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