by Linda Adams
Blindness requires each of us to be more attentive and alert to potential hazards. Even expert mobility skills won’t stop one from getting slapped in the face by a limb hanging over a sidewalk. This article contains medical descriptions some may find uncomfortable to read but could benefit blind women who may, unknowingly, have gynecological cancer.
I am 76 years old and have conscientiously continued scheduling annual mammograms to screen for breast cancer, and visit my primary care physician annually as well. However, I ceased having pap smears many years ago, and the routine annual exams did not include a gynecological examination. This past fall my primary care physician suggested I make an appointment with an OB-GYN, as it had been four years since I’d seen one.
This past November, the OB-GYN noticed a very small amount of bloody discharge. Being totally blind, I was completely unaware of this as it was such a small discharge. The ultrasound and MRI confirmed presence of a tumor on an ovary. I never had any symptoms, no pain or discomfort of any kind to make me suspect a problem existed. There is no way to know how long ago my body was sending me a warning signal, but I didn’t know it because I couldn’t see it.
We all accept the premise that early detection can have the best results, but my blindness made this impossible.
My gynecologic oncologist confirmed that, at this time, there is no screening for uterine or ovarian cancer. The best a woman can do is watch for a sign that something is not right. After my initial visit, I considered how a blind woman can “watch” for that sign. In the absence of a partner or close friend, I decided to give our new friend, AI, a chance. Using Be My Eyes, I took a picture of my undergarment and it described a “discoloration.” I thought of the long-standing rule to give ourselves a breast self-exam once a month and realized we can do the same thing for potential gynecological problems using AI.
Share with your sighted female friends the importance of this as well. A sighted friend noticed she had a slight discharge, but postponed seeing her doctor, and was finally diagnosed with uterine cancer which required chemotherapy.
Following the recommendation of my primary care physician, the visit with an OB-GYN, and the prompt attention of my surgeon, Dr. Manning-Geist of the Emory Winship Cancer Center, the tumor was removed, lymph nodes were clear, and no further treatment was needed.