Some time ago, I submitted a post entitled, "A Useful Insight into a Provider's Mind," in which I spoke of a friend to whom I had offered my spare room until she got on her feet. The post had my friend moving out last February (2004) and living a happy life rooming with a female friend. A number of people have asked me how Tiffany (her real name, not her working name) was doing. Well, here goes. Incidentally, if you're chronically depressed, stop reading.
Things worked out well until July when both Tiffany AND her female friend (who turned out to be somewhat troubled), now homeless, moved back into my spare room. Ostensibly, they were to stay a couple of weeks.
The two were delightful houseguests, and my girlfriend; God, she’s raised the concept of being reasonable to an art form. In desperation, Tiffany returned to the business with her buddy acting as secretary/receptionist and driver.
Tiffany made a couple of false starts as a waitress, but by and large, her income was only from providing. During the course of her private life, Tiffany met and fell in love with a divorced father about an hour south of my home. The affair was on again-off again (to this day, he's unaware of Tiffany's vocation), and he finally called it off completely because he was afraid of her wild life-style eventually hurting both himself and his nine year old son.
During this time, Tiffany had an abnormal Pap smear. It indicated an advanced level of dysplasia caused by HPV (genital warts). A subsequent biopsy revealed pre-cancerous cells, so a surgery was scheduled to remove the surface of her cervix with a LEAP procedure, and to perform a cone biopsy to determine if any cancer existed below the surface.
About three weeks ago, the tensions caused by the close living arrangements between Tiffany and her troubled roommate came to a head. Plus, while Tiffany generally paid her way (although I never asked for money), her friend was not so conscientious, and Tiffany asked that she leave.
Apparently, Tiffany's decision to have her roommate go was seen by her ex-boyfriend as an indication that she may be maturing enough to make a second attempt worthwhile. So, about two weeks ago, he asked Tiffany to join him in finding a place together. He suggested a time frame of next month.
So anyway, last Friday, I accompanied Tiffany to the hospital for her same-day surgery. She gave the surgeon permission to speak to me about his findings. On actually seeing her cervix close up, the surgeon saw much more involvement than he had expected. In fact, he said later, that if he had gone ahead with the cone biopsy, he'd have essentially taken the whole cervix. So instead, he took a deep biopsy from each quadrant, with the deepest from a particularly nasty looking area at the top, or twelve-o'clock position.
The surgeon described the cellular and blood vessel structure to me while Tiffany was in recovery. After losing my wife to cancer, I learned quite a bit about the disease and am very concerned about the doctor's description. Doctors don't like to use the C word unless they're sure, so he won't say until the biopsy results come back tomorrow, but I'm not optimistic. In any event, he's given Tiffany a referral to a gynecological oncologist.
So, the upshot is this: If the biopsy results are negative, the oncologist will perform a laser procedure to remove the offending cells. If the results are positive, he'll perform a hysterectomy.
Of course, Tiffany can't have anything in her vagina for a month. Plus she's resolved to quit the business, get a job in a diner, move in with her boyfriend and potential step-son and start building a normal life. In fact, although she'll continue living with me until the end of the month, she's visiting her boyfriend at this writing.
The irony of this situation is not lost on me. Tiffany and I decided to end our love affair because of her desire for children. To be honest, though, I think I prefer the role of her father instead.
I'll keep you posted. Thanks for listening.
-- Modified on 9/14/2004 2:16:00 AM
-- Modified on 9/14/2004 3:27:39 AM
