Hello, if you're here, you are one of my friends or family wanting to find out more about my newly diagnosed cancer.
I'm gonna try to make entries every day or two especially once we get internet at home and I don't have to make entries at breaks and lunch at work.
Basically, what we know now is:
There is a tumor in the lower 3 inches of my rectum (yep, it's the "butt kind") and we are trying to be as humorous about it as we can without being too crude...
I will have surgery 12/31/08 to have a port-a-cath installed to accept chemotherapy which will probably start on/around Monday 1/12/09 and continue chemo and radiation therapy for 6 weeks or so.
We have made the tough choice to not be foster parents at this time. Chaz is going to be placed with a new foster home next week. He is currently in a temporary placement where he has been previously.
Please pray we would have wisdom and grace through this experience. More later...
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"THE BUTT KIND"
ReplyDeleteThis is a post-update to fill in the history:
December 8, 2008 (Mon): Had some bright red blood in stool. Diarrhea.
Dec 9&10: Felt fine Tues, went home from work early on Wed because I was feeling bad, a bit of nausea.
December 11, 2008 (Thu): Went to work. Felt better. Then around 8pm, MUCH more bright red blood, enough that Jeanah decided it was time to go to the Emergency Room. Went to the ER at Meridian Park. They didn't find anything (certainly not for a lack of looking) and send me home with instructions to come back if it got worse.
December 12 (Fri): More blood, but less than the night before. Called Dr. Yee Chang, my (former) primary care physician at home on her on-call line. She told me it was an inappropriate call and to call back and schedule and office appt. on Monday. After I got off the phone, I fired her and have not spoken to her since.
December 13 (Sat): Laid on the couch all day. Didn't feel too bad as long as I was laying down.
December 14 (Sun): Had another bloody experience and actually passed out while poor Jeanah was in the bathroom.
December 15(Mon): Because of the snow, no doctor made it to the Canby Urgent Care until later in the day. I spent from 12:00 noon until 2:30 laying on the floor with my dad next to me. They brought me pillows and warm blankets, but couldn't get me in to the doctor until 2:30. When they took my BP laying 130/85, then sitting 120/70, then standing, 100/55, they decided I had problems they couldn't deal with (ya think) and sent me to admit to Willamette Falls Hospital.
Dec 16 (Tue): Still in Hospital, saw the Gastro Enterologist, and planned for a colonoscopy. This meant drinking this really yucky stuff straight that later we found out we could mix with Crystal Light which makes it go down like a champ. Lemme tell ya, it cleans ya right out too! More blood Tuesday night/Wednesday morning.
Dec 17 (Wed): During the colonscopy, they found the tumor and informed us we were dealing with cancer. This always has puzzled me why they didn't say "a mass" rather than say "cancer", but I suppose they are experts and could tell by the visual inspection alone. Met with Dr. Azar (Surgeon) for the first time to discuss possible emergency surgery to remove the tumor if it continues to bleed. THANK GOD it has not bled since!!
Dec 18 (Thu): Got to eat chicken broth for the first time since Monday! What wonderful chicken broth and jello they have!!
Dec 19 (Fri): Got to go home. On the way home, we stopped at a roadside apple stand north of Canby. Jeanah told the guy we were headed home from the hospital. He asked why we were there, and Jeanah told him her husband had just been diagnosed with rectal cancer...to which he said, "Is that the butt kind?"
We have laughed about this ever since.