Radium

Radium #2, originally uploaded by DPC Tutt.

We went to Radium Hot Springs this past weekend. We had a BLAST. It was great to get out of town and spend some quality time in the mountains. We did a lot of tobbaganing, took a few dips in the hot springs, threw some snowballs, and I even made it to Panorama for a day on the slopes. It was cold the entire time we were there but it was fun. Thanks for sending us out there Brian and Vicky!

An update and more

blue view, originally uploaded by DPC Tutt.

I've been in touch with the hospital and have appointments now for all my pre-op stuff. Nothing particularly fancy. Blood work tomorrow, 45 minute phone meeting with a nurse this Friday, and a 3-4 hour (!) pre-admission meeting with the anaesthesiologist and an internist next Friday to discuss my medical history (snore) and the details of the procedure. Tomorrow, weather permitting, we will head to Radium hot springs for a few days of fun in the snow.

On a more serious note, I read this the other day and it scared the crap out of me.

On the basis of current incidence rates, 38% of women and 44% of men will
develop cancer during their lifetimes. On the basis of current mortality rates,
24% of women and 29% of men (approximately 1 out of every 4 Canadians) will die from cancer. In our lifetime almost everyone will be affected by this disease –
directly as a patient or family member; or indirectly as a caregiver or
friend.

-Canadian Cancer Society/National Cancer institute of Canada: Canadian Cancer Statistics 2005.

I had no idea cancer was so prevalent. Have a look around. Your family, your friends, your co-workers. One in four. That's a really scary statistic.

Save the date

I got a call this morning from Dr Buie's office confirming my February 10 surgery date (up until today they only had me 'penciled in' for surgery that day). It's a big relief to have a firm date in mind. Now we can make more concrete plans for the next three weeks. So far those plans include a downhill ski day, a cross country ski day and a trip to Radium hot springs. Of course I'll be keeping up my squeaky wheel routine in an attempt to get in earlier if possible.

The only cancer related event between now an then will be a consultation with the anaesthetist and the "medical people" (That's what Dr. Buie called them - I assume they are the team that is responsible for my care immediately pre and post-operatively. Nurse buddies Vicky or Marcy fell free to post a comment to correct me if I'm wrong). Whoever they are, they want to get some details on my medical history. Specifically they want details on my heart condition, before I get in there on the day of my surgery. I can't even begin to count the number of times in the last 4 months that I've had to provide a detailed medical history. I pretty much have it all down pat now back as far as the operation I had when I was five weeks old. They want details I'll give them details!

Happy Monday everyone!

Thirty-two

Blogging with Dad, originally uploaded by DPC Tutt.

Today is my thirty second birthday. Yahoo! The celebrations started Friday night with a guys night out for supper and movie (thanks for organizing Kev! and thanks for coming all). We went to Buchanan's for supper then to Eau Claire where we saw Gran Torino (with Clint Eastwood - think Dirty Harry in 'Depends'). Both supper and the movie were great. Clint Eastwood sure plays a convincing geriatric racist - it's well worth the twelve bucks if you're shopping for something to see. Today we headed to Penny's parents place for brunch and a get together with her family (thanks for organizing Sandi!). My mum surprised me and flew out for the day. It's been great to see her and hang out. We made it back home at about three o'clock so the kids could nap and we could work on supper. At my own request I made my own birthday dinner (beer beef stew with cheddar biscuits) while Penny baked a cake (carrot with pineapple - my favourite).

What a great birthday...

Bring on the colon surgery!

Penny and I met with my colorectal surgeon Dr Buie this morning to discuss my upcoming colon surgery. The meeting went really well. Dr Buie is very polite, easy to talk to and very liberal with his time (I think we spent 45 minutes with him today).

He had a quick feel and said the rectal tumor has shrunk substantially. That is good news in that he thinks he will have a big enough margin to remove all the tumor and surrounding tissue and still save the rectum (avoiding the need for a permanent colostomy). However, the location of the tumor will necessitate the creation of a temporary illeostomy. This will likely be reversed at the time of my liver surgery in 3-4 months.

Dr Buie also spent some time reviewing the MRI and CT results and comparing them to my original scans from 3 months ago. The image resolution is amazing. There are definitely no secrets with those tests. He was able to show us the tumor in the colon and how much it shrank in response to the radiation. We were also able to see the spots in the liver (some imagination required). The imaging technology is truly amazing. I consider myself lucky to be dealing with this now and not fifty years ago.

The tone of the meeting today was definitely positive and I'm looking forward to my surgery. I still don't have a firm date although I expect to hear from Dr Buie's staff as soon as they have OR time booked. Check here for more updates as I get the info.

More "squeaky wheel"

I got a call yesterday from Dr Buie's assistant saying that he had a cancellation for tomorrow (I was originally scheduled to see him on the 28th). So tomorrow I go in to discuss the surgery and hopefully book a date in stone.

"Somebody's gonna get a hurt real bad"

This makes me laugh every time I see it.

A quick update

A whole room just for waiting, originally uploaded by DPC Tutt.

I had my CT scan today which was the final test I needed before meeting with my surgeon to book a date for surgery. After my test I called the surgeons office and talked to his assistant. She told me that I was already penciled in for surgery on the February 10th and that I was also booked to see Dr Buie on January 28th for a pre-surgery consultation. While both dates seem a little farther in the future than I would like, it feels good none-the-less to have a semi-solid date in mind to "look forward too". I also made it very clear that if an earlier opportunity came up via cancellation or whatever I would be eager to fill in the gap.

The Squeaky Wheel...

Penny and I stopped by my colorectal surgeons clinic when we were at the hospital yesterday. The purpose of this stop was to politely suggest that the date for my CT scan (January 25th) was too far away and that if there was any way they could reschedule it for sooner, please do so. Our thinking (right or wrong I'm not sure - time will tell) was that the sooner we get the tests done, the sooner I can schedule surgery and the sooner I can get this cancer out of my ass. Sure enough we got a call from the nurse today saying that I have been scheduled for a CT scan on Friday. It seems that the squeaky wheel does in fact get the grease.

Back to reality

Carly, Andrew and Mom tobaganing, originally uploaded by DPC Tutt.

You know you've had a good holiday when your first day back to work is a shocker. You know, you lost your bus pass, forgot your login password and have a million emails to read. Although I'm not working now, I've had more than a month of continuous time without a trip to the hospital for cancer treatment of some kind. In that time we've been to Hawaii and celebrated Christmas and New Year. It's been great to have cancer out of sight and out of mind for that time. It's been a true holiday from reality, but now I have a few emails from my buddy cancer that need attention.

Today I had my consult with the liver surgeon Dr Sutherland. It was a sobering meeting for Penny and I as we discussed the procedure, timing and likely outcomes. The plan is to do a 60% liver resection (remove 60% of the liver that contains the metastases) about 2-3 months following my colon surgery. Amazingly the remaining 40% of the liver that is left will grow in about 6 weeks to be the size of the original liver. How cool is that! It turns out that the liver is a phenomenal organ. I feel a little bad for all the beer its had to deal with over the years.

January will see me at the hospital on a fairly regular basis. On Wednesday I have an MRI to plan the colon surgery. I also have a CT scan planned for later in the month that we will try to move up so surgery can proceed ASAP. I will also have consultations with my radiation and chemotherapy doctors this month. I'm expecting colon surgery in February but if we can politely force things to move a little faster it could happen in January. I'll be sure to post updates here as I learn more.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas. I know I did.