Get the laser started.

Since the last post I have had 2 appointments.  On Tuesday this week I met with my General Surgeon who performed my Hernia repair.   He looked at my incision and said it looked good.  We talked about many things including what the mesh suture was actually and also we discussed how much time for healing was a good balance between his normal request and that for a person livng with cancer and needing treatment.  We decided the original 6 weeks he requested was a fair request.  This means he would like no less than 6 weeks before and treatment to allow full healing as treatment would prevent my body from healing.  At the conclusion of the appointment he stated if I needed him for anything to be sure to reach out.  

Today I had a consult with another Radiation Dr..  As I mentioned before I expected a meeting similar if not the same as the last.  Today seemed to go very different in many respects.  The doctor went over my case from 10 years ago all the way through to today and then asked what we knew about radition after having met her coworker in March.  We encouraged her to repeat anything he might have told us.  (Honestly I was in the March appointment with a different frame of mind and not really knowing what treatment I wanted to pursue.  As of today I am confident the option of another surgery is not an option and we need to prceed with Tumor Board's recommendation.)  She clearly talked about the process of radiation and explained it would be roughly 30 treatments which would end up being 5 - 6 weeks consisting of 5 days a week.  We asked questions like, Will it impact my daily life? Can I go in the sun?  Do I need to stay away from young children?  When we asked if there was anything we weren't asking she said,"I think you are asking all the right questions".   The answers to the two following questions are yes,   The treatment is an internal treatment versus an external radiation and therefore I am safe  to be aound young children and in the sun.  She also shared, she would not recommend this treatment if she was not confident it would work for me.  We both left the appointment feeling good about the doctor and about the process.  As it stands we need to make some decisions.  1.  Where would we want to have treatment.  (Ill explain this in a minute)  2. What time of day would we want the treatment to be.  As for the location,  she works in both Grand Rapids and Holland, and for several reasons but mainly if there is a need for Leah to have to drive I can have treatment in the Holland which would make it easier for her to be in that location.  I will  need to decide in the next couple of days as to where I want to continue treatment in order to continue with the current timeline.   They will want you to have your Mapping CT scan done in the same location as your treatment.  The same day as the CT they do education for the treatment so that will happen

What I do know is my treatment will start Tuesday May 28.  

We have not fully decided on a location or time yet.  I have an appointment with my Oncologist Monday  Morning during which we'll discuss the oral chemo I'll be geting along with the radiation treament.  After that appointment we'll call my Radiation doctor's office to confirm location and time of day to proceed with treatment.

Stay tuned for another post next week.

~Kent

A note from Leah...  Kent has been amazing during this whole process.  I am so proud of him.  The days of Surgery, Chemo treaments, Doctors apointments, tests, pokes he has remained calm and rallied through everything.  He amazes us, his family.  Everything any medical professional has asked he has done.  We are thankful for all of you our prayer warriors who have prayed for him as he has gone though it all. 

During this Month of May while Kent has some healing time we are thankful Lydia will be home and will be able to share some family time before she leaves for her internship at Camp Geneva on May 29 as a Camp Counselor and Kent starts treatment one day before Lydia leaves. 

Again Stay tuned for further news as it becomes avalible to us....

Return to work?

Thursday was 7 days since I was in surgery.  A lot has happened in a week.  The main thing was that my case was brought before tumor board Thrusday AM.  I got a call from my Surgeon's PA regarding what tumor board had to say.  

They had 2 recommendations.  First they recommended Radiation.  I meet with Radiation on May 3 to discuss what they have to say.  I don't expect a lot different than the previous radiation conversation as not much has changed since that conversation.  They previously recommended 5-6 weeks for 5 days a week.  I suspect the informatio will be similar if not the same.

The other item tumor board recommended is genetic testing.  I had genetic testing 12 years ago and I don't remember if they found anything other than that it was colon cancer.  I'm willing to go through it again, however I don't think they're going to find anything unusual.

Monday I have my post op appointment with my surgeon's office.  I think the only other thing left that I need from them is the "return to work" form.  I know they are willing to put a date on it that I feel like I can handle so likely early to mid next week I get to begin working again.

My post op appointment with my general surgeon on April 30 so he can get a good look at his work and see that things are healing the way they should.

I'll write more here as things unfold.

~Kent

Mi Casa

Today I was discharged from the hospital.  At 8 this morning i saw my surgeon's coworker.  The big questions have always been "Did you pee?" and 'Did you fart?"  This morning was no different than the others.  Today my answers were also the same, yes and no.  It was a little while later when I got up for something and it happened.  I notified, Leah and my nurse tech who notified my nurse... That was supposed to get to the doctor. Later in the morning when I asked about discharge paperwork it got back to me that the doctor had not been informed... 

Soon after the Doctor was informed and then we knew we would likely get dicharged but didn't konw the timing. By church time Leah ad Lydia were in the room so we watched church together and then started the triathalon to keep things moving.  All total today We walked 8 laps or more around the unit itself and then walked 2 different laps around the same floor of the heart center.  We were told by my nurse tech yesterday not to look into those rooms.  She's right.  I like those  rooms but I'm not sure I want the procedures that go along with those rooms.  Final conclusion is 7N needs an upate so it's brighter.

After we finally returned to the room it was in the middle of lunch time.  Not knowing if I should order a meal or not and how things were advancing I wrang the nurses through the button and asked for Crystal Light and ice cream.  I expected to see my nurse tech who was the one I usually saw and today in walks my nurse with discharge paperwork.  She asked do you want to leave.  I feel like we all shouted, " yes!" at the same time.  She followed up asking if I still wanted the ice cream and Crystal Light.  I opted for the drink to go.  She brought both since waiting for transport can take a while.

I finished the ice cream and had gotten through some of the drink by time my wheelchair arrived.  Then it was  time for the final wheel out to the parking lot, I was helped into the car and then we took the drive home.  I'm glad to be home and I feel realy good already.  I don't feel I even need pain meds but will probably take them for a few days at minimum for a precautionary reason.

I  want to get back to normal and I'm sure that will happen soon enough but I don't feel much different that I did going in 4 short days ago.

I want to take this space to thank everyone for their prayers and tell you they are greatly appreciated.  I'll also be honest in saying I feel like I need them now more than ever. I know God has a plan and that it's going according to his plan.  I would really love to know why this is the plan.  I don't love the treatment options left for various reason but mainly for the time it would take to make that treatment (potentially) successful.

There is good news in what we found post surgery talking with my surgeon,  She pointed out that since my last treatment ( Nov 23, 2023) nothing has either grown or is new.  That's almost 5 months with no growth.  I get nervous with a pocket of cells hanging around just in case they are still taking a vacation.  Needless to say we have a big decision in the next six weeks and I hope the decision is made clearly and I feel peace about it.  It's a good thing God has 6 weeks because right now I am a bucket of nerves.

~Kent

"Hungry Catterpillar"

Yesterday surgery was scheduled for 9:30 am.  It was about 12:20 p.m. when I said goodbye to Leah and I wheeled into the OR.  I remember about 10 minutes in the OR, in regards to getting on the table, putting my arms down and then about a minute or so later the fog hit me.  The next thing I remembered is meeting my family in my room where I was staying the night. This was about 6:30 p.m.  In the OR I was gifted with a few things including a new IV in my right wrist and and NG tube in my left nostril.

My first question to my family members was "did they do the whipple procedure?"  It was at that point I  discovered that 3 surgeons were unable to remove the cancer.  The explanation I was told is that it would put me in more danger and I could have possibly not make it back out of surgery.  I did have the hernia repair done at the close of surgery using the "Hungry Caterpillar" stiching as Leah calls it.  

It is now April 12 and alomst 24 hours after the close of surgery.  I have had the chance to chat with my Oncology surgeon and she told me what she told my family yesterday.  They worked with the upper portion of the intestine and the colon, but only for repair purposes.  Bascially moving forward with the procedure would have cut off my blood supply to the portion  that is left of my liver, therefore causing liver failure.

Where we go from here?  I'll be honest in saying we really don't know what is in the near future.  We have thrown out several options for future treatment and we'll just have to sort them out and decide at a later date. The surgeon who fixed my hernia said he wants no less than 6 weeks of recovery before another  treatment begins.

~Kent

"I wanted to meet you"

Today I had a consult with General surgery.  I looked at this appointment as mostly a handshake or formality since the surgery is on the Books.  The surgeon I saw today specializes in hernia Repair.  When he walked into the room he said to me "I wanted to meet you" then he started by introducing himself and then asking about my case.  He does Hernia repair part time and works with another department of surgery the other part of the time.  All this to say is he is very knowledgeable in his field and usually trains others on his techniques.  He showed us the hernia on the last CT scan I had and explained how they usually fix those.  First Method is to place a Poly made mesh screen behind the muscle and tie the muscle back together in the middle.  The second method is to use a mesh stitching for the sutures to close up.

However this depends on Schedule as he has 2 other cases on Thursday and also he doesn't know how surgery will go.  In other words if there are complications with surgery and they feel the need for follow-up procedures then They may opt to not do hernia repair now and schedule that for another time.. 

General surgeon will make a decision (which is best for me) in the heat of the moment when I'm out and unable to make a decision.  Today we discussed what might happen Thursday and future treatment options.  One thing we did hear that was new information was that I will be spending at least 1 night in the 4th floor heart center due to the amount of Care I will need post surgery and the fact that nurses there are 1 nurse to 2 patients not 1 to 8-10.

I believe we had all our questions answered and are comfortable with his options for Thursday.  It was good for both Leah and I to be at this appointment which possibly could not have happened due to the time.

Regarding Thursday, I appreciate all your prayers for the surgery, surgeons and healing.    I hope they can effectively remove all the cancer.  

Check back for an update on how I am doing Post Surgery

~Kent

T - 5

Yesterday I received a call from surgical staff.  The purpose of the call was to inform me of the time for my surgery and go over the checklist of all the details like what meds I should conintue to take and which I should discontinue before surgery.  One of the questions was "has anything changed since your last Pre-op"  I just got off my lifting restriction earlier this week.  Other than that not a lot has changed since the first surgery.  

They informed me surgery is scheduled for 9:30 A.M. and in the time frame of the OR or the hospital Honestly we're not sure what time surgery will actually be. There is a lot to be done so hopefully if there is someone on the schedule behind me they don't get bumped.

I have already Completed my CT scan and blood work for the surgery.  One final thing that I need to do prior to surgery is to have a consult with the General Surgeon who will be doing the hernia repair portion of the surgery.  That appointment is on Tuesday at noon.

Otherwise we are livng each day with hope they are able to effectively get rid of the cancer.

~ Kent

Calling all Surgeons!

It was 5 days ago I wrote my last post about my Oncology Surgeon trying to get on the same schedule along with a General Surgeon.  This past Monday I got a call from General Surgery who wanted to do a consult on April 30.  With my surgeon's pending maternity leave that timeline wasn't looking good.  I expressed that I was orginally scheduled on the 11th and I really needed a consult sooner.  They didn't seem to have anything sooner.  I accepted the appointment on the 30th and then called my Oncology Surgeon's office.  I told them what General Surgery had to say and asked what the options going forward were.  At that point I was willing to "cut out" General Surgery and deal with that at a later time. 

Fast forward to Yesterday.  I got a call back from my Oncology Surgeon's office stating she would be calling General Surgery to talk with them about the timeline.  Later that afternoon I got a call from General Surgery saying they had talked to my Oncology Surgeon's office and they wanted to schedule my new consult on Tuesday April 9.  I was pleasantly surprised and curious what this meant for my surgery schedule.  I again left a message with my Oncolgy Surgeon's office inquiring to the scheduled day of surgery.

Today I got a call from the RN at my Oncology Surgeon's office confirming the surgery date of April 11.  I had the opportunity to confirm some other things I needed to do in prep for surgery.  So in the next 2 weeks I need to do labs and also I will be called to complete a CT prior to surgery. 

As we wait 2 weeks until the surgery date, we ask prayer for health and calmness and the best possible outcome.  We thank all of you all for your love and support for all three of us at this time. 

Kent