- I've had a head-ache for 3 full days now. A doozy of a headache! The surgeon doesn't like that and is now prepping me for an MRI scan (date TBD) of my head to make sure it isn't cancer. I'm going to assume, for now, that it is some sort of chemotherapy withdrawal symptom that will pass in a day or two.
- Pre-Op assessment clinic:
- Friday July 16th @ 8:45am for 2-3 hrs
- They will be assessing my "normal" baseline and ability to go into surgery. ECG (heart scan), x-ray, blood & urine tests, etc. I guess they want to make sure I'm not on drugs or have some weird psychotic heart beat or something. Actually its to compare what is normal to what they witness during surgery to see if I'm remaining normal (for me).
- Follow-up with chemo trio-team (chemo, radiation, surgeon experts) at Juravinski cancer center on the 19th with some blood work.
- Return visit with Dr. Miller (surgeon):
- Tues July 20th @ 11:45am
- To go over the MRI results for my head (fingers crossed they find nothing) and handle any further questions about surgery or the pre-op assessment.
- Day of the knife! (Dum Dum Duuuuum! *Eerie music sounds*):
- Wed July 21st @ 8am, have to arrive around 2 hrs early, leave house 1 hr before that, and actually get up and be prepared to leave... so that makes... 4:30am! Sigh...
- 4 - 5 hour procedure (apparently), I'll be knocked out the whole time (Yay!)
- Procedure: Three Field Esophagectomy (if you want to look it up, but don't if you're squeemish).
- Some stats:
- 80% chance they can proceed once they start and see what is surrounding the esophagus.
- So that means 20% chance that something will prevent the rest of the surgery. Like they have to remove too much of the stomach and esophagus in order to have enough stomach left to reconnect. Or, cancer has spread more than scan shows, and surgery isn't advisable, or ... other complications.
- Roughly 100% of survival (if rounded) while on the table.
- However, if complications are to occur, it will likely be during recovery. So avoiding visitation for a good 3 or so days until I pass the infection complication stage is advised.
- I'm currently arranging for semi-private (instead of quad/ward or full private) room.
- FYI: they want to remove (if enough stomach to do it) my WHOLE esophagus. However, since they aren't sure how bad the cancer is in the upper stomach, they aren't sure how much they'll have to work with, so they will remove enough esophagus as they can with what stomach I have left to reattach with. This is a preventative measure, as this sort of cancer tends to creep upwards, and they don't know with certainty how far it is without microscopic biopsy. So it is safer to remove as much as possible.
- If they can remove all of it, on the bright side, I won't really have heartburn like I used too. You see, the stomach lining doesn't get heartburn, just the esophagus, but since my esophagus will be stomach lining, it won't hurt. :-)
- Unfortunately, I won't have a valve, and may prefer to sleep sitting up slightly. That sucks.
-- Shane
Whoa! Complicated. But it sounds like you're on track to get your surgery before he goes on vacation. (yay!)
ReplyDeleteRe: heartburn, no valve, etc.
No more laying down right after Thanksgiving dinner. Probably better for you to go for a walk instead, anyhow. lol
Maybe you should get one of those sleep number beds, so you can slightly incline your bit while Kaye's bit stays flat.
Sleep number bed, ouch, pricy...
ReplyDeleteSounds like a plan. Sur-ge-ry! Sur-ge-ry! This is it... Piece of cake!
ReplyDeleteHey Buddy - You know I'll look up TFE! It sounds complicated but you seem to have a good handle on it, so a piece of cake for these docs! I guess this blog will be pretty quiet for a little while. Me and the boys are off on vacation all next week. Have Kaye update us on FB as I'll have access to the library computers in Bobcaygeon. All the best my friend - see you in a couple of weeks!!
ReplyDeleteGaryP