Archive: March 2005

Dr. Stewart does not want to see me anymore, and NOT because he does not like me... :) At today's visit I asked him about the stoma. It has been getting larger instead of smaller as expected. There was no sign of a hernia and the stoma looked "nice." I guess from a surgeon's point of view... Unless something unforeseen happens, we won't be seeing each other again. Thank you, Dr. Stewart!
When I was done with my doctor's visit, I went to the lab for my first 3-monthly CEA test.

My buddy Paul has decided on Laprascopic Radical Prostatectomy. See here for how such a procedure works. Keep up your good spirits, Paul, and we'll be thinking of you next week.

Got an email from Paul that he's home again after surgery on Monday. Feeling good, but tired. I'm glad he's doing so well. :)
I'm scheduled for a CT scan tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully it, and the blood test last week, will produce favourable results...

As it happened, my CT scan was at the same time as the Mounties Memorial service and only a few blocks away from the Cross Cancer Institute. Surprisingly, getting in to the CCI was not a problem.
So I drank my 2 liters of CT contrast during the course of an hour, while watching the memorial service on TV. Had the scan, went to pee twice and headed out. So I thought... We were stuck in the parking garage because of all the people leaving the Butterdome. Then some congestion in a few other places. All the time I have to go to the bathroom again, so I stopped at a restaurant for a bathroom break before continuing home.
And all that water loosened my stool, so I'm sitting in traffic having to pee, and my bag is filling up, but the sun was shining and it was a balmy 14C (57F).
Have to phone my GP in a week or so to find out the results...

This morning, Cecile's youngest sister Ria passed away due to diabetes complications. She was only 51 and leaves behind 4 children. The sad part is that if she had paid attention to her diet, she might still be alive.

The doctor finally phoned me back about the CEA test and the CT scan. The CEA test was good: 0.7, where the acceptable range is 0 to 3.0. The CT scan showed a thickening of the perineum, which could be a result of surgery. As long as the CEA test was OK, there should be no concern about this. I guess the CEA test in June will tell more.

After 9 years of pain and incontinence, and 39 operations, Dee now has a colostomy. She has graciously allowed me to share her story with you. It's a very inspirational and uplifting story. Take the time to get to know Dee. You'll be blessed.