Follow-up to Farkel--Rutherford Needed This

by patio34 5 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  patio34

  Hi all,
  I just read Farkel's thread on Rutherford's death certificat stating cause of death as cancer of the rectum. The jokes there were very funny. I even managed a bit of a smile.

  However, I had rectal cancer 2.5 years ago, and it was no picnic. The reason for this post is a WARNING--especially to folks around 50.

  I had no symptoms except a little bleeding, which most people would chalk up to hemorrhoids. However, the doctor took it VERY seriously. They found a healthy-looking polyp--no big deal, they said.

  Then the pathology showed a 'little bit of cancer.' Next step: surgery. The surgeon said 'good, looks like it was just a tiny bit.'

  Then another pathology report said 'oops, somehow that tiny cancer got into the lymph nodes.' Next step: chemo and radiation.

  The surgeon later told me that only 25% of polyps bleed. The oncologist told me in another few months, I would have been in real trouble, because this 'tiny' cancer was really on the move.

  Colon and rectal cancers are the 2nd leading cause of cancer deaths (lung cancer is the 1st). Very few symptoms.

  My lifestyle and heredity did not fit the profile of someone at risk. I exercised a lot and regularly, ate 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables daily, no family history of polyps nor colon cancer, and ate a low-fat diet mostly.

  What can you do to save your life? Get one of those pesty colonscopies. It's not as bad as it sounds, takes only about 20 minutes, and the sedatives they give you make it completely comfortable. And they wear off within an hour mostly.

  I could have died if I had waited a few months. Luckily my doctors really convinced me.

  Ususally cancer of any kind gives no warning until it's advanced. Don't wait for a warning, get it checked out.

  One note of caution: a sigmoidoscopy checks only the lower part of the GI tract. It's like having only one lung checked. You need the whole colon examined. Also, the hemaoccult tests are not definitive either. Like my surgeon said, only 25% of polyps ever bleed.

  Don't die of embarrassment because of the location of this disease.

  Pat
• 

  waiting

  Hey Sis,

  And if anyone knew how you *used* to be so proper, even downright ladylike - they would appreciate your telling the account of your cancer - and it's location.

  Well said - and thank you. Glad you'll be with us (me in particular) for the next 50 years of so.

  Love,

  Sis
• 

  Copernicus

  Pat:

  Thanks for the information, and the personal insights into what must be a very nasty affliction. I almost felt sorry for da judge.

  I suffer from a couple of serious illnesses myself, one of them being (long term) terminal, and the other with a more devastating immediate terminal potential. Guess that means I’m going to die some day, huh? Ha, ha

  Anyhow, I wanted to note:

  My lifestyle and heredity did not fit the profile of someone at risk. I exercised a lot and regularly, ate 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables daily, no family history of polyps nor colon cancer, and ate a low-fat diet mostly.

  The supposed health benefits to be derived from such dietary efforts is in much dispute right now amongst medical professionals (but then what isn’t in dispute with the doc’s?). None of us are a one-size fits all when it comes to the proper foods we should eat for our particular bodies. Fruits are generally loaded with carbohydrates – which translated, means sugar. This substance is thought to be among the most carcinogenic food sourced items currently ingested in the western world. In countries other then the USA (or the like) incidents of various diseases are often much lower – colon cancer being one of them – the difference being attributed to their different diets. Of course, dying from tuberculosis, starvation, or dehydration is no picnic either.

  What can you do to save your life? Get one of those pesty colonscopies.

  Colonscopies have been implicated as the source of numerous Hepatitis C (and other) infections. Lack of proper sterilization seems to be the culprit. But, any invasive procedure carries risks.

  I am only saying that medicine is something like religion with its constant conflicts. Who can ever know who’s right? It’s difficult to protect ourselves to any great extent – beyond the obvious like not smoking, etc. My hope is that modern medicine will eventually be able to deal with the genetic precursors that underlie most diseases. These are beyond our reach at the moment. And no, I don’t expect to be around to see it happen myself.

  I’m glad to hear of your recovery, and I hope you stay well. Isn't it to bad the kingdom won’t be here “soon” to cure us all?

  Copernicus
• 

  Francois

  Patio is right on the money.

  I waited until I was 52 to have a colonoscopy, and finally did so just because I was 52 and knew that it was suggested to begin having them at 50.

  Preparing for the process is much worse than the process. On the day before you don't eat after noon. And after noon, you drink a full gallon of stuff that some joker named "Go-Litely"!!! Right. It comes in various flavors, all of them nauseating. Best to get the plain and chill it just a little.

  Next morning you go in the hospital, put on one of those damnable robes and get wheeled into a minor surgery. Depending on your weight you'll get about 20 - 30 mg demerol I.V. and 2 mg versed, also I.V. The next thing you know, you're in the recovery room feeling groggy. And you don't remember a damn thing, cause the versed completely interrupts your short-term memory. Nothing. Nada.

  That's it.

  My doctor came into the recovery and told me they'd removed two small polyps: one about five inches from the bottom, the other just around the corner in the transverse colon. He was going to send them for biopsy. I forgot all about them.

  About a week later the doctor called and said, "Congratulations, you dodged a bullet young man."

  "Dodged a bullet? Whatever do you mean?"

  "Those two polyps were both cancerous. Adenomas. Deadly when it gets past the wall of the colon. Yours were still up on a stalk like a golf ball on a tee. I cut 'em off at the base of the stalk and cauterized the stump. But we've gotta watch you very closely for the next two years."

  "Closely" was right. Every six months for the next two years I went in for that process described above. All with no more polyps. Now I've waited for two years since the last one, and it's time to go again. I don't look forward to it, but it's not a big deal. I mean, you're not really present when all this is going on. And it can and will save your life.

  I seriously believe that both Audrey Hepburn and Jackie Onassis would still be with us if they had gotten over their massive dignity and submitted to the colonoscopy.

  If you're approaching fifty, please make up your mind to go have this done. I had a friend in Atlanta who had no insurance and wouldn't shell out the $1,500 this exam costs. He's dead. And it took him two years to die. And he woke up every day knowing he was going to die. It was hard to watch.

  And for my next captivating story, I'll tell you all about my run-in with malignant melanoma!

  Francois

  My $0.02
• 

  patio34

  Waiting,
  Thanks for the nice thoughts!

  Copernicus,
  Thanks for the info. I did read something in the news about dirty endoscopes, but it seems it said if the procedure was done in a large hospital, there was usually no worry.

  Francoise,
  Wow--you DID dodge a bullet or two! My polyp was not on a stalk (a sessile one) which is why the cancer was able to spread so quickly. You're right, the prep is the worst part.

  Bye for now!

  Pat
• 

  bajarama

  Better keep those hedges trimed (polyps)! I hate overgrown hedges.

  bajarama