Hey everyone,
I just wanted to let you all know that I’m probably gonna be offline for a while and tell you a bit about what I’m going through right now.
A few years ago I discovered that we have a rare genetic mutation running in the family which causes stomach and breast cancer. I had my own DNA checked and I also carry the mutation. The stomach cancer is the worst part of it, because it is very very difficult to check for it. I’ve been at risk since I was 20. If bad cells would spread at any point beyond the stomach, there is basically nothing the doctors would be able to do for me. Same thing if I would get any physical complaints at some point. So in the past years I’ve been under surveillance by the best specialist in my country and they did find cancer cells. They say the bad spot looks calm (not growing through the walls of my stomach), but because it’s so difficult to check them right and because I’m still so young, they’ve advised me to take action. And the only possible action is to remove my full stomach in surgery (the global guidelines are to do this surgery right away when someone is just carrying the mutation, the check ups are new). And yes, it is possible to live without a stomach. This is what they will do in surgery:
So that’s why I’m getting surgery coming Tuesday and I’ll be gone from the server for a bit. I don’t know for how long, because recovery is so different per person, as are the long term complaints. So I either might be back quite soon, being all bored from not being able to do much, or it might take me a while before I have energy to do anything at all. We’ll see. Anyway, as you can imagine it will be a very intense surgery and recovery will take a long time. I’ll have to figure out how much I can eat at once, what kinds of food my body is able to handle after, a whole new rhythm of eating every two hours without any feeling of hunger, and all the symptoms my body is gonna throw at me whenever I make a ‘mistake’ in these things. Etc etc.
That being said, I just wanted you all to know. Also, I’m very bad at responding to texts and messages, especially when there are many and I’m not feeling well, so please don’t be offended if I won’t respond to any or I would respond with an emoji only Just know that all and any support is appreciated