If it’s not one thing, it’s another

I must have been living under a rock because I just read about an old study that said women who have complete hysterectomies (ovaries removed, too) before age 50, for benign issues, are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease, not to mention lung cancer and incontinence. This wonderful news is especially true for women who didn’t take hormones after their surgery, the study indicated.

I had a total hysterectomy 20 years ago (I was 44) to remove a large uterine fibroid that was causing ridiculously heavy bleeding when I got my period.  Two docs advised me to have the surgery.  When I asked one of them why I should also have my ovaries removed, he answered, “You’re not having any more children and you don’t want to come back with ovarian cancer.” So I went forward with the operation. I took estrogen, and then worried about getting breast cancer.

So far, my heart is in good shape and my lungs are, too. I do, however, have a somewhat weak urethra, a probable result of the hysterectomy, the doctor said. This can be fixed with surgery. When I told my sisters about the study, one of them emailed me back, “Stop reading medical stuff. I ignore it all.”

Good advice, especially because I can’t put back my uterus and ovaries.