Surgery Update

Surgery finally happened yesterday, July 7. I'm now home from the hospital after spending one night there.

The surgery was successful. They were able to remove the tumor. I'll know more about negative margins after the pathology report comes back, but they think they got "clean" margins everywhere except one place (which was anticipated -- right against the pelvic bone). The tumor was pushing on my sciatic nerve, but had not encased it, which was good. That should take care of the sciatic nerve pain I've experienced for several years. However, the tumor was very involved with the gluteus medius muscle, so that muscle is mostly gone now. That means I may have a limp and likely won't be able to return to running (although there is a chance I might be able to). That's disappointing, but I knew it was a possibility and it is worth it if it keeps the cancer from spreading and progressing.

I have about a 14 inch incision on the outside of my upper right thigh, hip, and backside. There's a drain tube and another device integrated with the bandage that helps the incision heal. I will have to carry around a little pump device with me for the next 7 days. The drain tube comes out after two weeks.

I'm up and walking (carefully) and using a walker right now. My pain level has been moderate, so I haven't yet resorted to any narcotics and hope not to.

The hardest part for me will be taking it easy! I'm used to being on the go and staying active. Now I'm forced to go slow until all of this heals up.

Fortunately, I've taken the next two weeks off from work, and summer is a slower time of year anyway, so I do have the time and space in my schedule to focus on healing up from the surgery. 

Surgery Rescheduled

This morning I found out that my surgery has been postponed two days and is now rescheduled for Thursday, July 7. Apparently the operating room was overbooked on July 5 and several cases had to be rescheduled, including mine.

I'm frustrated by this change because we (that is, Allison and I) have been making arrangements in our lives based on the July 5 date -- time off from work, visit from out-of-state family to help after the surgery, etc.

But it's out of my hands, and so I'm doing my best to practice "radical acceptance."

I have an MRI tonight, a CT scan tomorrow morning, as well as appointments with my oncologist and surgeon tomorrow afternoon.

This is also a bit more frustrating because my nighttime sciatic pain has been worse lately making it difficult to sleep. Getting the tumor out of there, I hope, will ultimately alleviate that pain. And so I'm anxious to finally have this surgery (which I've wanted since last November) and get on with whatever happens after that.

As always, thank you for your support, encouragement, and prayers.

Radiation is a Wrap, Surgery Next

Today I finished radiation treatments -- 25 out of 25. It feels great to have that behind me (excuse the pun). But it will also be a little weird not to rush off to OHSU every morning to get zapped. So far, the side effects have been minimal. Those I have had may persist for another week or so and then should get better. 

Next up is surgery. It's been scheduled for Tuesday, July 5. It takes 3-4 weeks for the healthy tissue around the tumor to heal from the radiation, which reduces the chance of infection after surgery. The week before surgery, I'll meet with the oncologist and surgeon, have another MRI as well as a CT scan. The surgery hopefully will be the last major cancer treatment procedure I have to do. After surgery, I move into the monitoring phase with scans every few months to make sure the cancer hasn't recurred anywhere.

Today I went to have the port-a-catheter in my chest flushed. It hasn't been accessed since the end of March with the last round of chemo. So today I had to go in and they stuck the needles in, flushed it with saline and put in the heparin that keeps it from clotting/clogging. I'm not sure how long I'll have to keep it in, but eventually it'll come out and I won't have this device protruding from just under my skin with a tube going into my neck. It doesn't bother me and I don't notice it much, but I'd rather not have it.

I don't have any medical appointments for the next three weeks. I'm grateful for the respite from it all. I'm back to running. I'm now able to run 4 miles without stopping, and my pace is picking up, too. It feels so very good to get back into a running routine that has been so important to me.

My eyebrows are BACK, baby! And hair is growing back just about everywhere I lost it. I still have a few lingering effects from all the various treatments, but lately I've been feeling the best I have since I started down this cancer treatment road last December.

Thanks to everyone who has been so kind and supportive and encouraging through all of this!