The Plan

It has been a little over 2 weeks since my surgery.  I am feeling pretty good actually.  I have been healing very well and getting lots of rest.  Today I went to my surgeon for a follow-up check up and he seemed pleased with my progress and thought it all went very well.
Once again I want to thank you all for your prayers and love.  I feel very bolstered by you and I so appreciate it.

So now on to step 2. 

Yesterday I had a visit with my oncologist doctor Mary Stewart.  She reviewed my increasingly large medical file and asked Dave and I questions about my surgery and the journey I had taken to our discovering that I had cancer.    She listened attentively and was very nice to talk to . 
She then proceeded to educate us on what was going on in my colon by drawing some pictures and explaining the development of cancerous cells.     

First .. my liver is NED .. which is what everyone wants.   It stands for No Evidence of Disease.  She carefully explained that it does not mean that there is no cancer left in my liver.. they just can not see any with all their different ways of testing.   The treatment that I will get should mop up any rogue teeny tiny cancer cells that may still be around.
  
My colon has the 3 active Nodes and 17 potentially active ones if left untreated.   She believes that chemo will be the best way to combat them.  The plan she told us is a standard Colon Cancer Treatment and has been used for about 3 years now.  Up to date for 2013.
The treatment that she has prescribed for me is as follows:

Two things will happen during this next week.  One -I will have a port put in by my surgeon within the next week.   And 2- I will be tutored further by her assistant on Friday about the medicine they will be giving me, the possible side effects and the procedure that we will following in detail.  

Then I will be ready to go to their big room with all the lazy boy chairs.

This treatment is called  m FolFox 6

It will be a series of 12 two week rotations.  So roughly 6 months.
Each 2 week session will include the following:
Day one.. come into the office .. get a blood test to make sure I am at optimum health.
Then proceed to the lazy boy room.  There my port will be hooked up to the series of medicines that will be infused into me.
Folinic acid
leukovorin     .. for about 2 hours

5 Flourouracvil
5FU    .. will be administered but I will be going home with a little container that will continue to be infused for a total of about 46 hours

Oxaliplatin .. for about 2 hours

So.. about 5 hours in the office... another couple of days of the portable infusion.. then 11 days off. 

Then repeat.  12 times..

She said this particular treatment does not take away much of your hair, little or no nausea, and my immune system should stay fairly strong.

My first question was.. can I still travel?  She said yes you can.  I decided I really like this doctor.  =)  It will be a bit complicated and details have to be worked out to receive treatment in other places,  but if all goes as planned I do not have to miss Bethany's college graduation.. or hanging out with Kimberly and her new baby son!    And if everything goes really really well.. then I should be off this part of my treatments by Melynn's baptism in August.  =)

I did get a little upset today when I received a phone call telling me that I should set up another appointment with my colonoscopy doctor .. a virutal colonscopy or CT before the series begins too.  From my understanding of yesterday I thought we were not going to have to do that till after all the treatments were finished... . but apparently the 2 doctors (Doc Stewart and Doc Sahagun) spoke and decided I should have one before it all began.   Well I realized that I had a lot of resentment to wrestle with as this Doc Sahagun was the one who wanted to rush me into surgery before Christmas, without me really understanding anything about what was going on with my body.. and made it quite clear that he did not believe that I should be traveling etc...  So I have taken a deep breath.. yes I have questions to what this is all about.. but he is a good doctor.. maybe a bit too enthusiastic but it will be fine.  What is a CT compared to all the other fun stuff I get to do?  (I will insist on a bit better cleaner outer.. I have heard of lots of alternatives and I hope to use one)  =) 

I love phone calls, notes, and visits so please do hesitate to contact me.  I will also do my best to let you know the ups and downs of the next 6 months. and hopefully all of me will be NED.  =)



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After Surgery

Last Monday my surgery took a bit longer then they thought it might.  After taking care of the effected area in the colon the surgeon discovered 2 spots in my liver.  One medium and one small.  It was decided, after consulting with Dave (and I guess they talked to me too)  that since I was doing well with the surgery that I could stand to continue on getting those out also and not come back for a second surgery.  I do remember the pain guys talking to me about having a epidural put in .. but not much else.  For Dave it was a much longer procedure, since surgery started about 7:30am and he did not get to see me again till after the recovery room, about 4pm.  I just remember waking up in my hospital room, squinting at the clock.. and thinking.. wow.. its later then I thought it would be.  

My next days in the hospital were a round of temp checking, blood pressure and other such stuff testing by very nice nurses and aides.  I was without pain and had periods of wakefulness.   Oh!  and the moment when they said I could go off the liquid diet and have real food!  Now that was sweet.   I to say how much I appreciated the phone calls, the flowers, text messages and the visits that came.  =) 

Since my body was healing well and was not having many side effects the doctor felt confident in sending me home yesterday. (Friday, Jan 18th).  Here I am trying to continue to rest, getting weaned off the pain meds and gearing up for the my appointments on Jan. 29th and Jan 30th. 

On Jan 29th I will be meeting with my oncologist and hopefully getting a good understanding on the plan to keep my body cancer free.  Since my liver was infected then there might be a more aggressive plan given then what was originally anticipated.  For me, I have not known what to anticipate, so I think I can keep a open mind to what all needs to be done. 

Yes, there are moments that I want to feel sorry for myself.. and do the ... why me? why now? kind of thing.  After 8 babies without even a stretch mark on my tummy.... and now have had this row of staples from belly button to chest (because of my liver and not even the colon)... I deserve to right?
But.. I stop myself... I believe in a bigger, broader picture of things.. and I have learned throughout my life.. that something good will come from all this.  I feel so grateful to you my friends and family because you help me to stay centered and focuses on what is good in this life.  Thank you for being part of my journey!

Last month I went in for a colonoscopy where they discovered a tumor in my colon, which is cancerous.  It was determined that I would benefit from having Colorectal surgery.  There are many colon resection surgeries.. mine will be a Sigmoid Colectomy.  I know little about what that is.. but it is explained to me that ... part or all of the sigmoid colon is removed.  The descending colon is then reconnected to the rectum.   If all goes well it will seal as it heals and there is great hope that I will have little trouble with that kind of cancer again and have little change in how my body works right now.  However, because there was evidence of mutliple small-mouthed diverticula (?) in the descending colon,  I will be going to consult with an Oncologist for further treatment on Jan. 29th. 

This is all new to me and I am not sure I have written the specifics correctly.  My family has been relatively cancer free so I have not paid much attention to the details of how one goes about making the best decisions about how to treat cancer.  I have since consulted with a few better informed people and they have giving me encouraging advise.  It seems that this journey I will be taking, will be an individual one yet there is a connection that all cancer patients have.  I hope to be as strong in character as some of those of this special what I will call .. a "Brother and Sisterhood" of cancer patients.   Go team Go! 

There are some educated guesses that are pretty standard, to what will happen on my journey..then there are other aspects that I will have to wait and see about..

Like.. how long will I be in the hospital next week?  The best guess I have been given:   Maybe up to a week..depending on how my body heals.
Will the cancer come back?   I will have to wait and see what all they find during surgery etc..
What will I be able to do and not do as I go through the healing process?
What kind of help will I need?
How long before I can resume my normal activities?  .. maybe a month.. maybe longer?
Is chemo a good thing? or is there better methods.. or maybe a combination of natural and chemo that will be less evasive and take care of those other polyps just as well?

Anyway...  surgery will commence on Monday Jan. 14th after 7:30am. 
I am so grateful for the outpouring of support and love that has been directed to me and my family.  Thank you so much.