If you’ve been keeping up with my blog, you know that yesterday I went in for a procedure to remove a large polyp in my colon. At first it looked like the polyp was about 2 cm, but after further digging and evaluating it is estimated between 6-7 cm. It goes around a corner where the colon folds. Apparently my body is good at growing things inside. 😪 I wish I could transfer my luck to the lottery!
There are only 1-2 doctors in the whole world who do this procedure. They send challenging cases to this doctor because he is very good at what he does. MD Anderson is noted to be best in the world. I trust them. Dr. Ge has a 95% success rate for removing difficult polyps, and he was quite confident going in that he would be able to remove it, with minimal risks.
He explained the reasons for staying on a liquid diet after the procedure, to avoid tearing or lacerations, etc. We don’t want all that “stuff” to end up inside. I wasn’t looking forward to the recovery time.
The reason this polyp is a challenge is due to the fold in the colon. It’s on the far right side of my body, and hard to access. Apparently, there is a lot of scar tissue in addition to some markers around this polyp, so it appears this one has been worked on before. It has been likely growing for a long time. It is probably a continuation or regrowth of the polyp I had the very first time I had a colonoscopy eight years ago, which my previous doctor had “removed.” Dr. Ge said he would not have let this go five years between colonoscopies. Lesson learned!
I was under general anesthesia and had a very nice nap. I couldn’t tell you what I dreamt. I was having a nice chat with the anesthesia assistant about the blizzard of ’78 in southern Ohio (he was born in Dayton, just 30 minutes from my home town). The next thing I knew I was waking up and it was all over. Dr. Ge waited until I was more awake to talk to me, and then he went over 15 pages which document the procedure with pictures. It’s pretty cool, really, what they can do with those cameras and toys.
Anyway, he showed me the steps he took to try and remove it. He tried several methods and techniques as well as some expensive tools that other gastroenterologists don’t have access to. Long story short, after two and a half hours he realized it was not going to happen. He removed some pieces of it, and a couple of other polyps as well which they sent to pathology. I should get those results back in about a week.
I apologized for messing up his success rate. 😪 😫 He chuckled. He said this is the reason he gets all the tough cases. But he admitted he had never seen anything like this in all his years of working. (He looks young, so I’m not sure how long that is 🤪.) It was definitely something that he wasn’t expecting. Who knows, I may end up in some medical journal because of it.
The next step is go back to the colorectal surgeon for another consult. There was some talk about whether it is worth doing the surgery due to my current metastatic breast cancer diagnosis. I was a little offended by that, to be honest, as I believe I have a lot of years left! I don’t want this thing to turn into colon cancer. That’s how my grandfather died. But what are the risks of that?
Here’s what I found on Healthline. According to the Colon Cancer Alliance, the risk of developing colon cancer is one in 20. Doctors screen for this type of cancer by looking for polyps in the colon and rectum. Like most forms of cancer, early detection can make a big difference in survival rates. If identified at the local stage, the five-year survival rate is 90 percent. However, if identified at a later stage when the cancer has spread, the five-year survival rate is 12 percent. PSA: Get your colonoscopy!
So much to consider. If we do it, we will schedule surgery to have part of my colon removed. Stay tuned and I’ll keep you posted. The upside? I get to eat today with no restrictions.
We never give up. Our bodies are gradually dying, but we ourselves are being made stronger each day. These little troubles are getting us ready for an eternal glory that will make all our troubles seem like nothing. Things that are seen don’t last forever, but things that are not seen are eternal. This is why we keep our minds on the things that cannot be seen.
II Corinthians 4:16-18 CEV
À la prochaine…until next time.