Post by jerryfmcompushaft on Apr 6, 2017 8:59:05 GMT -5
Some of you know all of this, some of you know some of this, and some of you know none of this - so I'll give a brief recap of all of it so I don't have to write multiple messages:
About five years ago I was placed on supplemental oxygen 24/7. A couple of years ago my kidneys stopped functioning and I was placed on dialysis three times a week. A couple of months ago I was diagnosed with bladder cancer. The first treatment for the cancer was to go into my bladder without an incision and cut out the tumors. The doc said that he cut out four or five tumors and cauterized two small ones. The biopsy confirmed cancer and an MRI showed that it had entered the muscle tissue surrounding the bladder, but had spread no further . This could not be removed by the method just tried, so I was referred for chemotherapy. After the second chemo session, the doctor said that it was messing up my blood so badly that he would not continue the treatment as it would be very dangerous. Further evaluation indicated that I could tolerate chemo every other week, so that was the plan until surgery could be scheduled. Surgery to remove my bladder is the treatment of choice. This would normally be about an eight hour procedure but because my kidneys no longer produce, they do not have to reconstruct a pathway to eliminate urine from my body. This reduces the time required to actually remove the bladder by about half. Because of my need for supplemental oxygen it is still rated as a "high risk" operation. My surgeon got back from his vacation in India and I am now scheduled for surgery at Chambersburg Hospital on 1 May 2017. It will be done robotically and if it weren't for the expected pain involved, I'd kinda like to be awake to watch. Recovery in the hospital is anticipated to be three or four days. Please - no one feel like you have to make that long drive to visit me in the hospital as I probably won't be feeling like having visitors anyway.
If I don't make it, be assured that I have lived a good and satisfying life, and hope those of you so inclined would celebrate that life with a dram or two of the best Scotch you can afford. If I do make it, which I fully expect to be the case, I'll be in touch as soon as possible and we can celebrate the victory together!
About five years ago I was placed on supplemental oxygen 24/7. A couple of years ago my kidneys stopped functioning and I was placed on dialysis three times a week. A couple of months ago I was diagnosed with bladder cancer. The first treatment for the cancer was to go into my bladder without an incision and cut out the tumors. The doc said that he cut out four or five tumors and cauterized two small ones. The biopsy confirmed cancer and an MRI showed that it had entered the muscle tissue surrounding the bladder, but had spread no further . This could not be removed by the method just tried, so I was referred for chemotherapy. After the second chemo session, the doctor said that it was messing up my blood so badly that he would not continue the treatment as it would be very dangerous. Further evaluation indicated that I could tolerate chemo every other week, so that was the plan until surgery could be scheduled. Surgery to remove my bladder is the treatment of choice. This would normally be about an eight hour procedure but because my kidneys no longer produce, they do not have to reconstruct a pathway to eliminate urine from my body. This reduces the time required to actually remove the bladder by about half. Because of my need for supplemental oxygen it is still rated as a "high risk" operation. My surgeon got back from his vacation in India and I am now scheduled for surgery at Chambersburg Hospital on 1 May 2017. It will be done robotically and if it weren't for the expected pain involved, I'd kinda like to be awake to watch. Recovery in the hospital is anticipated to be three or four days. Please - no one feel like you have to make that long drive to visit me in the hospital as I probably won't be feeling like having visitors anyway.
If I don't make it, be assured that I have lived a good and satisfying life, and hope those of you so inclined would celebrate that life with a dram or two of the best Scotch you can afford. If I do make it, which I fully expect to be the case, I'll be in touch as soon as possible and we can celebrate the victory together!