Glad It’s Over

December 31st - so glad 2018 is over.

Chemotherapy kicked my ass - so glad it’s over.

Had a liver biopsy today - so glad it’s over.

My cancer has come back - will be glad when it’s gone.

Not only has 2018 been filled with ups and downs, December has proven to be no different. With the apparent spread of my colon cancer to my liver, making it move to stage 4, a biopsy was scheduled for today, and boy, I'm glad its over.

I did some research and wrote about it last night in my post “Only 6 Hours Until Biopsy”.  That research helped, but didn’t come close to getting me through it.  It started with a sting, got much better along the way, but then my anxiety or something kicked in and I was done... whacked out.  I flipped and thought I was going to pass out.  Should have been expected, men are from Mars, and wimps.  Hot flashes, cold sweats, unable to remain still and breathe as the doctor needed me too so he was able to direct the tip of the needle to the edge of the lesion so he could trigger the collection of cells.  I was really uncomfortable and not wanting to go through it again.  I thought, and he planned on collecting 2 or 3 samples ... in actuality, he collected 7.

To be honest, I really knew little about a biopsy and how they were done.  I knew they were to collect cells that were suspect to determine whether you were dealing with a cancerous or benign situation.  In my case, I learned that the purpose was also to harvest enough tissue to determine its molecular makeup, to identify the proteins associated with my cancer with the hopes a targeted immunotherapy treatment will be available to save me.

To side track a bit, if you have ever watched “Wicked Tuna”, as each Blue Fin is brought to market, all I can think of now is that one of the two test they do to set the price is that they biopsy the meat to check its quality.  It’s not a biopsy, but essentially that’s what their doing.

Getting back on track ... I was quite sore at the end, felt like I was stabbed, then again, I was, many times, but the pain is gone now.  I’m a man, I can take much less pain than you women can.  The pain now is in the waiting game ... waiting for the initial results to confirm or not if in fact it is cancerous, then the 3-4 week wait to see if my cancer proteins are in line with available immunotherapy treatments.

Like chemotherapy, the biopsy and mental anguish are all part of the drill we patients must pass through.  I can do it and I hope you never have to.  My hats off to all those that have walked the walk before me.

Want to help beat this beast, I could us your support of me and y American Cancer Society's Relay For Life team.  If you could make a donation in my name, it will help all of mankind in the research and treatment of cancer among many other good things.  Even if your donation is $5.00, $20.00, $50.00 or more ...  it helps us all who are fighting the fight today and those that may have to fight it in the future.  Use the following like and you'll received a tax deductible donation receipt directly from the American Cancer Society (ACS), and my appreciation.

 My Relay For Life Donation page