God I love big boys with toys.
And Dr. Tseng, the surgeon we interviewed today, has all the other boys with toys beat. No mere cool black helicopter or Maserati for him. He uses a robot, which you can see to the left, to do surgery.
How cool is that?
Pretty cool. And Dr. Tseng is pretty cool himself. Both Anne and I were extremely impressed by him and his skills. This guy is a genuine hot shot surgeon.
Unfortunately, when it comes to the actual surgery itself it doesn’t cause you to want to dance on your happy feet.
The good news is he can do the surgery without slicing me open like a gutted fish. And it’s also good news that the robot surgery is far more sophisticated than the old fashioned laparoscopic surgery. And it’s also good news that the recovery time from this surgery is considerably better than traditional surgery.
In fact, if all goes well, I’ll be out of the hospital in a week. And, though I’ll be very tired, I won’t be in any pain once I go home.
But the good news pretty much stops there.
What we didn’t realize was this form of cancer requires my whole stomach be removed and replaced with a smaller stomach which he builds from spare parts. Actually they’re not exactly spare parts, more like other parts of my guts that will be re-purposed.
Of course re-purposing is very trendy in this age of recycling, but the idea didn’t leave me feeling all warm and fuzzy.
The bottom line is we’re talking MAJOR surgery here, and the chance of complications is significant. However, if there are no complications I should experience a minimum of post surgery discomfort. Which is good news.
Then again, if when he starts the surgery he finds additional cancer lower down he’s going to bag the stomach rebuild and call it a day. Which means I will also be calling it a day around six months down the road.
Odds are that’s not going to happen. But it is a risk.
After the surgery they’ll do a biopsy on the guts that were not recycled. That should confirm how bad the cancer was, giving a rough idea how far ahead I can schedule my calender.
The best case scenario is an 80% chance of cure. If I live another five years the cancer is considered 100% cured. Which is my plan.
Nobody seems to be predicting the best case scenario, but everyone admits there is no way to predict what they will find or what will happen. The bottom line is the whole thing is a crap shoot.
Since no one knows what to expect, I’m betting on survival.
If the surgery goes well I will be starting the second round of chemo within two weeks after I return home. During the second round of chemo swallowing will be less of an issue because I will have a feeding tube.
This is basically a tube coming out of my stomach where I will inject food directly into what’s left of my digestive system. This, combined with my chemo pump, will move me a step deeper into the Borg collective.
Two tubes, instead of one, obviously places me closer to assimilation.
I am already plotting my escape.
We are betting on survival as well. It sounds like a bumpy road to travel, but just hang on till you get back on smooth asphalt. We will all be there cheering when you win the race! Our thoughts are always with you.
Robin has “a good feeling” about this. His good feelings are almost always spot on. We hate to see you have to go through all of this, but at least you’re doing it in style and with robots.
The fact that the Aurora Borealis was visible from Portland last night seems significant. Amazing things are happening all around.
We’re with you every day.
Shelly – I love the race car analogy. I thought I’d respond with a nautical one.
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I know it’s not going to be all smooth sailing, there will be plenty of storms ahead, but I’m headed towards a familiar harbor where life will continue much as before. And having the support of family and friends is like a gentle breeze that fills my sails and gently moves towards a beautiful sunset.
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Ok. That was pretty corny, but I couldn’t resist.
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Marcia – It appears that people who get through this ordeal end up living relatively normal lives. With this cheering section encouraging me on I should make it down this bumpy road without bouncing my head of the roof of the car too many times. I appreciate everyone being there for me.
We’re cheering you on, too. What an ordeal! But like you said, all the spiffy toys are truly amazing. I prefer to think the odds weigh in your favor since you have never abused your physical self and are making a concerted effort to keep strong and healthy particularly this summer. The medical people can never promise anything (something I’ve learned from hours of watching Gray’s Anatomy and House), so think positive. May the odds be with you!
We met with Dr. Ey today when we had Picard refilled. He acknowledged that my body had handled the chemo extremely well and credited it to the fact that I went into it so healthy. I guess that all those years of exercise and a low fat diet have paid off. This is obviously something I intend to continue.
80 percent chance of cure _ that is the figure we’ll be hoping and praying for.
Meanwhile, if politicians, bureaucrats and economists could talk (and write) as conversationally as you do, we’d all understand things a whole lot better. You should be a journalist in your next career!!
Judy
I agree with Judy – the journalism thing would be great! Maybe a book or series of articles to help others get through similar health trials with a healthy attitude you’ve adopted….??? 🙂
As you know, I don’t get on here very often, but I continue to read everything. Please be assured that I am also in the cheering section……..
Judy – They base their statistics on people who are older, less healthy, and with more other medical issues than I have. I’ve studied statistics enough to know not to trust them. I figure my odds are pretty good. However you never know for sure until you get through it, which is nerve wracking.
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In politics and bureaucracy obfuscation is survival. I wouldn’t last long. In economics creating verbal confusion is necessary to hide the fact they are making it up. Journalism would be interesting, but it would be depressing to be part of a dieing industry. I’d like to try writing for the web, but haven’t quite figured out my niche.
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Linda – Once I’m done with this I intend to block it out of my mind and think about it as little as possible. I’ll no doubt write about other stuff, but probably not this.
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Hugo – I know full well that you are in the cheering section. It’s good to hear you’re reading everything. I’m never quite sure who is reading it, though I’m aware between ten and twenty people read it every day.
I wrote a paper on this in College, had i had your ability to articulate my thoughts and research, I may perhaps have received a far better grade. Fantastic Job!