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

 

Let's compare schedules!

Yesterday I received a call from my surgeon's office.  The RN told me that potentially my surgery would be on April 11.  This is only if general surgery is able to assist on that day.  If they are not able to assist then the surgery will be scheduled for another day yet to be determined.

Why general surgery you ask?  Leah's post titled "Sunrise, Sunset" explains the need for general surgery.  in my previous surgery the surgeon "removed roughly 6 hernias" so they will need to be available for hernia repair per my surgeon's offices explanation.

The only other things I know I will need to complete are another CT scan and bloodwork.  When they call to confirm the Date I will make sure to confirm all the specifics I will need to know prior to that date.

So now we wait for the surgeons to get their schedules compared and agree on a day 

Rinse and Repeat.

 First off I need to apologize for not writing in so long.  3 weeks ago I was about to have a Radiation appointment and was asking for clarity from that appointment.  I was also asking for "clean" test results regarding my PetCT Scan I was about to have.

On Thursday the 29th of February I had a PetCT.  This was a fairly run of the mill test nothing out of the ordinary on the day of the test.  I was excited to return to a normal eating schedule following the test.  Other than that the day was normal.  We began the wait until the resutls came in.

Tuesday the 5th of March we had a consult with a Radiation Doctor.  I had been on the floor before but never knew where the door was.  I went up to the desk where I am used to going for my scans there and they pointed me to the door.

We had a full conversation with the Doctor who explained how radiation would go and what my potential schedule would look like.  He reiterated the same sentiment that my sourgeon has before that his treatment would be something done after we completed surgery.  We took note of things and left the office without having a clear decision forward.   We had gotten the PetCT result just prior to that appointment.  The reports can be kind of technical when it comes to medicine and even though I'm no expert at them however I've gotten pretty good at know what certain key words mean.  This one was a bit confusing to me so while in the appointment with Radiation, I kindly asked him to put it in English.  He repeated the one line in the report I already understood and that was "No evidence of new disease...."  This means they couldn't find any new cancer through the scan.  So we are currently treating what was left from the surgery.

There were several opinions floating around as to what method of treatment we should do.  The only concensus was radiation would follow any surgery that would happened.  Surgery was the treatment that dictated what else we would do and in what order.

Last week I called to schedule another meeting with my surgeon to discuss this potential surgery.  Fast Forward to today, I had a call scheduled with my surgeon.  She called a little later than was scheduled but I imagine she was busy in the office as she spends plenty of time with her patients.  Today was no different.  The risks already mentioned were possibility of a leaking bile duct.  She mentioned that my percentage for this is really low.  Due to the stent in my Bile duct it should be thicker than normal so the leaking would be much less likely than in a healthy person.  The long term consequences of a bile duct seem much more of a reality.  Due to a Bile duct reconstruction and restitching the risk is scar tissue may close off the Bile duct from draining.  If that happens either Endocsopy or Radiology will place a stent back in the new bile duct.

I specifically asked her if systemic chemo would reduce the risks she was talking about.  She clearly said no.  She said that I had had enough chemo with very little change to the tumors ( conglomerate of lymph nodes).  She confirmed the cancer being in lymph nodes means it's in the lymphatic system and could show up some where else microscopically.

The only other thing to discuss with her was schedule.  She indicated at the time of my first surgery that she was in her 3rd trimester of pregnacy. We were excited for her , but this now means she would be on maternity leave starting in May.  

So the consesus now is surgery really is the best most effective option.  Followed by either Sytemic chemo or Radiation to follow for anything left over.  Tonight over dinner we talked about surgeons (which one we would move forward with) Our Surgeon 10 years ago or to have our current surgeon before maternity leave and possible schedules.  The next steps will be to let know those that need to know inculding the surgeon's office and follow their steps 

More here as details get finalized.

~Kent

Directions please!

Today is 15 days since my surgery, meaning I am just inside 2 weeks since my surgery occurred.  Today was also my post-operatevie appointment with my surgeon.  We talked about just about everything regarding my case including what the room divide was like at tumor board.  There were so many options presented today, so the easiest way to present information is what facts we were presented.

First off I will be having a PetCT scan on Thursday to see if cancer is lurking anywhere else we don't expect.  We obviously don't believe there is any more than in the Portal vein area but different results would dictate a path forward for us leaving us little choice.

There are two routes we were presented today.  

First option would be to go through radiation which would include oral chemo.  The way my surgeon explained it is surgery and radiation are both localized treatments and they would be compared apples to apples so to speak.  The up-side for radiation is that it would not have the risks that another surgery would have.  I know what I've been told about radiation however nobody I've talked with is an expert in radiation.  I have a consult with a Doc from radiation-oncology next Tuesday.

The Second option is Systemic Chemo.  We know the ins and outs of this treatment however this is a Systemic treatment not just a localized treatment as radiation is.

We were also told another surgery would be possible.  The caveat here is that there are complications that can come out of such a risky surgery, some of them being a leaking bile duct or drainage problems from the Stomach into the small intestine.  Some facts around surgery were that radiation would make surgery more difficult.  Outside of that this really is a balance of what risks am I willing to take

I am wanting clarity out of the radiation consult on Tuesday.  

Prayers for that and for "clean" PetCT scan results are appreciated.

I'll post more as other appointments pass

~Kent

8 Days

I have been home for roughly 8 days.  A lot has happened in those 8 days including my first drive (to the car wash of all places).  If you know me you know I love a clean car.  Since I was driving, and I needed a destination, and I thought the car was dirty,  I decided to make the trip to the carwash during rush hour.  Not the best time of day to go I do agree, but we made it there and back all in one piece. 

Although exciting the drive is probably not the biggest news of the week. That news came yesterday.  Tumor Board meets on Thursday mornings first thing and is a group of people consisting of Oncologists, Radiation people, Surgical Oncology Doctors ( I.E. my surgeon).  I got a call from my surgeon's office around 10 am Thursday in regards to that morning’s Tumor Board.  I wasn't expecting the call so I wasn't able to process the information fast enough to respond with questions but I will have opportunity to ask questions later.  They had a large discussion on my case with many opinions.  The suggested treatment path forward is Radiation along with an Oral Chemo.  I will meet with many people to ask all my questions and get my treatment plan solidified  1. I will be referred to have a PET scan.  2. I will be referred to have a consult with a Doc working in Radiation. 3. I will have a post Op appointment on Tuesday with my Surgeon.  There is an option to remove the rest of the Cancer Surgically.  However we don't know what that would look like post-surgery and having just been through surgery, I don't know how badly I want to jump into surgery again after recovering from this abdominal surgery especially if they reroute the plumbing.

Obviously this brings more questions than answers and feels a little to me like were starting over.  Same disease different treatment and once again I don't know how it looks or feels.  Needless to say I'm eager to get consults done so I can start getting answers as to what my future treatment looks like.

~ Kent

I couldn't catch up to you.

After 3 and 1/2 Days in the hospital, I am finally home.  I've had more pokes than I can handle and between the last 2 days I walked almost a mile round the halls in my unit.  On Wednesday I got brought through the heart center (attached floor) due to the goal of walking a half mile by my day nurse.  Overall I had a great room with a great view.  The sleeping routine left a lot to be desired. 

I pushed myself as much as possible to meet and surpass markers I needed to meet to get out of the hospital.  If it were up to my day nurse I would have met one final marker.  I still haven't met that one and I'm home which tells you it wasn't up to her.

My surgeon was doing rounds today with her nurse during which I was walking the halls.  I met her and her nurse on the other side of the unit as my room was located on.  She claimed I was walking to fast and she couldn't catch up to me. With how fast I was walking, I find that hard to believe.  Never the less,  Doc, Nurse and I had a conversation in the hallway, after which I continued to walk.  I made another lap around the unit and Doc and Nurse were chatting outside someone's room.  I stopped and moved closer as I still had another question.  I asked if my case was discussed at tumor board this morning.  She said no and that my case would likely be discussed next week.  I was told earlier that her nurse would stop by to schedule my in office Post op appointment.

After I completed my laps and returned back to my room for a while.  My Surgeon's nurse came by and talked with me about everything I should be doing after getting home from the hospital.  She had previously scheduled my post op appointment and I requested she change the time so Leah could go with me to that appointment.  That appointment is on February 27th.  I'm sure we talk over what was discussed at tumor board (including what future treatment plan is), Look at my incision, and talk about return to work.

Overall I'm disappointed my surgeon wasn't able to remove the whole tumor.  After the explanation of why, I respect her decision and why she was not able to do so.  So according to what she had to say earlier this week the next course of treatment might be Radiation.  As was hoping to finish this process with a few treatments of Chemo, this so far looks different than what I was expecting.  So of course there is a small amount of anxiety of how future treatment will go and that there is even future treatment

I'll keep healing in the next several weeks and will post more here after my post op appointment later in the month.

Sunrise , Sunset

The day is here! Kent and I woke up, got ready and were chayffeured off to the Hospital! We rode in the wee hours of the morning or close to Sunrise.  

Kent and I walked into the hospital to the 2nd floor, we checked into the surgical registration area.  Kent was banded and I gave my phone number for updates, we then moved to the waiting area.  Then were called back a very short time later.  A very bubbly nurse greeted us and as we walked back to the first holding area.  We had a short conversation as Kent was getting some pre -op requirements done.  We shared our Faith.   Let me share , Kent was just about to leave the holding area she asked if it would be ok if she would pray for us.   I said, "Yes!"  She said,  "I am not that great at praying out loud." She wanted to share what she thought we needed and she said words that were exactly what we needed at that time. 

We then were brought back to the second intake area.  Kent recieved his block, met with anesthesiologists, the doctor and nurses who were helping with all of the above. 

Many who know us know we have a family friend who is a chaplian in the hospital.  It was not her day to work but she arranged her coleague  to meet and pray with us and yet again we were covered in prayer in the intake area!   A blessing.  Kent did great during the block, defintely uncomfortable.  He was also given some meds to relax him.  Kent and I were in this area for just over 2 hours.  We are unaware of why we waited so long? An unavalible OR? a surgery the doc had before us? waiting for nurses to get out of another surgery? We weren't sure.  

Surgery was set at 10:05 am and Kent was taken back to the OR at 12 pm.  I squeezed his hand, gave him a kiss and gave him a pep talk as he was leaving. " You got this! Well fight together!"  

I weaved my way back through the OR coridors and found the family waiting room.  I sat down in one of very few avalible seats with all my belongings and waited.  Kent's family joined me a short while later  and we began the wait.  We sat there visiting with one another.  We took shifts and I grabbed a small salad but I just didn't feel like eating.  We took shifts to ensure we would not miss any updates on Kent.  His Surgery was anticipated to be 3 to 5 hours but shortly after 2 and 1/2 hours we were give a call saying that he was ready to begin the ending of his surgery.  I was shocked. 

As I learned he was nearing the end of surgery I began texting family and friends. As  soon  we would be we talking with the surgeon I would be sharing what we found out. 

A short time after the phone call we were invited into a doctor waiting area.  She greeted us and sat down shortly after.  Sharing what she had encountered.   Here we go..... Kent was opened up, The doc removed roughly 6 hernias to even get to what the needed to to look at the tumors.  She then found a 6 CM cluster of tumor lymphnodes  on the left side of the portal vein.  She removed those.  She then said, "There was no cancer found on the liver, or surrounding organs."  She then looked at the right side lymphnodes hoping to be able to remove those as she did with the left but was not able to as the were not easy to remove.  Her words were, "Its not apporpriate to remove those tumor that way on Kent."  It would require a lot of surgical procedures that wouldn't work for him.   Kent will be facing radiation at a later time.  I am not sure on the details with this as it requires the surgeon meeting with the tumor board.

We all then returned to our seats as Kent recovered.   We then would be allowed to see him in his room.  

I then found Kent's family and I our way to 7 N to room 7018.  As rounded the corner  Kent faced me and he began to cry.  Kent then greeted his family for a very short time.  Kent was a bit nauseous, groggy and had several nurses around him.  

As I greeted Kent I learned he had a private room, with a view.  Lydia joined us roughly at 6 pm and she looked out Kent's window and as she did it was a beauiful Sunset. 

i's dotted and t's crossed.

Today I got the call finalizing all the things about surgery.

I will be having surgery at Butterworth on Monday February 12 at 10:00 AM

5 Days left and I am doing the things required of me before surgery.

As I go through surgery I am aware this a bit of exploratory surgery.   This means while the main goal is to remove the tumor or collection of Lymph nodes, there is the possibility the surgeon will need to reconstruct the bile duct.  It's a bit unusual how they actually do this and as much as I'd like to explain it to you, I don't completely understand how it all works.

We hope they can leave my bile duct the way it is, however I'd rather them get all infected areas if  they are able to.

I will be in the hospital for 4 - 7 days depending  if they need to reconstruct bile duct.  

My job over the next several weeks is to do everything I can to heal and get back to normal

I know it's difficult to get excited about surgery,  this surgery to me means less chemo and puts an end date to my cancer treatment plan.  

I'm sure someone will update the blog early next week as to how I'm doing.

~ Kent

When no words say everything!

 It is only Tuesday, but Kent has had a very busy week! 

Monday afternoon Kent had a CT scan as he awaits surgery. (no results yet on this)  Monday evening he prepared for Tuesday as he had Colonoscopy as yet another pre surgery requirement.  Many of you who know Kent know that he handles stressful situations in one of two ways.  Kent jokes or he is silent. 

Today (Tuesday) we made our way and arrived at the Colonoscopy Center early.   We did so to account for traffic and rain and yet still trying familiarize ourselves to the place we make the trip to every three years. On the ride there Kent was very chatty and joking a lot.  Kent checked in and we got ourselves situated in the very busy waiting room.  Kent sat next to me quietly playing games on his phone as he waited for his name to get called.  I sat next to him. I could do nothing but sit and watch one after another names being called  but not his.  Finally a nurse rounded the corner from where we were sitting and called Kent.  We both stood up and entered the pre-scope area. When Kent was all ready and all the pre-scope questions were asked,  both pre- registeration and pre-scope nurse had left the holding area.  I sat in a chair to the side and slightly behind Kent's head.  I sat quietly praying for the results we so desperately wanted to hear.  Out of the corner of my eye I see Kent's hand reach back for mine, his head tilted back and I looked into his eyes.  No words needed!  I saw tears trickle down his face and felt a hand squeeze.  I asked him, "Are you ok?" He shook his head, I gave him a kiss and said, "We'll get through this together!"  No words, said everything! He had been here before (roughly 10 years ago) getting results that would change what his life looked like moving forward.  His life has been forever changed by Colon Cancer and you could see it scared him to go down that road again.  I am happy to share today's scope we heard the opposite news, No cancer in the Colon!

So as of this date ( today Tuesday, Jan 30.) we have cancer in one location!  We are thankful for this.  The only spot is around the Portal Vein by the Bile Duct.  The surgery that awaits Kent is to take the cancer out  of that suurounding area.  We pray that he does NOT need reconstruction of the Bile Duct! The Bile Duct is a bit thicker due to the stent placed in Kent in May. ( this is good news as it will help hold sutures after surgery. ) I have been told the Bile Duct is thin like tissue paper but because Kent has had a stent it is thicker a bit like construction paper.  ( sorry for the pre school refrence) This will be a tricky surgery.

Now we wait! We pray and ask God to give Kent just what he needs every step of the way, but....When we have no words and we sit silent I am sure glad we worship a God who knows everything! We will thank God for giving us a hand squeeze and when we shed a tear he will sit right by our side and tell us he is there!

~Leah

a note.... When we have a confirmed time for Feb 12 and a confirmed location we will pop back on the blog and pass that along.  

We continuely thank you for your ongoing prayers.

We have a goal.

This afternoon I had a Pre Operation Authoriztion Appointment.  This appointment literally went through all the things that could be a risk for surgery. My Surgeons office arranged for a visit with a NP. Pretty much many of the risks did not apply to me until the NP mentioned antibiotics and asked if I was taking antibiotics.  The answer was yes and so I explained why I was taking them in the first place. I then shared  that I was still taking them.  After a 40 minute discussion about me the NP explained what meds I should and should not take the morning of surgery.  Besides giving me a soap for washing the day of surgery and a week's worth Glucerna which they encourage me to take before surgery to help with the nutrition I will lose as a result of surgery. I then was asked and told I needed an EKG and Labs.  Due to an overly chatty nurse the EKG and Labs took  30 minutes or more at which point we were dismissed.  I am officially cleared for surgery.  Today I was told I will be called with a place and time no more than 5 days before.

From almost the first indication of the return of cancer my goal has been to have the cancer surgically removed.  This allows me to not have an indefinite amount of chemo.  It is coming closer to that reality for which I am thankful.

I talked with a former coworker today (who has been an amazing prayer warrior during my first cancer journery) who works for a ministry whose goal is to share the gospel and make disciples.  Yesterday I got a notification about his upcoming birthday.  I realized I had his phone number so I sent him a text with the news of my current journey.  After chatting on text yesterday, today he asked if I had 4 minutes for a call and that he'd like to pray with me.  During our call he also told me he added me to the ministries prayer time they begin each day with. 

I really appreciate everyone's prayers while I go through this journey.  

16 more days until surgery.

~ Kent

36 days left

Thursday was my scheduled appointment with my PA.  My plan was to chat with My PA, tell her the plan and do a formal meet and greet with my new Oncologist.  The day started early and we headed downtown to Lemmon Holton for Labs at 9:15.  

My appointment was supposed to be a simple 30 minutes,  and ended up being a while after that.  During my meeting My PA popped out of the room to find the Oncologist and returned empty handed so to speak.  She proceeded to discuss that my Oncologist wanted to resume chemo just holding Avastin. ( this drug prevents the growth of new blood vessels).  New blood vessel growth is a necessity after surgically removing things.  After hearing they wanted to resume chemo, I reiterated that when talking with my former oncologist he told me to hold chemo until surgery happened.  My PA pulled out her phone and started texting him while I was in the room.  The result of that text message was that he agreed with what he told me otherwise I would have been told to sit in a chair and tapped against my will.

She went out of the room again for another try at the new Oncologist.  When she returned so did my new Oncologist.  We chatted with her for a few minutes and She seemed nice.  My PA informed her of the plan I would not start chemo until post surgery.  So they politely scheduled me with anther meeting with my PA and treatment to follow on Thursday Feb 29th.  This is 2 and half weeks after surgery.  I remember that taking place 4 - 6 weeks post op 10 years ago.  I'll reach out to the RN at my surgeon's office to clarify when they would want first chemo treatment following surgery.

I also got a message in my My Chart app to schedule my CT.  The date on that is Jan 29th however I wan't able to pick Lemmon Holton as the location and that is where I'm most confortable with the staff and process.  So tomorrow my job is to call and schedule my CT and then call my RN in my Surgeon's office.

36 more days until Surgery.

~Kent

Cut it out!

Today we had an appointment with the Surgical Oncologist we requested to meet with.  The subject was this cancerous tumor I have surrounding my Portal Vein.  More on that in a minute.  We checked in at the desk and received the usual clipboard of information I needed to fill out.  Shortly after we were called back to a room.  I got the oxygen meter on my finger and the blood pressure cuff by the tech.  Across the room there was a list of names from the doctor I was there to see. All the way down the scale of names included to the Nurse tech I was assigned.  We first saw the NP assigned to the case who remembered me from 10 years ago.  I didn't remember her but she knew we met before.  She asked about my chemo treatments and apetite since the chemo. I gave her the information she requested and chatted with ther shortly.  

Next came the Doctor.  She was good and thourough but there was a lot of information presented in a short amount of time.  She first talked about the tumor.  She expalined how there are dozens of lymph nodes in that area.  Based on the scans she looked at, she decribed the tumor as a collection of enlarged lymph nodes pressing on the bile duct.  She then shared the details like... surgery time will be 3 - 5 hours as she's removing a number of lymph nodes.  Per hospital stay, it largely depends on what she finds during surgery.  It is possible she would have to remove and reconstruct the bile duct.  If that happens my stay in Hotel Butterworth will be roughly 7 days.  If she can remove the lymp nodes but not have to reconstruct the bile duct then my stay will be more like 4 days. When the conversation turned to recovery and time away from work,  I made clear I work at home and can sit in my office as easily as in another chair in the house. The doctor mentioned she would suggest me taking 2 weeks to fully rest after being discharged before returning to work.  She also wants a few things completed before surgery.  First an updated CT, Second a Colonoscopy, and third seeing the surgery preperation center to be cleared for surgery.

Per the bile duct it is better for me to have a stent in it as it makes the bile duct thicken and easier to get sutures in. She obviously will not touch the bile duct unless absolutely necessary and has my saftey in mind during the surgery.  

The third and final person we saw was the RN listed on the board I mentioned earlier.  She is my point person and was the person responsible for crossing all the T's and dotting the I's.  I was given 2 dates for surgery and I selected Feb 12 as the date for surgery.  So for the next 6 weeks I'll be getting phone calls for scheduling and going through those tests and appointments.  

On Thursday I will meet my new Oncologist during a meeting with My PA.  I was told to hold chemo until surgery by my previous oncologist so I expect the message will be the same in fact we'll try to communicate the same when in that meeting.  

More here after Thursday's meeting.....

~Kent