take only a week and that I should not worry about the appearance afterwards because that whole area gets ripped apart during childbirth and heals back fine. WTF!?!?! 'Scuse me but that is not an appropriate response! First off I have never had children, never even been pregnant. So that little analogy does not apply. Secondly the female body has 8-9 months to prepare to be ripped apart down there. It is not a random occurence.

2) I learned the meaning of "responsible adult." Sound silly? It’s not. My best friend for over 20 years volunteered to take me to the hospital for my surgery, and of course take me home. This woman is a very successful executive, she was valedictorian of her class in high school and graduated cum laude with a double major in college. Yet post surgery, when I told her I was in pain and just wanted to fill the scrip the doctor had given me for pain killers and go to bed; she stopped at a Wal-Mart to see if she could get an oil change because the low oil light had come on, on her car!!!! I was still under the influence of general anesthesia. Yet she dropped me off at the front door of an unfamiliar and very large Wal-Mart so I could go to the pharmacy whilst she drove around to the auto center. Fortunately the line was too long so she left and came looking for me in the main part of the store. And before you ask…, she did not think to buy a quart of oil while in the automotive center.

I swear to God & Prada it's all true! Finding out that I was 39 yrs old and have no friends that both live nearby and are responsible adults is scary. I am an only child, my parents moved to Georgia 18 months ago; and I felt like I was all alone in New Jersey with a rare cancer on my hoo hoo.

My Gynecological History

Are there positive experiences you would like to share?

Condom Slushies Rock!!!

Post vulvar biopsy and post wide margin excision of the carcinoma I experienced both extreme pain & swelling.

How to Make Condom Slushies

1. Pour approximately 1.25 inches of rubbing alcohol into an unlubricated condom, and then fill rest of the way with tap water leaving room to tie into a knot at the end.

2. Gently roll another condom onto the liquid filled condom and tie into a knot.

3. Make at least 4 of these Condom Slushies and place in freezer for 2 hours, overnight is even better.

4. Remove one Condom Slushie from freezer, wrap in wash cloth and place on vulva

5. You will now experience bliss

Swelling is a normal physical reaction to an invasive procedure. What no one tells you is how to comfortably apply ice to this area! As a matter of fact no one mentioned ice at all. It has been my experience that when any body part swells up after an injury or a surgery you ice it.

*This may also provide relief for women experiencing pain after an episiotomy.

What else would you like to tell us?

* There need to be PSA’s about Vulvar Cancer.

* VSE = Vulvar Self Exam

* There should be advertisements on television, radio, billboards, buses, taxis and as banners on websites telling women to do a VSE every month.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Smoking is always listed as a possible cause of vulvar cancer, but they don’t explain why. I found out today what the link is between vulvar cancer and smoking. Some of the carcinogens in cigarettes are released through your urine and when you wipe yourself after using the toilet. Thus you are inadvertently wiping the carcinogens on your vulva. It’s so simple it’s scary isn’t it? I don’t even smoke and that’s frightening to me. Women need to be made aware of this truly awful disease!