Six Years After Colon Cancer Surgery
More than six years have passed since my colon cancer was removed. More than five years have gone by since I had the last chemotherapy.
Three years ago I had a melanoma (skin cancer) removed from my chest for yet another scar, but other than a basal cell carcinoma and some pre-cancerous lesions, nothing further came of that so far.
Two years ago on a holiday three-day weekend I got sick, called 911, went to the hospital, had a battery of tests, and had my gall bladder removed (laparoscopic cholecystectomy) and the common bile duct cleaned out (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography - ERCP). Both procedures were done with endoscopes, so I was back home in three days. The interesting thing about that is that the first time I saw the oncologist after the colon cancer surgery he wondered why the surgeon hadn't removed my gall bladder. I got the impression from him that removing the gall bladder during colon cancer surgery was common!
I am currently feeling just fine. I was released by my oncologist a year ago. My primary care physician still watches my Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA), Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA), lipids and liver numbers every six months. After the colon surgery I had yearly sigmoidoscopy exams, but last year I had a colonoscopy. All the appropriate tests indicate no sign of cancer.
Last time I saw my primary, he ordered a fecal occult blood test (fobt - stool sample test for blood). It came back positive. I got the result online and was of course concerned. The next day I got a call from someone at my HMO who really confused me. When I finally got to the bottom of it, it turns out that once a person has had colon cancer, the fobt should not be administered because it often comes back FALSE positive. At the moment I believe that barring a bad CEA number or the appearance of other symptoms, the only testing I will be subject to will be a colonoscopy every five years!
I'm left with just a few reminders. I still have a bit of neuropathy. My fingertips are just slightly tingly - especially if I let my fingernails grow out a little bit. I don't understand why it is that way, but it is. My feet and toes are still clunky - they have feelings, but it's like the feelings are masked. While the neuropathy is a nuisance, it has little impact on my activities. I did quit playing golf when I had the surgery and I blamed it on the neuropathy, but I think now that I was just frustrated by loss of flexibility due to age.
The hernia at the site of the colostomy closure is quite pronounced, and all the scars on my torso are a sight to behold, but I don't appear in public without a shirt so it must be other things about me that offend people! I have thought about having the hernia repaired (again), but I hear talk about the failures of hernia repairs using cadaver tissue and also mesh, and I wonder if it is worthwhile to take a chance. It is uncomfortable, but not painful, so why bother?
I still tend to sleep a lot. In talking to first cousins who know about my mother's side of the family I've learned that sleeping was a common trait with that bunch, so maybe the practice is genetic and unrelated to the surgery.
I walk 4k nearly every day, missing only 30 days in 2010. My weight fluctuates - if I don't watch carefully it can get out of control. Blood pressure, heart rate, and other numbers please my HMO, I have a new granddaughter who is coming to visit soon, I'm busy and happy and life is good!
Doctors focus on five years of survival after colon cancer as an indication of being cured. To repeat the statement in the Chemotherapy section, statistics indicate that a person with my profile has an 82% chance of survival for 5 years without chemo and chemo improves that chance to 87%. I chose six months of side effects to buy a better CHANCE for survival. Either I would have survived without chemo, or the chemo killed some leftover cancer cells and that made me survive. I'll never know. The chemo was no fun, but I'm not sorry I chose that path. From the doctors' points of view, I am now a cured cancer survivor!