Today I hit the road (luckily near the local police station) and I had a spontaneous, severe nose bleed as I was driving with my 3-year-old. I started getting shaky and a bit scared of what was happening, so I pulled into the police station and flagged down a police officer. I told him that I felt shaky and light-headed. He told me to get back into the car and he had already called an ambulance for me. So, Tristan and I got lights and sirens to Lowell General. Thankfully the bleeding stopped, but I swallowed a lot of blood...not so good for the tummy. I was scared that a vessel ruptured and I was starting to bleed out. I don't mean to be a Drama Queen. Thank you to the Chelmsford Police Officer who helped me (I didn't get his name) and to Trinity EMS who took care of Tristan and seemed to make it a fun ambulance ride for him! Also, to the LGH ED staff who assured me that I made the right decision to see them, but that I likely wasn't dying, lol! Fortunately, I'm going to see my surgical oncologist tomorrow. I'm hoping that it was just due to the cold/dry weather. I just haven't seen that much blood come out of me. I've seen plenty of surgeries and never flinched, but when it's my own blood, it's a bit different! Wish me luck tomorrow and I'll keep you posted!

How scary Kerri. You did absolutely the right thing.
Glad you will get your SO to check you out. Keeping you in my thoughts,
Tammy

Wow, that's pretty scary for you and probably for your kid to watch as well. Glad that it worked out that you could pull over safely and get some help. I hope it was just the cycle of wet then dry weather that caused some firm and sharp, crusty mucus up there, and not something more concerning.

Thanks for the replies, Tammy and Vanpaddler.

I was seen by my SO today and he carefully inspected everything with a speculum and the scope (on both sides). He couldn't find any residual evidence of bleeding or its origin, so that's good. He suspects that I may have had a scab inside one of my sinuses that broke free. He advised me to use saline nasal spray that has a pumping mechanism.

As far as the cancer side of things, he couldn't find any palpable or visual evidence of cancer. He said that my throat looks clear and smooth all the way down to my larynx. I'm very grateful for that. I will see him in follow up in 3 months.

I will have a CT in March and will follow up with my MO at the end of March.

I did put in a call to her (my MO) today because I had a large panel of labs done by my PCP and endocrinologist, including a complete CBC with differential, and my white blood cells and neutrophils are significantly low. I am 2 years and 3 months post chemoradiation.

I'll keep you posted!

Kerri - The scab pulling free sounds very plausible. I use to have very severe nose bleeds lasting hours during all of my childhood up until the age of 20. I would bleed for for no apparent reason. Finally a plastic surgeon I went to for a deviated septum told me a vein in my nose was too close to the surface of the skin, and thats why I had the nose bleeds. He cauterized the offending vein right there in his office, and I never had any more nosebleeds. I only mention this in the event it happens to you again so that you might ask about the possibility of a vein being too close to the surface of the skin. It is a scary thing especially if it happens a lot, but in my case, very easily treatable.

Ann-Marie,

That's horrible and though I'm happy that you finally had it fixed, I'm sorry that it took until you were 20!

Yes, this was very scary for me with all of the blood and how quickly it started. I haven't been sick. I didn't even blow my nose. I just remember leaving my house and feeling like I had some bad post-nasal drip and thinking that it was strange because I wasn't congested. Then it began to feel like a flow. Then I felt a whole lot of what I thought was loose mucous coming out of my nose, so I reached for a tissue and as I looked down, the blood started pouring out of my nose.

I honestly thought "okay...this is it...I know this can and has happened". I was worried about Tristan witnessing anything scary. I am so grateful that I was approaching the police station and I could flag an office down.

Things started to slow down in the ambulance, but I swallowed a lot. My mom is a retired nurse and she reminded me that if I see blood in my stool, not to panic. She know me too well! I am just like her!

I'm just glad everything is okay.

It's been a rough couple of weeks around here. Dan and Laurelin has the flu for nearly a week. Then we had this blizzard. I lost my Aunt Peggy to lymphoma this past week. I am grateful to have had the chance to say my goodbyes and special words with her a few days before she passed. Her services are next week.

I'm looking forward to some drama-free downtime for a while. I'm going to have to be strong for my Mom...they were inseparable for 60 years.

My goodness, Kerri - you certainly have had a lot going on recently! Sure hope everything goes smoothly and you get the drama-free time you deserve!

Thank you, Anne-Marie! Things have to settle down sometime!