PONO'S
COLON CANCER

Two Years After Colon Cancer Surgery

More than two years have passed since my colon cancer was removed.  More than a year has gone by since I had the last chemotherapy.  One more minor surgery involved repairing a hernia at the colostomy closure and removing the implanted port.  It's hard to believe it all happened, but I'm sure glad to be done with it.

Basically, I feel fine.  All the appropriate tests indicate no sign of cancer.  Interval for doctor visits has gone from 3 months to 6 months.  Interval for sigmoidoscopy exams remains at yearly.  My weight returned to the pre-surgery level and continued up.  With attention it has now returned to the pre-surgery level.  Most of the chemo side effects went away fairly quickly.  The nausea, fatigue, mouth sores, and sensitivity to cold, smells and tastes are but a memory.

I'm left with just a few reminders.  I have neuropathy.  My fingertips, toes and feet are numb.  The condition seems to be lessening, but the rate of change is very slow.  The oxaliplatin in my chemotherapy is the culprit and it was discontinued toward the end of my regimen.  According to the oncologist, the platinum in that drug actually damages long nerves (spine to hands, fingers, feet and toes).  Studies indicate that it may take anywhere from three months to two years from the end of chemo for neuropathy to subside.  However, in some folks it never ceases.  Meanwhile, neuropathy is my excuse for not playing golf - the balance thing, you know.

I have a fairly deformed abdomen.  Fortunately I don't make a living modeling bathing suits, but I also don't show off the scars very often.  The scars alone are bad enough, but then I had a hernia near the colostomy closure.  The hernia was repaired, but I still have a rather pronounced bump in that area, kind of like I'm hiding a donut under the skin.  In addition, an ancient appendectomy (performed back when cleanliness standards were not that good) infected and left a huge scar.  That spot was the site of a cecostomy during the colon cancer surgery and the combination left me with a rather deep depression.  The navel is nothing but a fold of skin now due to an imprecise stapling of the major wound.  The major wound left a 10" or 11" scar right down the middle.  It ain't much to look at, but it holds everything in, and at my age, I guess that's enough!

The last reminder may be just old age.  I tend to sleep about 10 hours per night.  I've always been a good sleeper, but I don't remember the 10 hour thing since I was in my teens.  Then I either slept 4 hours or 18, depending on the activities du jour.

Anyway, cancer came and cancer went, and two years later Pono is back at genealogy research, website maintenance, communication, and enjoyment of life and Maui nei!