On November 2 I went to my family Doctor with a stomach ache that I was sure was Acid Reflux or an ulcer at the most. After 10 minutes he sent me to the hospital for lab work and some tests. When that stop in went past an hour I call Steve in for support since he works right down the street. My next call was to the Bishopric.
5 hours later an ER generalist visited, with his backpack and coat, diagnosed me with 4th stage Colon Cancer solely from the CT scan, (99.9% sure to spread to other organs and end my life.) Have a great day and he headed home for the day letting me know he had informed the Onocologist and I could ask him any questions.
The head Onocologist visited and confirmed what the generalist had guessed from the CT. 99.9: Colon Cancer with a very short survival. While he deliberated whether to operate or start agressive Chemo. I let the Dr.know NOTHING was going to happen until I had seen the CT and looked at my options. Steve returned and I got a great room on the 6th floor. To my surprise my boss was also sitting there waiting for my arrival!
On November 4 a surgeon was sent in to remove the 2ft of colon that held the tumor. He was 99.9% sure this was the organ of origin and the terminal diagnosis stood because this was only 1 of hundreds he had operated on and the results were always the same. It had always turned out this way. This was sounding more and more like a cookie cutter response to standard CT scans
After 5 hours of surgery I ended up in ICU and needed help with oxygen. As you can see from my expression, I was not very happy and Steve said that I wrote seething notes while unconscious!
While the surgeon was busy trying to explain why my tumor was benign and not the organ of origin at all 99.9% We started the search for a 2nd opinion and decided on Mayo Clinic. After 5 hours with the specialist I was so pleased to have treatment that was personalized to my needs. I felt much better on the way back.
By now it's time for Thanksgiving!!. Patt came from Utah, Troy FRIED a 2nd turkey and we all had a great time. Life was starting to look normal again.
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