Am I fine?

Monday, September 26 Terry and I drove to Jonesboro to visit the oncologist. It was an appointment that had been rescheduled by me and was really a follow up to find out about some maintenance chemo possibility. The Dr. took the time to call up the colonoscopy and the pathologists report following surgery to tell me exactly what I had and what happened. It turns out the tumor was growing circumferentially and was actually restricting the passage of fecal material. That is what I had guessed long before we knew there was a tumor. I was just thinking about how a pipeline works and what a restriction means in the flow of material in a pipeline and came to the conclusion that I had to have some type of restriction.

The chemo/radiation had reduced the tumor size by over 85% and what was left was only about 1.5 cm in size, easily removed by the surgeon. The surrounding tissue was clear of cancer, and two lymph nodes that were removed and checked were also clear of cancer. The oncologist told me this was the best possible report I could have. I was so happy. However, I also must admit that a more serious outcome had not even entered my mind. I was sure from the get go that we had it in time and that I would be OK.

Obviously these are all estimates and guesses, but they are on my side and I like that.

Feeling so good

iGoogle:

'via Blog this'

I am feeling very good. It has come about in the last couple of weeks. It was gradual but I find myself have my little happy fits of twiddling my fingers and laughing out loud at nothing. I think that I feel good because I am not having any stomach distress, I am not having any gas I can't pass nor am in having bloated feelings that were transmitted to the anal area causing intense pain and a sense of having to go to the bathroom constantly. The bag of the iliostomy is an ugly reminder of what is actually going on now, but other than that my system is behaving quite well.

In about two weeks I undergo another surgical procedure to put the small intestine back together. I am hopping with the time to heal and the fact that the inflammation from the tumor is gone that my system will behave correctly in the future. I hope so, life is good again.

Six weeks since surgery

This recovery is much easier than the first recovery period four and half years ago. I think that I had no idea of what to expect after surgery four years ago that I was some what traumatized by the whole affair. At six weeks, when the surgeon said I could return to full normal activities I felt terrible. Today, I feel quite good, I've been doing some chores around the house and returned to work over two weeks ago. I also think that I handled the pain medications very differently this time. I was careful to not take so many that I suffered side effects of anxiety and sleep deprivation. I knew my stomach would be upset for some time and just took that as one of the symptoms encountered during recovery.

I am looking forward to the removal of the stoma and reattachment of the small intestine. It is a great source of pain and irritation right now. We are changing the appliance every three days in and effort to get the skin to heal. Plus I lay on the couch with the stoma exposed to the air for an hour when we change the appliance in and effort to let the irritation dry up some. However, I am experiencing bleeding on the lower side of the stoma as the skin is so irritated by the acid environment that it has eroded that far.

Other than that I feel quite good and have decent energy for just six weeks.

Beginning week six since surgery

I am feeling quite well. The "bag" is not too comfortable and I am having skin problems. The output from the small intestine is quite acidic and has really irritated some surrounding tissue. However we are changing the "appliance" more often, I am trying to lie still for an hour or so with the stoma and surrounding skin exposed to the air so it will help dry the site up, and we have stopped using paste to help seal the appliance as Terry, my wife, feels perhaps the paste is irritating my skin.

Kristi, Ned & Buddy left today to return to Indiana. I went upstairs with Terry and took a nap. I slept about and hour and a half which is quite long for me. I realized that while Kris was here I was staying up in the afternoon and was becoming very tired at night so I guess I still tire. Other than that I've been lifting some heavier objects and doing a few chores but not too much. Terry continues to do most of the work, but I am contributing more and more each day, I hope!

I am ready to have this bag off and the small intestine reattached. However there are a number of advantages I've noticed since I have the iliostomy:

1. To some degree I control when I empty the bag. I do have to empty it several times a night which has me up in the middle of the night, but during the day I can choose my time.
2. I do not have the sense of "urgency" to go to the bathroom I had prior to surgery. I was constantly walking around with this pushing feeling like I had to go, but rarely could.
3. My stomach does not seem to become so upset with different foods. I can't feel it become upset, although once or twice I have felt it do what I call clench when some type of food hit it.
4. I am not bloated and unable to pass gas as before surgery.
5. I do not have the abdominal pain and the pain in the anal area that I had when I became bloated.

Other than that the bag is inconvenient. It slaps against my leg when I walk, it isn't irritating but just feels odd. I certainly don't like the looks of it when I'm naked, but then I'm not body wonderful anyway. The bag changing and emptying can be messy and cause some problems, but Terry, God Bless  her doesn't let me get down about that. She gets in there and helps even though I'm sure she is turned off by the whole issue.

So pluses and minuses, in the long run if I have a colonostomy I'll handle it and be grateful for the opportunity to extend my life further into old age.

Want to know how it feels.

Just in case someone is curious what it is like to wear an ostomy bag I would suggest the following. I have an iliostomy which is considered temporary for my specific cancer issue. So the stoma or opening that the small intestine pokes through to the outside world is on my lower right side. I suggest you take a baggie, fill it half way with water and put it in your right pants pocket. If you want to be more realistic tape it to your side with some duct tape and peel it off every five days. Be sure to wear it to bed at night, it really screws up your sleep positions. Plus it crinkles from time to time. You might want to blow some air into it to simulate gas. It puffs up real nice under your pants make you look like you have all of a sudden grown some odd shaped tumor. Ah yes, ain't life grand. Its OK, it is temporary, I hope. But keep in mind all of the folks that wear a permanent bag. You would get used to it I am sure.