Up next, surgery.

I had my last pre-surgical meeting with my oncologist this morning. He (and I agreed) that both the chemo and radiation treatment was less deletorious than most would have expected. Most of that he attributed to my youth and health (ironically), and a bit to luck. Compared to side effects that others have experienced, I would rate my treatment as a 5 out of 10. Now, 5 out of 10 still sucks. Nothing in my life has compared to this so far. But, compared to others less fortunate than I, I think I got off relatively easy. He said that if my remaining symptoms were going to dissipate (more on that in a minute) they would do so over the next 6 weeks. I still have a lot of fatigue, but not as bad as last week. My appetite is still horrible, but I'm not losing any weight.

Some folks going through chemo battle side effects for quite a long time. Fatigue seems to be the most persistent of all side effects, sometimes lasting years. I can't see that happening to me. One, I've noticed a marked improvement in just a week. Two, I can't afford the level of fatigue that I felt in prior weeks. My two girls need an active dad, not somebody permanently ensconced in a recliner. I don't know how the final rounds of chemo will affect me, but I expect to have a full recovery from their side effects.

Dr Greene was pretty optimistic that I wouldn't need a colostomy. Dr. Barrios (my radiation oncologist) was likewise optimistic. The entire idea of pre-surgical treatment is to decrease the chance of a colostomy. I'm not quite as optimistic, though I am hopeful. My surgeon had made it sound like a fait-accompli, and he's the one who will be calling the shots. I guess I won't know until I wake up after surgery. I guess that I'm engaging in a bit of vanity, but I'd like to avoid a colostomy if at all possible without increasing my chances of further cancer. But, I've resigned myself to having one. Just not feeling lucky about it.

love

Cj