Spring Break!

It was Spring break week.  We cancelled our beach plans and my plans to go to Bend with Nadina. I called everyday and on Thursday someone cancelled and we prepped (actually Tom prepped but I helped :-)   Dr. Speer did the colonoscopy. He sent out some pictures for us to look at before he came and met with us.  Although he told us he found a tumor that was probably cancerous (98% chance but not positive until the biopsy was completed) every word that came from his lips was comforting and encouraging.  Tom and I both loved him immediately.  In the next few days he shared his phone number and told us to text or phone with any questions and he would get back to us as soon as he could.  We spoke with him twice more and every time it was comforting to hear his voice.

One good thing that happened is that Tom was prescribed Hydromorphone which is a pill form of morphene.  This seemed to help with the pain and allowed Tom to sleep. We graduated from the 3 Stooges level of doctors to the specialists who seemed to know what they were doing. Tom got a CAT -Scan and a MRI to diagnose exactly where the cancer was and if it had spread. They detected a 7cm tumor in Tom's rectum and another 5cm one that is wrapped around a nerve by his sacrum.

We got in to see the surgeon, Dr. Parsons, earlier than scheduled because the biopsy did not show cancer cells and they wanted to do another one.  Dr. Parsons took another biopsy and discussed treatment options.  Tom immediately bonded with Dr. Parsons, a local guy who went to Jesuit High School and grew up in Beaverton.  He recommended doing a colostomy before starting radiation to shrink the tumors, because sometimes they swell up before shrinking from the radiation. This also allows the rectum area to heal better.  Two weeks of healing after the colostomy and then radiation everyday for 5 weeks.  About a months wait after that to allow the tumors to keep shrinking. Then the big removal surgery!