Some of you remember my earlier bout with an elevated and paralyzed right diaphragm. I had surgery for that and by now was hoping to be running again. Just when I'd reached to point in my recuperation to begin running I pinched a nerve or pulled a muscle in my right (the right side again) butt and could hardly walk for nearly a month. Then I start walking and come down with what my doctor termed "walking pneumonia." That was 10 days ago and I need 3-4 days to get rid of it totally. Then maybe I can start walking/running?
Nope. A short time ago I had a routine colonoscopy. It was routine until we got the results I have a tumor in my large intestine and a biopsy has shown it to be malignant. It's small, but the surgeon we saw yesterday said size isn't the important part. It's the level of aggressiveness, is it low or high? Has it penetrated the wall of the intestine to the outside of the organ. That wouldn't be could.
So I'm scheduled for surgery the 26th of this month, early in the morning. If there are no complications I will be in the hospital four days. Much to my surprise the surgery will be laparoscopic if circumstances permit. That means less pain and less recuperation. The surgeon can't guarantee it since He won't know till he looks inside. He also won't know how much of the colon he will remove until he looks inside.
If this were a movie, we could dissolve from the consult with the surgeon to me being wheeled into the surgery, to me waking up in recovery, and the doctor giving us the good news. All this would be over in under two hours, but tough beans, it's not a movie. The best news is that it didn't penetrate the wall on the colon, that only a small section (8-10") of the colon was removed, and that it was stage 1 which means no chemo. The only thing the surgery will immediately reveal is the amount of colon removed. The rest is about 2 days for the biopsy to come back.
I'm a glass if half full kind of guy, so I'm optimistic. Also I got a bonus out of the colonoscopy, my FIRST tattoo. The gastro doc marked the location of the tumor with a tattoo. Even though he did it from inside the colon, the surgeon will see it from the outside of the colon. If I had known he was going to tattoo me, I would have asked for a Robby the Robot.
Nope. A short time ago I had a routine colonoscopy. It was routine until we got the results I have a tumor in my large intestine and a biopsy has shown it to be malignant. It's small, but the surgeon we saw yesterday said size isn't the important part. It's the level of aggressiveness, is it low or high? Has it penetrated the wall of the intestine to the outside of the organ. That wouldn't be could.
So I'm scheduled for surgery the 26th of this month, early in the morning. If there are no complications I will be in the hospital four days. Much to my surprise the surgery will be laparoscopic if circumstances permit. That means less pain and less recuperation. The surgeon can't guarantee it since He won't know till he looks inside. He also won't know how much of the colon he will remove until he looks inside.
If this were a movie, we could dissolve from the consult with the surgeon to me being wheeled into the surgery, to me waking up in recovery, and the doctor giving us the good news. All this would be over in under two hours, but tough beans, it's not a movie. The best news is that it didn't penetrate the wall on the colon, that only a small section (8-10") of the colon was removed, and that it was stage 1 which means no chemo. The only thing the surgery will immediately reveal is the amount of colon removed. The rest is about 2 days for the biopsy to come back.
I'm a glass if half full kind of guy, so I'm optimistic. Also I got a bonus out of the colonoscopy, my FIRST tattoo. The gastro doc marked the location of the tumor with a tattoo. Even though he did it from inside the colon, the surgeon will see it from the outside of the colon. If I had known he was going to tattoo me, I would have asked for a Robby the Robot.
