I got out of the habit of writing blog posts because there was nothing to report. During the first three weeks or so after the end of treatments the irritation on my back side completely cleared as did the other minor side effects. The fatigue held on and decreased noticeably only in the last couple of weeks. It’s now nearly six weeks after the end of treatment and I feel very good. There is still a bit of fatigue in the evening, but during the day I feel great. During my lunch hour on weekdays I walk just over a mile, including four flights of stairs in one location and two in another, in twenty-five minutes. I didn’t realize how much the low hemoglobin count had affected me.
On January 30 I had my second visit with Dr. Geiger, my surgeon. He took a look at the rectal tumor with a sigmoidoscope and said it appeared to have decreased by at least 50%. He was happy with that. We discussed the two surgery options again and I told him I had decided to leave the healthy portion of the colon in. With twenty more years of full-time work likely, I believe the convenience of having fewer bowel movements with a portion of the colon compared to the number I would have with no colon outweighs the risk of recurrence. In addition, I know I will be getting annual colonoscopies for a while, so if cancer returns to my colon it should be detected early. This wasn’t an easy decision and even though I felt it was the best route to take early on, I thought it through numerous times the past few months.
I asked for the tentative March 4 surgery date to be moved up. Dr. Geiger said the radiation reaches its peak effectiveness about six weeks after the last treatment. At about ten weeks, it begins to lose ground. He likes to perform surgery right in the middle, which is the basis for the March 4 date. I’m disappointed, but understand his reasoning. When asked about the post-surgery schedule, he maintained the four to six day stay in the hospital, which is standard for all patients undergoing this surgery. However, rather than the three weeks of at-home recuperation he previously stated, he said I should only need two. That was great news. I’m sure I will be climbing the walls after the first week.
If chemotherapy is needed after the surgery, Dr. Geiger said I would probably start it within a few weeks and the ileostomy would stay in place throughout. I had hoped the ileostomy would be reversed two to three months after the surgery and then chemo would be given. I can understand the need to start it as soon as possible; I just don’t want the restrictions the ileostomy imposes any longer than necessary. With stage II cancer there is a chance that post-op chemo will not be necessary. It will depend on what is discovered during surgery. At this point I expect it will be recommended. I would welcome it to some extent as it would give me some reassurance that if any stray cancer cells remain, they have been taken care of.
After seeing Dr. Geiger, I met with an ostomy nurse. She covered the basics of the ileostomy and provided two types of ostomy bags for me to take home to check out for myself. Most importantly, she marked the location of my stoma – the opening for the ileostomy. I had to sit, stand, lie down, and move around so she could find the best location that won’t interfere with daily activities yet still do its job. Mine is about two inches to the right of my belly button. She gave me a surgical marking pen and some clear bandages and told me to keep the spot marked until surgery.
I finished my appointment with a visit to the hospital’s pre-op testing office. A nurse practitioner went over a questionnaire covering my medical history and someone drew blood for the usual tests. It was a busy few hours with some good and some so-so news, but it was one more step toward surgery. Now I just have to wait.
