And none of it good...
Right after the last post I put up, I started to have trouble. It actually started before then here's a quote from my last post "(Oh, by the way, I picked up a stomach bug over that weekend, and ended up in the emergency room and had ANOTHER CT scan)". It started out as some really bad cramps. I thought I had a twisted bowel, or something. (Nope) It wasn't a stomach virus either. It kinda went away for a few days, then it would come back. It got to the point where I actually vomited a couple of times. I went to my family doc, and they ran a bunch of tests. Couldn't be cancer, right? I just was told I was ok, AND had another ct to prove it... Anyway, they found in one of the tests that I had a Campylobacter infection. I was given an antibiotic and sent on my way.
It didn't work.
At this point it's been about 2 weeks since these gut aches started. It was starting to effect my work at this point. I couldn't eat much, or I would be in tons of pain. Some foods seemed more agreeable that others, but obviously something was very wrong. Towards the end of August, I finally went back to the ER. I made a great impression by throwing up in the garbage can right at the entrance door for the whole world to see! Needless to say, I got right in...
After explaining the entire ordeal to the ER docs, guess what? Time for another CT scan!!!! At least this time they saw something. They could see an intestinal blockage right where the large and small intestines come together. As you may recall, that is the exact point of major surgery back in March. Have you ever had a tube shoved up your nose, and down your throat? It keeps your stomach empty, so you don't accidentally asperate during surgery. Ever been awake when they installed one? I don't think I've ever wanted to hit someone so hard... They decided right after finishing that chore that it was time to head Grand Rapids. (Yay, my 1st ambulance ride!) I was taken through the ER entrance, but was only there for a couple of minutes before I was hauled up to the 5th floor. That happens to be oncology floor, by the way...
Time to meet some old friends:
I was told that night that they had a couple of tricks to try, but otherwise we would be waiting for my oncology surgeon to come it. They filled (through the the tube in my nose) my stomach with some type of contrast material. The idea is that it works it was down into the blockage like liquid Drano. That didn't do much either, so they ended up sucking it back out... I had more CT's and some good old fashioned X-rays. Bottom line, the blockage was very obviously there, but know one knew why it was there.
Next day: Got to see the doc! He wasn't sure what the deal was, but after mucking about with a bunch of tests, and getting nowhere, he decided it was time to open me up and get a first hand look (Oh goody)! They had pulled the stomach tube by this time, but I was going to get a new one for surgery. Of course, surgery is a no recall event, I still marvel at how it works. They wheel you into the O.R. and everybody is joking and lively, telling jokes etc. Including me.... But all of a sudden you wake up in recovery and never know what happened!
I woke up an undetermined time later, and found that I had some kind bag attached to my stomach about navel high, and just to the right. I asked Angela what was going on, and she said the doc would explain. (Never a good sign). Turns out the blockage was very involved, and could not be bypassed. The only option available was an ileostomy procedure (warning!!! Don't click if get queasy easily. It's nasty business...) Short version: My large intestine is no longer a part of the equation. I have a removable bag at roughly belt level that deals with the obvious issues that must be dealt with. I didn't actually freak out at first. I assumed it was temporary. I was wrong. There is a slight chance that it could be reversed, but I very much doubt it. This was a huge blow mentally. I'm already living without several parts you're born with! Now I not only lost a part, I gained a really ugly and disgusting prosthetic!
So what's the deal? Doc says even though it didn't show on ANY scan, when he opened me up, his trained eyes could see that it was the cancer constricting my intestines. He also said if the cancer has spread out of the abdominal cavity, I was in very very serious trouble. I'll save the suspense to say nothing shows up on any scans in my chest or anywhere else. In fact, on my post op scans, nothing shows up. Go figure. Did I mention that he didn't remove any tissue, only performed the ileostomy procedure.
So now I have stealth cancer... What the heck are you supposed to do about that?!?!?
I spent a week in the hospital, and now several more at home. (Have I mentioned how amazing BC Technical is? My coworkers have donated to HUGE amount of vacation time to me. God bless them all!) I left the hospital at about 210lbs. So down 10 or so in a week. Not surprising when you're in the hospital and eating from a bolus bag. Here's the scary part; in the month that I've been home, I've lost another 35 pounds!!! I'm down to 175. We're talking Jr high weight levels here! I can't keep it up no matter what.... There's a few reasons for that, and I'll try to list them all out. First, the incision from this surgery is in the exact same place as the March one. So the scar tissue is very inflexible. It's almost like having a lapband operation. Second, the ileostomy allows food to pass thru much quicker than ordinary, so nutritional absorption is reduced. Third, I simply have no appetite. I don't know why, but food doesn't really appeal to me much. I have to eat like I'm taking medicine. It's just something you have to do... Fourth, I've been diagnosed as Clinically depressed. Not real surprising when you think about it... We're working on some meds to make things better on that front. I didn't realize until today, but it turns out there's a fifth reason possible. The oncologist says it's very likely that the tumor is a big fat pig, and is sucking up all my food! (My words, not his).
So what's next? More chemo. I started on a new pill form of chemo today. As far as I know, it's pill only, no infusions. For the people that it works for, it works great, otherwise, we move on to something else. Oh, one last thing, seeing how this stealth cancer and the scan don't show jack, we're working off of blood work for status. My CA19-9 is up around 150. A few months ago it was in the 20's. When this started, it was in the thousands...
So now I'm caught up, I think. To sum up: cancer back, depressed, weight loss, chemo.
See ya in the funny papers,
Mike
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Thursday, August 6, 2015
A lot to catch up on.
I've wanted to write this post several times, but wasn't able to put a positive spin on it... I've had several more tests since my last update. But I blew this off like it was summer vacation or something. So let me sum up the past few months.
I had my three month PET scan back at the end of June. The results were sorta mixed. There was good news in that the inoperable spot in my liver didn't show up at all on the scan. However, I had two small spots on the surface of my liver. My doc was optimistic right off the bat because of their location and how they looked. He thought that it was most likely scar tissue from the adhesion between my liver and diaphragm. But, we should do blood work as well. They drew blood in the office that very day, and I heard back on July 3 that my CEA marker had ticked up just a little bit. From 3.something to 5.something). Anything above 5 is considered elevated. Keep in mind, though, my CEA was over 900 on my first test back in January 2014.
Ok, so all that being said, this was where we were. The uptake alone was not too concerning, the CEA alone was not too concerning. The two combined? Concerning. Time for another test!
My first oncology related MRI! Only my second MRI period. I was actually kind of happy to get an MRI instead of a PET or CT, there's no radiation involved. I feel like I should start flinging webs, or become invisible or something pretty soon from all the radiation I've received. It took a couple of weeks before I could get in... The MRI was pretty uneventful itself. It just takes a long time. I was in that tube for 45 minutes. Much longer that a CT!
Now we play the waiting game again. It was July 27 when I received a call from my nurse/navigator. She asked if I had heard from the oncologist's office yet. When I said no, she said I better call in. I didn't like the sounds of that and said this sound like bad news. She said I couldn't tell you either way, and you don't that sort of information from me anyway, do you! I was driving to Alpena while this was happening, and there is a lot of dead area out in the middle of all that forest. I called and asked for my results, they said they would call back. Then, I drove into the middle of nowhere and wouldn't know if they called back or not.
When I finally got a call back, it was from a nurse who was reading the PAs notes who had read the radiologists notes. She said the the good news was that between the PET and MRI, the spots had not changed in size, but the were some things that were "concerning", and that I needed to schedule an appointment with the oncologist ASAP.
That catches you up to last Monday. I went into that visit expecting bad news. (Oh, by the way, I picked up a stomach bug over that weekend, and ended up in the emergency room and had ANOTHER CT scan)
When I finally got to talk to the doc, he was pretty funny, and not at all what I was expecting. He said that he still believed it was scar tissue and that there was no "enhancement" on the MRI. (That's roughly the equivalent of uptake on a PET scan and has to do with the contrast dye.) His opinion was that even in the worst case, if it were something bad, it is growing so slow that we would still catch it plenty early on the next scan. That next scan will be in about two months and it will be another MRI. If it is something bad, it's a fairly simple procedure to remove them from the surface.
Let's pray that's not necessary.
I had my three month PET scan back at the end of June. The results were sorta mixed. There was good news in that the inoperable spot in my liver didn't show up at all on the scan. However, I had two small spots on the surface of my liver. My doc was optimistic right off the bat because of their location and how they looked. He thought that it was most likely scar tissue from the adhesion between my liver and diaphragm. But, we should do blood work as well. They drew blood in the office that very day, and I heard back on July 3 that my CEA marker had ticked up just a little bit. From 3.something to 5.something). Anything above 5 is considered elevated. Keep in mind, though, my CEA was over 900 on my first test back in January 2014.
Ok, so all that being said, this was where we were. The uptake alone was not too concerning, the CEA alone was not too concerning. The two combined? Concerning. Time for another test!
My first oncology related MRI! Only my second MRI period. I was actually kind of happy to get an MRI instead of a PET or CT, there's no radiation involved. I feel like I should start flinging webs, or become invisible or something pretty soon from all the radiation I've received. It took a couple of weeks before I could get in... The MRI was pretty uneventful itself. It just takes a long time. I was in that tube for 45 minutes. Much longer that a CT!
Now we play the waiting game again. It was July 27 when I received a call from my nurse/navigator. She asked if I had heard from the oncologist's office yet. When I said no, she said I better call in. I didn't like the sounds of that and said this sound like bad news. She said I couldn't tell you either way, and you don't that sort of information from me anyway, do you! I was driving to Alpena while this was happening, and there is a lot of dead area out in the middle of all that forest. I called and asked for my results, they said they would call back. Then, I drove into the middle of nowhere and wouldn't know if they called back or not.
When I finally got a call back, it was from a nurse who was reading the PAs notes who had read the radiologists notes. She said the the good news was that between the PET and MRI, the spots had not changed in size, but the were some things that were "concerning", and that I needed to schedule an appointment with the oncologist ASAP.
That catches you up to last Monday. I went into that visit expecting bad news. (Oh, by the way, I picked up a stomach bug over that weekend, and ended up in the emergency room and had ANOTHER CT scan)
When I finally got to talk to the doc, he was pretty funny, and not at all what I was expecting. He said that he still believed it was scar tissue and that there was no "enhancement" on the MRI. (That's roughly the equivalent of uptake on a PET scan and has to do with the contrast dye.) His opinion was that even in the worst case, if it were something bad, it is growing so slow that we would still catch it plenty early on the next scan. That next scan will be in about two months and it will be another MRI. If it is something bad, it's a fairly simple procedure to remove them from the surface.
Let's pray that's not necessary.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
This story has more reboots than the Star Trek franchise...
12 chemo treatments
Major surgery
8 chemo treatments
Major surgery
...
4/22/15 - I thought I was done after that. Not so much... I'm actually sitting in the waiting room for radiation oncology right now waiting for my simulation. They do a simulation to map out your anatomy before your first treatment. It's funny that I used to get anxious about all the CT scans I was getting. I've had about a dozen now... But that's nothing compared to the dose of radiation I'm going to get from each of these treatment that's coming. Five days a week for four weeks, I'll be getting blasted by a linear accelerator. Each exposure from that will be greater than all of those CTs combined!
Radiation therapy is for that spot low on my left side that was found to be cancerous in its biopsy. I've been told that the side effects should be minimal. Maybe nothing... Either way, it's supposed to be the last step in the journey for a while.
4/30/15 - I've had two treatments now. They go really quick. I met with my oncologist yesterday, and he confirmed that everything looks really good. He says current treatment not withstanding, I'm done! We transition to the 3 month checkup phase. That means REMISSION. Yesterday was a pretty good day...
I met with the radiation oncology doc today, and we talked about my visit yesterday. He feels the same way... Waaaay back in the beginning of all this, I mentioned what Dr. Campbell said about having a 30 or 40 year lifespan regardless of what we do to the cancer. My doc today said almost the exact same thing without me prompting him, or even mentioning what Dr. Campbell said. I like it when they're on the same page.
He also said I'll probably only need 16 treatments instead of 20! I still get the same amount of exposure, but larger doses in fewer visits. I would just as soon get this over with. By the way, I get 220 centigrays of exposure to that specific spot on my hip per visit. If you're curious what that means, I'm going to make you look it up yourself! It's your homework assignment...
Major surgery
8 chemo treatments
Major surgery
...
4/22/15 - I thought I was done after that. Not so much... I'm actually sitting in the waiting room for radiation oncology right now waiting for my simulation. They do a simulation to map out your anatomy before your first treatment. It's funny that I used to get anxious about all the CT scans I was getting. I've had about a dozen now... But that's nothing compared to the dose of radiation I'm going to get from each of these treatment that's coming. Five days a week for four weeks, I'll be getting blasted by a linear accelerator. Each exposure from that will be greater than all of those CTs combined!
Radiation therapy is for that spot low on my left side that was found to be cancerous in its biopsy. I've been told that the side effects should be minimal. Maybe nothing... Either way, it's supposed to be the last step in the journey for a while.
4/30/15 - I've had two treatments now. They go really quick. I met with my oncologist yesterday, and he confirmed that everything looks really good. He says current treatment not withstanding, I'm done! We transition to the 3 month checkup phase. That means REMISSION. Yesterday was a pretty good day...
I met with the radiation oncology doc today, and we talked about my visit yesterday. He feels the same way... Waaaay back in the beginning of all this, I mentioned what Dr. Campbell said about having a 30 or 40 year lifespan regardless of what we do to the cancer. My doc today said almost the exact same thing without me prompting him, or even mentioning what Dr. Campbell said. I like it when they're on the same page.
He also said I'll probably only need 16 treatments instead of 20! I still get the same amount of exposure, but larger doses in fewer visits. I would just as soon get this over with. By the way, I get 220 centigrays of exposure to that specific spot on my hip per visit. If you're curious what that means, I'm going to make you look it up yourself! It's your homework assignment...
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Catching up after 2nd surgery.
Well that last post was a bit cryptic. That's the process of strong pain meds and other drugs while sitting around in the hospital with an hour to kill. Yes, an hour...
Anyway, it's time to catch up. Surgery was mostly successful, the colon recection went well, however, they did not perform liver procedure. They decided it was just too risky to mess with for what they thought was dead tissue anyway. Here's the rub, when they did the biopsy on my colon and that little spot on my pelvis, both were still hot. Regardless, we're playing the waiting game with that one.
As far as that spot on my pelvis, it's assumed to have spread there during the first surgery back in September. Possibly a drop of contaminated blood, or something similar. Either way, they removed it, and I go in to talk about some radiation therapy in a little over a week from now. It's mostly a "let's be sure we got it all" thing than anything else.
Bottom line, I'm not as done as I would like to be. It was pretty disappointing to hear that the cancer was still active. A couple of docs have considered more chemo, until I reminded them that I've already had 20 rounds!
I'm recovering pretty well from the operation, the incision is already completely closed (the first surgery took over a month to close up), but I'm still dealing with the side effects from losing a large portion of your colon. You can use your own imagination to figure that out.... I also have quite a fatigue issue to deal with. I get tired of I'm on my feet for more than 2 hours or so. I'll push through it and get my stamina back eventually.
Anyway, it's time to catch up. Surgery was mostly successful, the colon recection went well, however, they did not perform liver procedure. They decided it was just too risky to mess with for what they thought was dead tissue anyway. Here's the rub, when they did the biopsy on my colon and that little spot on my pelvis, both were still hot. Regardless, we're playing the waiting game with that one.
As far as that spot on my pelvis, it's assumed to have spread there during the first surgery back in September. Possibly a drop of contaminated blood, or something similar. Either way, they removed it, and I go in to talk about some radiation therapy in a little over a week from now. It's mostly a "let's be sure we got it all" thing than anything else.
Bottom line, I'm not as done as I would like to be. It was pretty disappointing to hear that the cancer was still active. A couple of docs have considered more chemo, until I reminded them that I've already had 20 rounds!
I'm recovering pretty well from the operation, the incision is already completely closed (the first surgery took over a month to close up), but I'm still dealing with the side effects from losing a large portion of your colon. You can use your own imagination to figure that out.... I also have quite a fatigue issue to deal with. I get tired of I'm on my feet for more than 2 hours or so. I'll push through it and get my stamina back eventually.
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Port flush, end of the hockey season, surgery and sickness.
It's a busy week leading up to surgery. Calvin finished hockey with three tournaments on three straight weekends. That was really crazy! They played in the finals on each weekend (1st, 2nd, and 2nd). That's some pretty good success... I am really thankful for the coaches, parents, and even players from the team. They were are a great diversion for us through a really difficult time for us. Calvin improved throughout the season, and his teammates were so encouraging. Several of them will be moving up to bantams next year. So it's a little bittersweet to see the season come to an end. I watched Calvin go from having no idea where he was supposed to be to gutting it out in front of the net taking cross checks to the back from the goalie. That was pretty awesome to watch him annoy the goalie so much that he was getting out of his game. He was getting on the scoresheet more often, too.
I just had a port flush, which means they run some saline and an anti-clogging drug though it. That's a good thing in the sense that it hasn't been used for so long that it needed to be flushed... My white count is back in the normal range, still on the low side but at least it's in the proper range!
Surgery is this coming Tuesday (the 24th). It's going to be a big one again with a fairly long recovery period. As usual my timing is fantastic and I developed a cold this week! This is my first cold since my cancer diagnosis... Isn't that nuts? I called in to make sure it wouldn't be a problem for my upcoming procedure, and they said as long as I do not have a fever, it should be fine. I do not have a fever, just a stuffed up head and scratchy throat.
I think I talked about it in my last post, but I figure I'll bring it up again regardless... There's a chance that they'll have to do a somewhat experimental procedure one called NanoKnife IRE. It's been around since 2009 and has FDA approval on some levels, but is not always covered by insurance. I'm not sure if I'm covered or not but I gave permission to do it regardless if they feel it's the best/only option... It's not as expensive as I thought it would be, I don't want to mention numbers, but let's just say low-mid four digits. You only live once, right? I certainly can think of more entertaining things to spend the money on, but if I'm not around to use it, what good does that do?
BC Technical is treating me really well with all this! I thank God that he put me on the path to be gainfully employed and have great coworkers around me to help out when Im down. All the other guys in the region are going to take care of my customers on my behalf and I know they will be well taken care of. There's a lot of peace of mind in knowing this. My boss is really cool with it too, this is the first time in my life that my boss is younger than me. (There's a sign you're getting old!)
I thank God for my church daily as well. Although I feel a little disconnected with being away so much with all those hockey weekends... We do struggle with that a little, and I do not take skipping church light, but I also take my family seriously, and we needed to do this. Calvin needed to do this. His teammates need him there as well. He is but no means the star of the team, but cog in the machine serves a purpose. Anyway, back to church! I look forward to being back to normal there as well. We've been going to the same church for at least 17 years, and you develop some strong bonds in that time. When you're away, you can feel it... I am so thankful to know that they are praying for me there, and at other churches all over the place. That doesn't make me special, it's the power of prayer and the God that answers them that is special!
If anyone has a question about me or my situation that I haven't answered, leave a comment! I'm usually an open book, I'll either respond in comment, or write a new post if that makes more sense.
Until then, peace!
I just had a port flush, which means they run some saline and an anti-clogging drug though it. That's a good thing in the sense that it hasn't been used for so long that it needed to be flushed... My white count is back in the normal range, still on the low side but at least it's in the proper range!
Surgery is this coming Tuesday (the 24th). It's going to be a big one again with a fairly long recovery period. As usual my timing is fantastic and I developed a cold this week! This is my first cold since my cancer diagnosis... Isn't that nuts? I called in to make sure it wouldn't be a problem for my upcoming procedure, and they said as long as I do not have a fever, it should be fine. I do not have a fever, just a stuffed up head and scratchy throat.
I think I talked about it in my last post, but I figure I'll bring it up again regardless... There's a chance that they'll have to do a somewhat experimental procedure one called NanoKnife IRE. It's been around since 2009 and has FDA approval on some levels, but is not always covered by insurance. I'm not sure if I'm covered or not but I gave permission to do it regardless if they feel it's the best/only option... It's not as expensive as I thought it would be, I don't want to mention numbers, but let's just say low-mid four digits. You only live once, right? I certainly can think of more entertaining things to spend the money on, but if I'm not around to use it, what good does that do?
BC Technical is treating me really well with all this! I thank God that he put me on the path to be gainfully employed and have great coworkers around me to help out when Im down. All the other guys in the region are going to take care of my customers on my behalf and I know they will be well taken care of. There's a lot of peace of mind in knowing this. My boss is really cool with it too, this is the first time in my life that my boss is younger than me. (There's a sign you're getting old!)
I thank God for my church daily as well. Although I feel a little disconnected with being away so much with all those hockey weekends... We do struggle with that a little, and I do not take skipping church light, but I also take my family seriously, and we needed to do this. Calvin needed to do this. His teammates need him there as well. He is but no means the star of the team, but cog in the machine serves a purpose. Anyway, back to church! I look forward to being back to normal there as well. We've been going to the same church for at least 17 years, and you develop some strong bonds in that time. When you're away, you can feel it... I am so thankful to know that they are praying for me there, and at other churches all over the place. That doesn't make me special, it's the power of prayer and the God that answers them that is special!
If anyone has a question about me or my situation that I haven't answered, leave a comment! I'm usually an open book, I'll either respond in comment, or write a new post if that makes more sense.
Until then, peace!
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
My life stays interesting
So where do we pick up on our hero's latest adventures? So much had happened in the past few weeks... My truck died leaving me stranded in Alma. The transmission lost first gear, and I really didn't want to drive in reverse all the way home, so Angela came and picked me up... I had to borrow my uncle's truck (thanks Dave!) and grandmas's trailer (yes, my grandmother has a car hauler... Yours doesn't???). This is how it went: drive from Hamilton to Greenville in van, pick up truck and trailer, drive to alma, load up truck, drive back to Holland to drop off dead truck, drive back to Greenville to drop off truck and trailer, drive home in van... That's about a 10 hour job.
I tried to get a replacement transmission from a "legitimate rebuilder" in Saginaw. Big mistake, after three weeks of unkept promises, I finally pulled the plug. I'm still looking for replacement. In the meantime, we are using my father on law's truck (huge thank you to Jim!).
Let's see... Also, my hair started to grow back. I look like Jean-Luc Picard right now, but with WHITER hair. We'll see how that goes, but looking like Grecian Formula is in my future! I'm just glad it's coming back.
We're one step closer to sellin the old house! I'll really be glad when that's behind us. I'm really happy that it's working out for our buyers, they're really great people! We just need to get a new purchase agreement filled out as the old one is out of date now.
Truth be told, all of that was just fluff. I was just making you wait for the real news. I had a PET scan on Tuesday, and met with the surgeon today... I have good news and bad news...
Good first: zero uptake on both the primary (colon tumor) and the secondary (that last little spot in my liver). That means they are either dead or dormant. Doc said if I were an eighty year old, he'd would just send me home assuming I'd die of something else before the cancer came back. I'm not eighty though, so we're going to be a little more proactive. The primary is a very straight forward operation, not much risk involved... Only real danger is if the place where colon is sewn back together leaks, it would be very similar to a ruptured appendix (that would be a bad thing).
The bad(ish) news: The secondary may not be quite as simple... This still has the potential to come out on the good news side, so let's start there. When he gets in there, they're going to take a syringe sample of the mass in my liver and biopsy it right then while I'm in surgery. If it's benign, we're done. If it's not benign, it gets a little tricky. The mass is pretty much in direct contact with a major blood vessel. This potentially causes all kinds of problems. If they attempt to cut it out, they could nick the blood vessel, and I could bleed out on the table. Or if the use microwave oblation, they run the risk of not getting it all, and having it come back OR going too deep and damaging the blood vessel, which could cause me to bleed out on the table, or cause a blood clot that could cause a stroke or embolism and kill me a later date (fun, eh?)! Another option is a thing called a nano knife. It's a last option kind of thing for a couple of reasons: one, it's still really new, and no one is exactly an expert with it yet. Two, it's rarely covered by insurance (yippee!!!). It's still considered experimental by most insurance companies.
The PET scan revealed a five cm spot way low on my pelvis. Possibly a lymph node, but no way to know with out going spelunking. It's very possible that's it's nothing. There's are several reasons to have uptake on a PET scan. Any kind of damaged tissue will show up on the scan. They specifically asked me if I had done any vigorous exercise in the past few days, as the micro tears in the muscles would show up. So I'm not too worried about that, but they have to go look for it to make sure... I asked the doc what his gut told him, and he doesn't think its a tumor.
Here's the last bit of bad news, because they have to go into the liver again, and the colon, and low on my pelvis, laparoscopic is off the table. I will be cut right down the center from my diaphragm to below the naval! (Ouch). This just means another long hospital stay and many days off work.
I was out for five weeks total during my last surgery (one week in hospital and four weeks at home) I'm hoping to shave a week off this time, but we'll have to wait and see. By the way, this happens on the 24th of this month! At least Calvin's hockey season will be over.
Did I mention that his team won their tournament last weekend? What an awesome experience. This is a truly awesome bunch of kids, as well as parents. I wish they could all stay together for another season, but alas, many will move up to bantam next year. I've made friends just like calvin has, and I'll be sad to see them go.
Shalom
I tried to get a replacement transmission from a "legitimate rebuilder" in Saginaw. Big mistake, after three weeks of unkept promises, I finally pulled the plug. I'm still looking for replacement. In the meantime, we are using my father on law's truck (huge thank you to Jim!).
Let's see... Also, my hair started to grow back. I look like Jean-Luc Picard right now, but with WHITER hair. We'll see how that goes, but looking like Grecian Formula is in my future! I'm just glad it's coming back.
We're one step closer to sellin the old house! I'll really be glad when that's behind us. I'm really happy that it's working out for our buyers, they're really great people! We just need to get a new purchase agreement filled out as the old one is out of date now.
Truth be told, all of that was just fluff. I was just making you wait for the real news. I had a PET scan on Tuesday, and met with the surgeon today... I have good news and bad news...
Good first: zero uptake on both the primary (colon tumor) and the secondary (that last little spot in my liver). That means they are either dead or dormant. Doc said if I were an eighty year old, he'd would just send me home assuming I'd die of something else before the cancer came back. I'm not eighty though, so we're going to be a little more proactive. The primary is a very straight forward operation, not much risk involved... Only real danger is if the place where colon is sewn back together leaks, it would be very similar to a ruptured appendix (that would be a bad thing).
The bad(ish) news: The secondary may not be quite as simple... This still has the potential to come out on the good news side, so let's start there. When he gets in there, they're going to take a syringe sample of the mass in my liver and biopsy it right then while I'm in surgery. If it's benign, we're done. If it's not benign, it gets a little tricky. The mass is pretty much in direct contact with a major blood vessel. This potentially causes all kinds of problems. If they attempt to cut it out, they could nick the blood vessel, and I could bleed out on the table. Or if the use microwave oblation, they run the risk of not getting it all, and having it come back OR going too deep and damaging the blood vessel, which could cause me to bleed out on the table, or cause a blood clot that could cause a stroke or embolism and kill me a later date (fun, eh?)! Another option is a thing called a nano knife. It's a last option kind of thing for a couple of reasons: one, it's still really new, and no one is exactly an expert with it yet. Two, it's rarely covered by insurance (yippee!!!). It's still considered experimental by most insurance companies.
The PET scan revealed a five cm spot way low on my pelvis. Possibly a lymph node, but no way to know with out going spelunking. It's very possible that's it's nothing. There's are several reasons to have uptake on a PET scan. Any kind of damaged tissue will show up on the scan. They specifically asked me if I had done any vigorous exercise in the past few days, as the micro tears in the muscles would show up. So I'm not too worried about that, but they have to go look for it to make sure... I asked the doc what his gut told him, and he doesn't think its a tumor.
Here's the last bit of bad news, because they have to go into the liver again, and the colon, and low on my pelvis, laparoscopic is off the table. I will be cut right down the center from my diaphragm to below the naval! (Ouch). This just means another long hospital stay and many days off work.
I was out for five weeks total during my last surgery (one week in hospital and four weeks at home) I'm hoping to shave a week off this time, but we'll have to wait and see. By the way, this happens on the 24th of this month! At least Calvin's hockey season will be over.
Did I mention that his team won their tournament last weekend? What an awesome experience. This is a truly awesome bunch of kids, as well as parents. I wish they could all stay together for another season, but alas, many will move up to bantam next year. I've made friends just like calvin has, and I'll be sad to see them go.
Shalom
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