Saturday, February 28, 2009

My first chemo treatment


I was nervous and didn't know what to expect. Sally and Kaity went with me. It took a little over 4 hours. The room was set up with several recliner type chairs. They had 2 TVs, snacks and drinks. I lied there while several bags of fluids went through the port. It hurt at first when they connected the IV to the port. I was told it will get easier with time. The nurses were constantly moving, changing every one's bags. It was depressing to see I was the youngest one there. Everyone was a lot older than me.

Sally took Kaity home for a nap. Her crib is in our room and usually she is good about sleeping. Sally heard Kaity talking and went to check up on her. Kaity was on our bed with Sally's makeup. Kaity is going to have to have some makeup tips when she gets older.

I felt good that day. The next day (which was yesterday), I didn't feel so great. I woke up nauseated and dizzy. I took medication to help with the nausea but still didn't feel well. I had an appointment to remove the pump. I had to wait an hour in the urgent care. (Not a place I would think they would make a person under going chemo to wait with being surrounded by ill people) Sally went up and asked if they had forgotten about me and as so as she sat down they called me.

My Home Coming

I couldn't drive for 10 days but still had to get out a lot. The day before my 44th birthday I met with the oncologists. He didn't paint a rosy picture but he seemed very hopeful. The treatment for colon cancer has come a long way in the past 2 years. I will have chemotherapy every other week for 12 sessions which should be 6 months. The treatment is actually 2 days long. I go in one day for a 5 hour session. Before I leave, a medicine pump will be connected to the port and that will pump medicine on me for 48 hours and then I come back and have it removed.

The week following my birthday, I was busy with scans, test, appointments and I had a port put in for the chemo treatments. The port makes it easier for the chemo. I was a little sore for a few days after the port.

The surgery

I was admitted on a Wednesday and had the surgery Friday. I was starving. I told Sally when I came home from the hospital I wanted spaghetti and Texas sheet cake. When I walked into the hospital I didn't think I would have to stay there for 8 nights. It was a very long and miserable 8 nights. For the most part the nurses were good to me. I remember when I was younger hearing how people go in the hospital for rest. I have no clue how anyone can rest in the hospital. I think the longest amount of time I got to sleep without being interrupted by medical staff was 4 hours.

I found out a little about colon cancer while I was in the hospital. It usually occurs in people 50 and up or younger people with a family history. I have no family history and I am not 50+ so it was rare for me to have this. Aren't I the lucky one? I did have many of the symptoms. I had lost about 30 pounds in 3-4 months time. I contributed it to eating slower and smaller portions. I guess I was eating smaller portions and slower because of the size of the tumor. I had a change in my bowel movements, passed more gas, and had really bad breath. The thought of cancer never came to my mind. I was on new medication which some of the side effects were lost of appetite, weight loss, and bleeding. So, I thought some of the symptoms were from the medication.

The surgery last a little over 3 hours. It went very well. The tumor was the size of a male's fist. I never realized how important it was to have a bowel movement and pass gas until after the surgery.

I was lucky to have a lot of support through out this. I had many visitors friends, family and people who didn't even know me came and prayed with me and over me. My cell phone was ringing a lot to. It made 9 miserable nights more tolerable.

How it all began

Sunday morning, January 18th, when I woke up, I didn't expect to spend my day at the E.R. I have been bleeding rectally for a few months. I didn't tell anyone. I thought it was hemorrhoids and I was embarrassed. Anything that has to do with the butt I find embarrassing. The night before my 6 year old had jumped on my stomach and I vomited up some blood. My stomach was cramping but I didn't think much about it. The next morning there was more blood then usual. Sally found out and asked if I wanted to go to the E.R. Sally will ask me a question but it's not really a choice. All the lab work came out normal. I was told to follow up with my family doctor the next day. The family doctor sent to see a gastric doctor for the following day. The gastric doctor examined me with a flex scope and said he thought I might have hemorrhoids. I was scheduled for a colonostomy the following week.

I was told having a colonostomy is a piece a cake. I will be so sedated, I won't feel a thing. I wasn't looking forward to it at all. I was however, looking forward to that all you can eat pasta bar afterwards. I was scheduled for it on a Wednesday. Tuesday, I had to be on a clear liquid diet. So by Wednesday afternoon I was starving. Who ever told me I wouldn't feel a thing lied. It was painful. I was in the room less then 10 minutes though. They wheeled me back the recovery room and Sally was allowed to be with me. We waited for a few minutes for the doctor to come back to tell us how everything to turned out. I was expecting to say I had hemorrhoids. I told Sally if I did have hemorrhoids, she was not allowed to tell any one. The doctor comes back and said he found a large tumor which had to removed as soon as possible. At this point hemorrhoids don't sound to bad. Sally asked the big question, if it was cancer. The doctor said he was 99.8% sure it was. He did go on to say if I would have waited a little longer the bowel would have ruptured and I probably would have not survived.

So, instead of going to the pasta bar I had to go home and pack a bag for the hospital. Sally's mom was watching the kids. The hardest part of that day was to go to her mom's and kiss the kids good bye. It took everything I had to stay strong and to walk in to her house. The two younger ones don't really understand what was going on. When I hugged them, I didn't want to let them go. I had no idea when I would seem them again.

I kept telling myself I am going to beat this. I am way to young to die. I was turning 44 in 2 weeks. I figured when I die, it would be from a heart attack. The reason is because I have high cholesterol and my dad died at the age of 40 from a massive heart attack. I have been taking cholesterol lowering medicine for 10 years. Sally get's after me when I don't eat right but I love the food that isn't so good for me.

That night I kept thinking of all the things that I want to do and haven't. I want to take a family vacation (we have never been on one), a family picture (we never had one of those either, but that is Sally's fault), I want to travel Europe with Sally some day, watch my kids as they grow, and be able to walk Kaity down the isle when she gets married.

The reason why chose to blog

As many of you know, I have recently been diagnosed with cancer. My wife and I have decide the best way for us to keep up everyone up dated is to create a blog. Also, I would like to be able to share my story and my life in hopes to help someone else who is going through cancer or a family member. I would also like to make more people aware of colon cancer and the signs. Early detection is the key in treating cancer. If I would have realized the symptoms I was having was a sign of colon cancer and went in earlier, I would not be battling stage IV colon cancer. I plan on update frequently. If some days I am not feeling well Sally will help me.

I am sure many of you know how I got here. For those who don't I will post bits and pieces of the past month to fill you in.