Did my Christmas come early or later?
Did my Christmas come early or late?
I asked Doug whether he thought my Christmas came early or late when we were sitting in the waiting room at the Colorectal Surgery Clinic this morning after my appointment with Nurse Practioner Jacquelyn Marsh.
Jacquelyn had just told us that I was scheduled for a colon reconnection surgical procedure on January 28th. She said that Dr. Kumar would perform and supervise the procedure. Dr. Kumar is the head of the Colorectal Surgery Clinic
This was my first knowledge that I was going to have the procedure. I know that Dr. Karen and I had talked about the procedure off and on over the last eighteen months. We had never had any indication that the surgeons were with us or not and my desire to have the procedure done.
The decision by the oncologists and surgeons to go forward with the procedure means that they are confident that there is a low risk of reoccurrence of the cancer. All of the tests for the last two years have been unable to find any traces of cancer in my body.
The balance of the appointment was sort of anticlimactic for me after her bombshell announcement. Jacquelyn went over the time line and schedule of the procedure. I need to check in the day before the procedure and I suppose try to get used to an uncomfortable hospital bed mattress.
There is one open question. I have two very small lesions on my liver. They have remained the same size since they were discovered in 2007. The doctors have gone back and forth over whether it made sense to remove that portion of my liver or not. Since my liver will grow back, I have always leaned towards having that portion cut out when the surgeons do the reconnection procedure.
Jacquelyn didn’t mention this when she talked about the procedure. I asked why not cut the portion of the liver when I am already open and never have to worry about them again? She said Dr. Kumar was undecided about this aspect of the procedure plan. Jacquelyn said she would speak to Dr. Kumar about the liver resection, I think that’s the proper medical term, later this week.
The only reason to go forward with this approach is that I will be reducing, in my mind anyway, the likelihood of an additional surgical procedure in the future. The fewer times that I have to think about and undergo an operation the better it is for me.
The bottom line for me is that I will no longer have to wear a colostomy bag. I think I will end up with a couple of unused bags but that doesn’t seem like of a concern for me. I will have to check and see if the plastic used to make the bags is recyclable or not. I can’t say that I will miss the bags because I won’t.
Having the reconnection procedure means that Dr. Karen will be taking me off of the Xeloda much sooner than I thought she would.
Excellent.
Maybe my hands will be closer to normal by Christmas this year. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Xeloda, one of its major side affects is an erosion of your fingerprints and severe drying of your palms.
This was an unexpected turn for the better for me and I am so very grateful to the doctors and nurses who have worked to bring this event about.
Be well and stay happy.
I asked Doug whether he thought my Christmas came early or late when we were sitting in the waiting room at the Colorectal Surgery Clinic this morning after my appointment with Nurse Practioner Jacquelyn Marsh.
Jacquelyn had just told us that I was scheduled for a colon reconnection surgical procedure on January 28th. She said that Dr. Kumar would perform and supervise the procedure. Dr. Kumar is the head of the Colorectal Surgery Clinic
This was my first knowledge that I was going to have the procedure. I know that Dr. Karen and I had talked about the procedure off and on over the last eighteen months. We had never had any indication that the surgeons were with us or not and my desire to have the procedure done.
The decision by the oncologists and surgeons to go forward with the procedure means that they are confident that there is a low risk of reoccurrence of the cancer. All of the tests for the last two years have been unable to find any traces of cancer in my body.
The balance of the appointment was sort of anticlimactic for me after her bombshell announcement. Jacquelyn went over the time line and schedule of the procedure. I need to check in the day before the procedure and I suppose try to get used to an uncomfortable hospital bed mattress.
There is one open question. I have two very small lesions on my liver. They have remained the same size since they were discovered in 2007. The doctors have gone back and forth over whether it made sense to remove that portion of my liver or not. Since my liver will grow back, I have always leaned towards having that portion cut out when the surgeons do the reconnection procedure.
Jacquelyn didn’t mention this when she talked about the procedure. I asked why not cut the portion of the liver when I am already open and never have to worry about them again? She said Dr. Kumar was undecided about this aspect of the procedure plan. Jacquelyn said she would speak to Dr. Kumar about the liver resection, I think that’s the proper medical term, later this week.
The only reason to go forward with this approach is that I will be reducing, in my mind anyway, the likelihood of an additional surgical procedure in the future. The fewer times that I have to think about and undergo an operation the better it is for me.
The bottom line for me is that I will no longer have to wear a colostomy bag. I think I will end up with a couple of unused bags but that doesn’t seem like of a concern for me. I will have to check and see if the plastic used to make the bags is recyclable or not. I can’t say that I will miss the bags because I won’t.
Having the reconnection procedure means that Dr. Karen will be taking me off of the Xeloda much sooner than I thought she would.
Excellent.
Maybe my hands will be closer to normal by Christmas this year. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Xeloda, one of its major side affects is an erosion of your fingerprints and severe drying of your palms.
This was an unexpected turn for the better for me and I am so very grateful to the doctors and nurses who have worked to bring this event about.
Be well and stay happy.
posted by Chuck Reinhardt at 7:33 PM
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