APRIL 2005
I awoke early one Friday Morning thinking I had diarrhea. Getting up and turning on the light revealed sheets covered in blood. After removing the sheets I went to the toilet several times passing a great deal of blood. Returning to my bedroom and feeling very light headed, I passed out on the bed and fell off hitting my head on the night stand. I was taken to Morehouse General Hospital where tests revealed a Cancerous Rectal Tumor. I had lost a lot of blood and was given Blood in the hospital. The surgeon said I would have a permanent Colostomy and wanted to do surgery as soon as possible. This was all happening too fast for me. My sister-in-law Heather suggested getting out of MGH and trying to get admitted to North Monroe Medical Hospital. She had worked with Surgeon Daryl Marx and suggested I see him. He had an office across the street from the Hospital. I had MGH release me Saturday with plans of seeing Dr. Marx on Monday. I passed more blood Sunday night and was and admitted to North Monroe Medical Hospital.
North Monroe Hospital and myself tried to get the tests MGH had performed while I was admitted there.They had trouble getting them and told me MGH said some tests I was asked about weren't performed at MGH. X-Rays were performed while I was in the ER even though MGH said they weren't. The bill later backed my claim. My opinion of MGH was very low at the time. I contacted my Insurance Company about it and they said to go ahead and get the tests redone for a second opinion. On Monday and Tuesday, I had the same tests redone. Wednesday night I got up to use the bathroom, passed a lot of blood, passed out hitting my head on the bathroom door and had to call the nurses for help. I was told not to get up without a nurse present. I was also given two more units of blood.
When I saw Dr. Marx, Oncologist Dr. Benjamin Weinberger, and Radiation Oncologist Dr. William Zollinger, they said with chemo and radiation before the surgery, there was a very small chance that I could avoid a Colostomy. The choice was mine and I went with it. I had an Infusa-Port put in by Dr. Marx while in the hospital and was scheduled for six weeks of radiation and chemo when I got home. I spent a total of eight days in the Hospitals. One day in MGH, and seven at North Monroe.
I received radiation Monday through Friday. I had blood work done first thing Monday morning before the radiation. The chemo was every other week. If all was OK, I had the Infusa-Pump connected Wednesday and removed Friday. The chemo was Fluorouracil 5-FU. I took the chemo well. The effects of the radiation towards the last treatments were very painful bowel movements, and intense burning for a couple of hours after. I tried a cool bath after a bowel movement for a little relief. The pain medication took over an hour to kick in. I couldn't work during this time for fear of making the tumor start bleeding again. Surgery would be in July after the effects of the radiation and chemo subsided.
JULY 2005
The prep for surgery involved flushing out the colon the night before. The burning after a bowel movement had since subsided. After waking up in the Hospital ICU, I was told I had a permanent colostomy. Dr. Marx later explained he could have left me intact, but due to my younger age I might have problems down the road I didn't want. The difference between having had the Colostomy or not was measured in fractions of an inch (Centimeter). In the ICU I had a GI tube in my nose into my stomach to keep it empty and avoid throwing up breaking stitches.
I would be in the Hospital for five to seven days after surgery if all went well, but all didn't go well. Although I had already got up and started walking after the GI tube was removed four days later, I was given clear liquids and Jello for a few days and started throwing up. I split a few stitches in the process. I was sent down to Nuclear Medicine for a series of X-Rays tracking a very bad tasting liquid through my system. I had a blockage in my digestive sytem somewhere. I threw up some of the liquid I took before X-rays also. Dr. Marx had to restich my wounds a couple of different times. After a couple days of X-Rays, I had the GI tube reinserted. In the early morning hours of the day Dr. Marx was prepared to go in and do surgery, things started working. A day later, I went home. The stay was fifteen days. I went in approximately two-hundred pounds and came out at one-hundred seventy-seven pounds. I would be getting chemo for six months after healing from the surgery, and I started back to work two months later.
SEPTEMBER 2005
I would go to the Oncology clinic Monday morning, get blood work first, and if all was good, I was given Oxaliplatin through an IV. I would then have the Infusa-Pump connected with Fluorouracil (5 FU) before leaving. Tuesday I got Leucovorin through an IV. I went down Wednesdays to get the pump removed and the port flushed out. The chemo treatments were every other week. A side effect of the Oxaliplatin was a shocking sensation touching cold objects. I was instructed not to swallow anything cold for a couple of days due to the possible reaction of a closed throat. I also tolerated this chemo well. I noticed by the last two treatments, that my thumbs were becoming numb. Another effect of Oxaliplatin. Later the balls of my feet and toes along with my fingers became numb. The feeling was expected to slowly return. It took over a year for the feelings to return to my fingers and thumbs. It has never completely returned to my toes. It does feel like it is slowly returning.
A week after my first treatment, I was short of breath walking out to my truck to go to work. I nearly passed out. I thought is was a reaction to the chemo. I was driven to the Oncology clinic where Dr. Weinberger decided it wasn't. He sent me across the street to North Monroe Hospital for scans of my lungs. I had a Pulmonary Embolism (PE) or a blood clot to my lungs. I was told to lay down and was admitted to a room. I received blood thinner and closely monitored. I spent eight more days in the hospital. thirty-ones days total since I was first admitted in April. I would be on blood thinners at home for six months.
During the same time I noticed a bulge from my rear end where my rectum was removed. I suspected a hernia. Dr. Marx confirmed it. It would be after the chemo and blood thinners before surgery would happen.
MAY 2006
I had the hernia surgery and all went well. I left the Hospital later in the day. The pain of having two surgeries a year apart on my rear end resulted in my being very uncomfortable riding my motorcycles for a few years.
DECEMBER 2007
I had the Infusa-Port removed in Monroe Surgical Hospital by Dr. Marx where my Sister-in-Law Heather works.
I went from blood work every six weeks, to every three months to twice a year, and once a year.
I have the highest respect for all the Doctors associated with my problems. I also have the highest respect for all the nurses that put up with me during a very bad time in my life. Understandably, I wasn't always easy to get along with while in the hospital. I also think the world of the nurses at the oncology clinic.
I never felt sorry for myself during this time and told others not to. I tolerated the chemo well and never got sick from it like others I saw who did. I made it out of this alive. Many don't. The cancer had only spread to one lymph node. I had stage three cancer.
I had nightmares about passing out in the hospital and having to call for help for nearly a year after. I also had a dream for several months about sitting on the toilet having a bowel movement through my removed rectum. In the dream I have the colostomy, but still have a bowel movement through my rear end with no blood anywhere. I guess it was a psychological scar from a very bad experience in my life.
August 25-2010
My blood work and checkup with Dr. Weinberger at the Oncology Clinic were good. I will now be going once a year for blood work and check ups. It's been a long road getting here.
August 2011
My Blood Work and checkup with Dr. Weinberger at the Oncology Clinic were good.
December 5th 2011
I had a Colonoscopy and it too was good. They removed two benign polyups and said I didn't need to come back for 5 years. My Oncologist will recommend when I need to have one.
One of the things I experienced from the after effects of either
the Radiation or Chemo was that my digestive system was never the same.
Things that I could eat before no longer agree with me, even nearly 7
years later. I also had red spots on my face during Chemo and now have
either Exema or Psoriasis in the same spots. I don't know if it was the Chemo or the change in my body from Cancer, but it wasn't there before.