July 24, 2023
We met with the colorectal surgeon (Dr. C). He ordered an additional CT scan as well as an MRI. He believes he can safely remove the part of David’s colon that contains the tumor and after a digital exam, (whoa boy!) he was confident there would be room to reattach without needing an ostomy. He explained that had the tumor been lower, he would have needed to send David for radiation treatment to try to shrink the tumor. He said this was standard to try to avoid an ostomy if possible. We were relieved to hear this. He mentioned it was preferable to be able perform the surgery using robotic technology but that he also thought we needed to get on the schedule as soon as possible. If the robot was not available, then he would need to perform the surgery the “old fashioned way” which was a good surgery but would mean a more invasive surgery and a longer recovery time. As we were leaving the office we stopped at the scheduler. She told us a spot had just opened up using the robot due to a cancellation so we said we would take it. Surgery is scheduled for August 15. Dr. C said we could expect that David would be in the hospital 3-4 days.
LET’S GET IT OUT (-d)
I can’t remember being more stressed out and concerned than waiting at this appointment. Also I can’t remember being less stressed or concerned after it. The digital exam wasn’t a lot of fun, but the confirmations I received from it and everything else was definitely worth it. Lots of pictures and diagrams to show me where and what we were dealing with made it even better. Quicker robotic surgery also sounded good to me, and I couldn’t believe we were fortunate enough to have an earlier opening. I was a little nervous about the recovery but felt like I was in very good hands and and trusted everyone on my team (and still do).
HOBBIES OF THE MOMENT: old tv and movies, iPAD games, reading some books I won’t finish, looking into how CT and MRI scans work, and the anatomy and physiology of my lower abdomen.
