POWER Port!

"There is no such thing as no chance." -Henry Ford

 Good day to you all.  This morning I headed once more to the hospital to get my Power Port inserted prior to chemo this Thursday.  I went in feeling pretty confident...

We told my daughter this was a kilt

After a quick shave/epilady of my chest followed by a nice warm scrubdown of the area I was wheeled off to surgery once again.

Now, I'm not sure how many of you have had surgery to know what "twilight" sedation is, but to sum it up, instead of putting a patient completely under it's kind of like a drunken stupor without the hangover the next day.  Typically I am a pretty cheap date - the nurse starts the anesthesia and the next thing I know I'm waking up back in my room with drool running down my chin.  Not so today.  She must have administered it much slower than normal because I got to feel every needle full of local anesthetics.  It's kind of unnerving considering they are inserting the catheter straight into my jugular (chemo burns up smaller veins and must be administered into larger veins like the jugular).  The "port" portion was inserted into my chest between the skin and pectoral muscles.  The doc said I have pretty tough skin.  He was having a time of it trying to get the port in there.  The result?

Hey, that wasn't too bad! Sponsored by Lay's

So here I sit back at home.  The meds are wearing off so the pain is coming on.  It feels like hammer blows to my chest right now.  For now I will rest.  Next post will be chemo round #1...

"I can finally see

that You're right there beside me

I am not my own

I have been made new

please don't let me go

I desperately need You"

-Meteor Shower, Owl City

In the beginning

On December 19th, 2013 my cell phone rang.  It was the day of my father's 80th birthday.  Instead of my father, though, it was my oncologist.  I had been waiting for the results of my biopsy that was performed the week prior. The cancer had returned.

My journey with cancer began in late 2010.  I can't say particularly when, since my symptoms were slow in development and painless in nature.  I passed some blood - not much - but persistently enough to make me go to the doctor by the end of the year.  One doctor led to another and by February 1st, 2011 (remember snowmageddon?) I was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer.  April 2011 found me in surgery to have my colon resectioned and a port-a-cath inserted for chemo treatments.  Chemo started at the end of April.  One session of FOLFOX every two weeks for twelve total sessions ending in mid-October of 2011.  I was cancer free...

I've been managing cancer since I was 37 years old.  I stayed in remission for almost exactly two years.  Now I must start the fight all over again.