Second Leg

The Next Chapter

I never thought I would look forward to an appointment with an Oncologist. I hoped I would never have to SEE an Oncologist. Funny how perspective changes with your circumstance. I looked forward to this visit because I knew it was where I would get answers, it was where I could start my fight.

So, to back up a little. I had my CT scan. The results from that were not great, but not terrible either. The lymph glands around my colon were a little enlarged. Could be a problem, maybe not. Still, everything seems localized, so mostly good news.

As last night and this morning came though, as those answers came closer to being answered, the fear threatened again. What if I don’t like the answers I get? What if I don’t like my doctor! Her name, by the way, is Jing Jing Hu. I am glad it’s a woman, but the name did cause we to be concerned about communication. One of the questions on the forms I filled out asked if I needed an interpreter. I was tempted to say “yes”! (maybe a Chinese interpreter?) This person is going to be in control of my destiny – I need to understand her! Silly –  maybe – but just being honest. My GI doctor, when I told her who my oncologist was, did not give me any warm fuzzies either. She was just kind of, “Ok, well I know her”. NOT a confidence booster! As it turned out – I do like her, and I can understand her just fine. I also like her PA, Crystal. They give hugs!

So, here is the scoop. I have an adenocarcinoma. That means that it involves a gland that’s gone sour on me. It may be due to a mutated gene. I do not have my father’s half of my family history, so to my knowledge I am the first in my family to have this. Also, I am apparently very young to have this. Nice to hear someone say I’m young in regards to something! It is 6 centimeters in size which is a little on the large size. It is in my rectum, so in lay-speak I have Rectal Cancer. What a wonderful thing to get to talk about!

The next step is an MRI, to get a better look at things. The CT scan was basically to determine if it had metastasized (spread), which it has not! The pain in my arm, that I had shared with some of you in person, they believe is just a pinched nerve. My oncologist is not concerned with what she saw with the lymph glands. I guess the MRI just gives them a better view, and a better idea of exactly how to attack this. So that will hopefully take place next week.

So here IS the attack plan: implant a port so that I can receive chemotherapy drugs. I will go in once a week to get them and the drip lasts 5 days. I will also be going in EVERY day for radiation therapy. This will all last about 5 – 6 weeks. Then we hope that the tumor has been reduced and I have surgery in mid to late August. I have a recovery time of about 4 weeks from that. Then, God willing, I will be cancer free! Now, granted this may be optimistic timing, but it is still very encouraging news. Certainly 6 months from now, I can hope to say that cancer is in my past. Then I can look forward to a lifetime of colonoscopies much more often than the rest of you!