#14 Mid-January Update

January 23, 2017

You suck at updating your blog!” my friend Alan reminded me by text recently. Humbly, I agreed. I haven’t posted any updates here over the last month or so.

The fact is, I haven’t had much in the way of new information to report since my last post on December 19. And, with the holidays wedged into the middle of it all, I didn’t take the time to create a new post.

So, for Alan and for you… here’s an update in an attempt to suck less.

Surprisingly, even to me, I feel good. Really good. The only remaining side-effects from my radiation and chemotherapy treatments are that my finger tips are still a bit numb. The last blood test showed my cancer markers are way down, and that my white blood cells are returning to healthy levels. My medical team is very happy with my results so far.

So, given how good I feel, it seems counterintuitive that I need to proceed with surgery, which is the next step of my treatment. But, proceed I must.

After meeting with my surgeon last week, I am officially scheduled for surgery on Wednesday, February the 15th at 9am.

The goal of surgery is to remove the tumor from my rectum and the related lymph nodes that may be cancerous. The tissue will then be tested and will help determine the next steps of treatment, including the type of post-operative chemotherapy my oncologist will recommend, if any.

This is major surgery, so I’m expecting to be in the hospital for 4-6 days, if all goes well. Then home to recover for a period of time after that. I’ll have to learn to use the ostomy bag and get used to my new normal.

I can’t promise to update you of my progress in the early part of my hospital stay, but Becky will send an update after surgery to let you know how I am doing.

Thank you again for your part in the steady stream of support, prayers, thoughts and care I receive regularly. I feel ready for this next stage of the process.


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