Well, it's been a tumultuous 2 weeks for me. A week ago Monday I had a colonoscopy - and the doctor found a cancerous growth in my colon. Surgery is scheduled for August 11th to remove a section of my colon, a fairly large section. There is a non-cancerous polyp (perhaps pre-cancerous) that was too big to remove during colonoscopy; and there is a cancerous mass. Both are on the right side, one higher than the other, but this means there will be a rather large incision, then 5-7 days in the hospital for recovery. He will also remove the lymph nodes in that area and have them biopsied.
So far, pathology looks good - there is nothing pointing to the cancer spreading, but we won't know that for sure until pathology comes back post-surgery. If pathology comes back clean - then I will be cancer free and it will just be a matter of healing/recovery and back to work. Of course, the opposite is true, if it does not come back with an all-clear, then we will be talking chemotherapy and radiation with oncology.
So, I thank you in advance for your prayers and support!
In JMJ,
Scott<<<
Initial CT scan taken earlier this week, results show no metastatic activity. We will know more for sure after surgery, surgeon will also remove and have biopsied the lymph nodes in the area to verify no spreading.
ReplyDeleteSurgery went well and I am recovering in the hospital currently (as of Monday, Aug.15). No word yet from the doctor on the pathology from the lymph nodes, I will post something as soon as I know. Doctor did say he did not see any signs of spreading, again, that will be confirmed by the pathology report - soon.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your continued prayers.
In JMJ,
Scott<<<
Ok, I have been home for a couple weeks now. The pathology was "mostly good." The surgeon removed 13 lymph nodes, had them biopsied, and ONE of them came back showing cancer. So far, no further report of spreading elsewhere. CT of my abdomen did not show any sign of cancer in my liver. I have to go back for a CT of my chest, the abdomen CT only got the lower part of my lungs, and while nothing remarkable there, the oncologist wants a full scan of the chest, which I agree with. Regardless, once my surgical site heals I will be starting chemotherapy to make sure no microscopic cancer cells remain.
ReplyDeleteSo, I am not out of the woods yet, but the prognosis is still positive. Please continue to keep me in your prayers and know I greatly appreciate you and your prayers!
In JMJ,
Scott<<<
OK, not much more to report yet - except that last week the sutures and staples were removed - SUCH A RELIEF! Still working on coordinating with oncology and surgeon for port/direct line placement and the start of chemo.
ReplyDeletePlease continue to keep me in your prayers and know I greatly appreciate you and your prayers!
In JMJ,
Scott<<<
I have been posting updates in Facebook, but we need another one here! Today began Round 9 (of 12) chemotherapy (Folfox) treatments. A PET scan 3 week ago was NEGATIVE for further cancer sites - BUT - as of that time my CEA number had jumped to 31! That number should be below 5, or even ZERO - so 31 is quite concerning to my oncologist. He wants to do another colonoscopy, the prep for which is horrible, but the procedure is virtually nothing. That said, labwork done yesterday has the CEA number at 23, which is going back in the right direction, but still WAY higher than it should be. I am also reaching out (with my oncologist's blessing) to MD Anderson for a second opinion and/or advice on further/future treatments.
ReplyDeleteUPDATE: Chemotherapy ended about 4 weeks ago, but at last check the CEA number was 29.2 up again (sigh). So after chemo ended MD Anderson had blood drawn for a ctDNA study (in clinical trials) to check for circulating tumor cells in my bloodstream - the test results came back this past week and it was positive. So this may be what is causing the CEA number? I will find out more this coming Friday when I have a teledoc meeting with my MD Anderson doctor.
ReplyDeleteThat said, an MRI and PET scan done 2 weeks ago both came back negative, so there are currently no active tumors - but the ctDNA is something we need to look at.
Your continued prayers are appreciated.
Scott<<<