Part 1: I and Cancer or The Adventures of Me and My Semi-Colon .

This is the first part of my story about having Stage IV Colon Cancer- the overall arc of what has happened. I will be going back and detailing certain episodes at a later time. “The Adventures of Me and My Semi Colon” begin here…

At 45 years old “I” and “Cancer” are not words that go together in a sentence. Not that there’s ever a time when “I” and “Cancer” go together in a sentence, but at 45 they are incongruous to say the least. Be that as it may, in April 2014 I was forced to put those words together when I found out I have Cancer. Not just Cancer, but Stage Four Colon Cancer that had metastasized to my liver. Ironically a month earlier I had a physical exam, including blood work and was declared to be in good health.  

So how did I go from being in good health to having Caner? Constipation. I started having issues with constipation. I called my Primary Care Doctor. He put me on a stool softener/laxative and told me that I would need to eat more fiber. So I started taking the stool softener/laxative, and was lax on the fiber in my diet part (I’ve always been a picky eater). After a couple of weeks nothing was changing- in fact things were getting worse. I never knew how much not being able to poop can ruin your day, or days. Once again I called my Dr. and he asked me when my last Colonoscopy was. I told him, “I’m 45, I’ve never had a Colonoscopy”. He said, “You will now- make an appointment”. I called a Gastrointestinal Dr. and made the appointment. The day of the test came about a week and a half later (I’ll spare everyone the details on the preparation- for now). My girlfriend drove me there, and we went in without much of a care- figuring it would be Irritable Bowel Syndrome or something treatable like that. After the test was completed, I groggily awoke to a nurse and a printed report that had the word “tumor” on it- with a picture of a black mass. I don’t remember much, being that I was still feeling the effects of the drugs used to knock me out (I don’t know how I managed to get dressed without help, since when I got into the car I couldn’t even fasten my seatbelt). I do remember being told that they were sending a biopsy of the tumor out to a pathologist. On another note, I had foolishly (quite foolishly) told the Dr there was no one else to tell the results to. In my defense for this we weren’t expecting a tumor- and we had only been together for a few months- so why would she need to be told? Just a tip to anyone out there- if you’re in a relationship with someone, let the Dr. tell them what’s going on- for the rest of your health.

It took a week for the pathology to come back. A long week in what would be the first of many long weeks. My Primary Care Physician told me there were Cancer cells in the polyp they found (the tumor), and that they would remove it surgically, and while it would be an ordeal, it would be fine. He sent me for a CAT Scan of my pelvis and abdomen, which was “just routine”. So I had a CAT Scan with contrast the next day. Two days later the Dr.’s office calls at 3:38 PM, and tells me the Dr. wants to see me at 6:15 P.M. I was at work, and immediately my mind was racing. When you’re expecting test results, and the Dr. wants to see you, and see you that day- at 6:15 PM- you know you’re screwed. When I got there, that’s when I got the news that would change my life and the lives of those who care for me forever. Not only was there a tumor in my colon, but it had also metastasized to my liver. My Dr. then told me “Go home, have a drink, cry, get a good nights sleep, get up in the morning, get your shit together and get ready to fight.”