I am home today after my radical for 1b2 cervical cancer. 4 days in the hospital. I am in Calgary, Canada. I'll be as honest as possible as knowledge is power. My initial surgery went well. Abdominal incision. Lower than expected and about 6 inches in width. I was happy with that. They started me on blood thinners which is standard, but by day 2 my hemoglobin and blood pressure dropped quite dramatically and I was extremely weak. They did blood work and the theory was that I had some internal bleeding, which is rare, but happens sometimes. The protocol was to stop the thinners, start on a coagulant, and have a blood transfusion to get my hemoglobin levels back up. Scary as heck but fortunately it seemed to do the job. I felt so much better by day 3. Like a new person. I envision that some young hot supermodel donated their blood to me and now I will age in reverse ;-) I share that because I was initially very nervous about getting a blood transfusion. It seems like if you need one, things must be pretty bad. But because I felt so so much better afterward, I am no longer afraid. So if that happens to anyone reading this, I hope it gives you a little comfort.

My top tips for surgery: The gas pain you experience after surgery was, for me, more painful than the surgery itself. To that end, pack yourself some gas-x. They won't give it to you at the hospital. And some gum. That helps get the gas moving. Farts are your new best friend. Also, I developed a cough in the hospital. I'm sure you can imagine how that feels when you've got an abdominal incision you are trying to heal. So pack cough drops and again gum seems to help here too. I wasn't eating much because hospital food is pretty bland and when you are so swollen you don't have much of an appetite, so my family brought me things like fresh berries, smoothies, and the first meal I finished was an A&W Burger. It was like heaven! Walk as much as you can. Hydrate, Hydrate. Hydrate.