Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Out out darn spot

Just a quick update to all of you since I realize that the last post was pre-colonoscopy more than a week ago and you may be wondering how it all turned out.  

Good news and bad news.  Which do you want first?  Let's tackle the bad news right up front first.  The bad news is that they found two polyps during the scope. I unfortunately was so drowsy from the sedative that although I was watching the procedure (or at least parts of it) on the video screen whilst laying on the table I wasn't coherent enough to ask Dr. Springer if these polyps were new since last March or could they have been in there and he couldn't manoeuver the scope to that area of the colon last March when he found my original tumour as it was blocking the upper part of the colon.   I will have the opportunity to ask Dr. Springer when I consult with him in a couple of weeks to discuss the scope.


And now for the good news...and let's really focus on that.  He / they removed the two polyps.  Good-bye!!!! See ya!  Didn't want you around anyway.  Damn polyps.  And even more encouraging is that Dr. Springer and the attending nurse both said to me after the procedure that they didn't look troublesome, rather benign actually, and that the rest of my colon looks pretty good.  Awwww shucks.  I guess all that purging the days beforehand  really made my large intestine look good.

I've said it more than once...and I will say it again.  They can remove 13cm of my bowel but they cannot remove my wit and sense of humour ;-)

And as you may recall I am working with the Canadian Cancer Society to get the message out...get screened...get informed...stick it to colon cancer.   Especially to all my friends 50 and over, @cancersociety is reminding you get checked this #ColonCancer awareness month! http://bit.ly/W8x9L4



Make your bottom your top priority. Talk to your doctor about getting checked for colon cancer every two years, once you turn 50. Getting checked for colon cancer could be as easy as taking an at-home stool test (also known as the fecal occult blood test – FOBT). 

Make your bottom your top priority
If you’re at high risk for colon cancer, talk to your doctor about other colon cancer screening options. High-risk individuals include those with a first-degree relative (parent, sibling or child) with colon cancer and other factors such as inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease). Visit stickittocoloncancer.ca for a list of some of the risk factors.


Thursday, March 7, 2013

What good is purging without the binging?!!!

So here we go....just a little under 24 hours away from my colonoscopy. Tomorrow's colonoscopy is almost a year to the day from the original scope which found the tumour in my sigmoid colon...the colonoscopy that changed my life forever.

My day started off with taking 2 Ducolax tablets, a laxative, to "get things moving".  No solid foods for me today.  Lots and lots of clear fluids, broths, water, teas, lemon juice without the pulp, jello (yellow and green only - no reds or purples!).    Just recently I downed my first glass (of two) of Pico Salax which is no gentle laxative...it's a purgative...and man are things percolating away down there...foreboding of things to happen very shortly.  Sorry to be graphic but those of you that have had a colonoscopy or know about the prep in advance may agree with me that the prep is much more trying than the actual procedure itself.  I will repeat the purgative at 8pm this evening - again with no food, no solids, no pulp, no dairy (not that I consume dairy anyway).  And if you have my previous posts you will remember that I love to eat...regardless of how cleaned up my diet is I still love to eat FOOD.  Solid food.  So this is what's on the menu today...




I am cranky.  I am hungry.  I am visiting the bathroom regularly today....feeling "crappy" and I am trying hard not to think about the colonoscopy tomorrow...I try and focus on the hope that the conversation with Dr. Springer will be very different this year than last.  In fact, Victoria and I talked about how we are looking forward to being able to thank Dr. Springer tomorrow for everything he did last March when he heard our cries, saw our faces and the horror and despair we poured out on him at the clinic when he told us the news.  Dr. Springer was instrumental in contacting his colleague and surgeon, Dr. Richard Hart, that same day and relayed our story.  That I needed urgent bowel surgery to remove a large obstructing tumour and that we were getting married in 5 weeks.  Dr. Springer, I never got to thank you.  Tomorrow I will.  Regardless of the results of tomorrow's scope I will thank you for acting with such compassion and urgency.

After tomorrow it's the CT scan and then the CEA bloodwork.  Coming into Round Two in the match.  I am in my proverbial corner with the towel wrapped around my head...somewhere in the distance I swear I hear Gonna Fly Now (the theme from Rocky) playing.  Ready to come out swinging.  Ready to lay a beating on colon cancer.  Ready to keep up the fight and kick the crap out of it.