On Thursday, 20 March 2008, I went in for a colonoscopy. (I was having a few "issues" and the doc said this was a good way to check-up on that end of my system.) As the anesthesia was wearing off, the good doctor told me he found a "moderately sized mass" near my rectum and that it was "likely malignant". The biopsy results on Monday, 24 March 2008, confirmed it - malignant.
On Thursday, 27 March 2008, I drank 1.35 liters of yummy banana barium smoothie and had a CT scan. (I'll post some of the pictures later.) On Friday, 29 March 2008, my wife an I met with the colon/rectal surgeon, Doctor M. Doc M said the tumor was "big" and that we would need to zap ol' Frank with a bit of radiation before Doc M could evict Frank.
On Monday, 31 March 2008, my wife and I met with Doctor D, a radiation oncologist, and Doctor G, another oncologist. They said that as long as the cancer has not spread to other parts of my body, we would:
1. zap Frank with a bit of radiation and a low dose of chemotherapy for 5 to 8 weeks
2. let me recover for a month or so
3. have Doctor M slice out a section of my colon
4. hit me with a high dose of chemotherapy (to kill off the cancer cells still floating around my body)
The whole process will take about a year. Also, since I'm "so young" (I'm 44), they can be very aggressive in their treatment.
To make sure Frank has not set-up house elsewhere in my body, I had a PET scan today (which strangely did not involve any of our pets). I haven't gotten the results back yet. Hopefully, it will be good news (for a change).
So, here's the Reader's Digest condensed version:
1. I have colon cancer
2. We are going to treat it
3. I am not going to die from this
4. I'm going to live a long and happy life with my wife and son
My son and I (and a hammerhead shark).
About Me
- slackdoug09
- My name is Doug Lynch. On 20 March 2008 I was told I have a tumor in my colon. I have named the tumor "Frank". This blog follows my efforts to get rid of him and his friends.
1 comment:
Doug,
I've been through the blog from top to bottom (no pun intended) and have to say that you have the right attitude to kick frank out of your system. While I didn't name my cancer (wish I did) it puts a face on it that makes the fight real.
You have my support and if there is anything you need or want to talk to someone who has been through some of the same stuff, you know where to find me.
Kilgo
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