More Medical Stuff

When the oncologist released me, he wanted me to see the colorectal doctor to decide whether the ongoing bowel problems were from the cancer in my colon growing instead of just chemo side effects. That appointment was yesterday, Friday, 22-6-07. The colorectal doctor thought it most likely was from the colon cancer growing, and that they'd most likely have to do surgery to remove the colon cancer, and do a colostomy. They've been reluctant to do surgery on the colon as long as the cancer there wasn't growing, because surgery would make the cancer more likely to spread to other places.

To determine whether he was right, he had x-ray's of my colon done on Friday and arranged to get the results immediately so he could make a decision right away. The x-rays convinced him that the colon cancer wasn't the problem, so they don't need to do a colon re-section and colostomy. Wierdly enough, he decided that I need to deal with the ongoing loose bowel movements by taking over the counter anti-constipation medication and stop taking all the anti-diarrheal medications. Apparently there's constipation back behind the diarrhea. Also, my belly and ankles are bloatetd and he decided that is from not getting enough protein, so I'll eat more protein-rich foods and see what that does.

One of the things I've discovered is that serious cancer provides a wealth of first-time-ever experiences. Swollen ankles is one of those. Also, perspectives change. When I told Karen about the possibility of a colostomy, she asked if it would be permanent. I replied: "well, the doctors think I'm dying, so as far as they're concerned, pretty much everything is permanent for me at this point." So we continue to not worry about tomorrow, but live this day for all it's worth.