I arrived back here in Houston Sunday, April 19 for a whole ream of appointments ahead of Friday's surgery. I am officially back in that time-warp known as MD Anderson where time drags in the moment but entire days disappear without me knowing it. So far, two days have dragged/disappeared. Yesterday (Monday), I had CT and MRI scans along with blood work. Today (Tues), I met with my lead doc, surgeon Dr. Rodriguez-Bigas, and we took a look at what TLB has been up to since we last saw his ugly face. And in that most rare of blog posts, I'm going to make this short and sweet. I (you) hope.
TLB appears to be about half his former size, but still precariously close to the anus. Doc wouldn't say, but my money's on a 50/50 chance at saving it (the anus, not TLB). Even if they save it, there's not enough margin to use the stapler. What does that mean, you ask? Fortunately for you, I asked too. It means the reconnection of the colon to the anus will have to be done with hand stitches, which means much more collateral tissue damage. I still have one definite hot lymph node out of the 3 original, but of course they will take all of those and a dozen more for safety. In light of the modest regression, this means traditional chemo afterwards, so Mary Ann - the P-POP (Pray for Pill Over Port) campaign is probably out.
Tomorrow (Wednesday), I meet with the robotic surgeon, Dr. Nancy You. My lead doc says she'll be the boss in the operating room, as long as robotics are how we're proceeding. If they have to open me up all the way, Dr. R-B will take over. I don't expect anything earth-shattering at her evaluation tomorrow; in my mind, I was most anxious for the read on the scans and I have those now. Joe, the girls and my Mom & Dad arrive early on Thursday with the surgery first thing Friday morning. And with that, we are through with today's headlines,
In other news, the weather is GORGEOUS. I have been on 2 runs and plenty of walks. I decided since I started the first trip down here with a run, the 2nd one should start the same way. Lots of outdoor exercise. I'm going to have to figure out a way to get my hospital bed outside come Saturday.
I'm about to pack up and walk over to Rice Village for cocktails and dinner and some people watching. I am really glad to be back down here and taking action against TLB. In the words of Inigo Montoya (again?!), prepare to die!
TLB appears to be about half his former size, but still precariously close to the anus. Doc wouldn't say, but my money's on a 50/50 chance at saving it (the anus, not TLB). Even if they save it, there's not enough margin to use the stapler. What does that mean, you ask? Fortunately for you, I asked too. It means the reconnection of the colon to the anus will have to be done with hand stitches, which means much more collateral tissue damage. I still have one definite hot lymph node out of the 3 original, but of course they will take all of those and a dozen more for safety. In light of the modest regression, this means traditional chemo afterwards, so Mary Ann - the P-POP (Pray for Pill Over Port) campaign is probably out.
Tomorrow (Wednesday), I meet with the robotic surgeon, Dr. Nancy You. My lead doc says she'll be the boss in the operating room, as long as robotics are how we're proceeding. If they have to open me up all the way, Dr. R-B will take over. I don't expect anything earth-shattering at her evaluation tomorrow; in my mind, I was most anxious for the read on the scans and I have those now. Joe, the girls and my Mom & Dad arrive early on Thursday with the surgery first thing Friday morning. And with that, we are through with today's headlines,
In other news, the weather is GORGEOUS. I have been on 2 runs and plenty of walks. I decided since I started the first trip down here with a run, the 2nd one should start the same way. Lots of outdoor exercise. I'm going to have to figure out a way to get my hospital bed outside come Saturday.
I'm about to pack up and walk over to Rice Village for cocktails and dinner and some people watching. I am really glad to be back down here and taking action against TLB. In the words of Inigo Montoya (again?!), prepare to die!
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