mike4882's Cancer Blog
January 27, 2010
I’m writing this on behalf of Mike while he is recovering from his surgery. His surgery was on Friday Jan 22nd at 8am..this means you need to be admitted 2 hours before hand where you go through getting undressed, IV started…be sure to leave all your valuables at home such as jewelery or rings. One family member can sit with you while you are in this preop area and then someone will come to wheel your loved one away into surgery. The surgeon gave me a timeline so I knew approximately how long Mike would be but as a loved one…those minutes feel like hours. Mike will be able to tell you more about what happens on the “inside” as he went through an epidural placement while awake. After the surgery, recovery time depends on the patient but Mike was longer than expected as the epidural did not take. Epidurals cannot be used in conjunction with other pain medications so they had to remove the epidural tubing before they could get him on the Morphine pump to get his pain manageable. All in all, it was about 3.5 hours in recovery after a 5 hour surgery. The surgeon said he was able to remove the entire tumour and that it looked like it was intact and not outside the rectum. Good news. A couple of lymph nodes are suspect but we are waiting for the Pathology report. They were able to remove the rectum, suture close the anus (actually looks like his bum cheeks are sewn together with big blue stitches)and put in a permanent colostomy. He has 47 staples down the front of his belly with a little zigzag around the belly button. Its a clean looking incision though and I’m sure it will heal nicely. The stoma is larger than i thought it would look and its raised about 2 inches off the belly. It’s bright red, moist and looks swollen. They say it will improve in 6 weeks and decrease in size. Our Ostomy nurse was in yesterday to go over the changing of the bag which isn’t that complicated and i’m sure it will become routine very fast. Mike was feeling really well the first day postop but recovery isn’t always a daily improvement but days of good and bad. You won’t be “Pain Free” but the physician would like to see about a 3 on the pain scale (0-none to 10-worst pain ever). Mike changes from the good days of 5 to the not so nice of 17.5…We are waiting for his bowels to “wake up”. Bowels go into a sleep like status when they undergo anaesthetic, removed from the body cavity, on narcotic medication like morphine and you don’t move around. This means 3-4 daily walks with the aid of a walker to try to hear some belly noise, have gas blow up the colostomy bag like a balloon and the cramping begins. There are a lot of tubings attached to your body so it’s not a easy feat getting in and out of bed. Mike’s belly isn’t quite functioning so he has an NG tube from his nostril to his stomach to remove the fluids in his stomach, the catheter in the bladder is a must for the next 7 days, a central line in the neck for getting more IV fluids and the drain line from the abdominal incision that has a little waste container attached. The next few days will see us waiting for Mike’s bowel to “wake up” and getting through that cramping pain. We are diligently aware of post operative complications such as site infections from his incisions, septic infections from the bowel, bowel obstructions, blood clots, etc. That all being said, Mike is doing as well and we hope for healing recovery. I’m sure he’ll write himself as soon as he is able but I know he thinks of his “blog” friends and hopes everyone is having a “good” day…...
Thanks so much for posting an update for Mike. He has been in my thoughts and prayers, as he will continue to be. I’m hoping that he worst is “behind” (I know, puns are pretty easy with this cancer!) him and that he will soon be tube free and able to move about more easily. Wishing Mike Godspeed on his recovery. Shelley
Posted on Thank you for the update on Mike. I hope that his pain diminishes quickly. Tell him that I am keeping him in my thoughts and prayers.
Take care
Nancy
Posted on Hello there – thinking of you and Mike on this recovery journey and wishing you both ease and swift healing of this physical and emotional trauma. with very best wishes, janet
Posted on I thank you so very much for giving us a very detailed report on Mike’s surgery and his status at this time. We have all been thinking of him and wishing him well. I’m sure it will not be a quick recovery, but I hope and pray that it will be without complications and that he will see small improvements day by day. Please pass along to him that he is in my thoughts and prayers and I am looking forward to seeing him back on the blog ASAP! Take care Mike and may God bless.
Martha
Posted on Mike we are all thinking of you. Heal up fast. Sending you all kinds of healthy vibes.
Posted on Mike and family, Glad that the surgery went well.
I had a permanent colostomy on Dec 28th 2009.
The stoma size does shrink, and has in the last few weeks. I hope to order wafers that are pre-cut cutting one step off the process.
I still have a hard time mentally dealing with this, but they tell me that this will be easier with time. I hope that you are well and back on your feet quickly
Posted on Mike, my husband was diagnosed with anal cancer a year ago and we found out yesterday it might have recurred. He may have to have a colostomy. I’m wondering if you could give me an update on how you’re doing. I’m trying to find out what we’re in store for—not that all cases are the same. But, I would really like to have more information if I can find it. Anything you’d be willing to share with me would be greatly appreciated.
January 15, 2010
Hello everyone, and Happy new years!
This is my first post in a while, I am happy to report that radiation healing was pretty quick and I have been very fortunate in that I was able to enjoy the Christmas holidays reasonably well. Since then it has been back to the whirl wind of Dr.’s appointments with the urologist, which has given my bladder and prostate a clean bill of health (thank goodness) oncologists, that tell me my tumour has shrunk from a softball size to a golf ball, again good news, and I’ve met with my surgeon again, who is very pleasant and confident. I have coped this far by only taking one step at a time as too much information is too overwhelming. So the next step is surgery, which is scheduled for next Friday Jan 22nd. I’ve been given a great deal of information about the surgery (more than I really want) and a look at life after surgery. In the short term it is very intimidating to me, I’m having a hard time sleeping with my mind drifting all day and night, but I know this is short term and I think I’m ready (like it matters if I am or not!) I have a lot of questions about living with a colostomy and how it all works. It seems that it is an individual question as everyone is different. I know it will end up being one more thing that you just have to learn how to deal with. I am open to any insight that anyone can give though, my biggest concern is being able to swim and hiding it in the summer as I hate wearing shirts when it’s hot out. I understand some people can sort of train things and time it to within an hour every day or two. Like I said earlier I can only deal with one thing at a time, but recently realized that my next round of chemo starts on March 1st and runs for 18 weeks, which is until the end of June if all goes well. I hadn’t really looked that far ahead yet, but again one thing at a time.
Mike H
Hi Mike,
I am happy to hear that you have healed nicely from radiation. I wish I could help you with your question on colostomies. I can however keep you in my thoughts and prayers!
Take care
Nancy
Hi Mike,
You’re in my prayers too. I know there are people on the blog who have dealt with colostomies so hopefully they will chime in with some helpful information. In the meantime, I can send you my positive thoughts for your continued healing and progress.
Warmly,
Ruth
Posted on Mike—
It’s certainly good to hear from you again and I’m glad you are having a quick recovery from the radiation. It sounds like you are prepared for the next step—at least as prepared as one can be—and ready to accept the challenges that lie ahead. I am sure that you will be able to overcome these in given time, once you get through the adjustment period. I have limited knowledge about colostomies, but do know that they can be irrigated on a regular basis to allow one to just cover the opening with a patch. From what I have heard from others in the past, this may take a little practice and pre-planning, but is very doable. I hope you have a good ostomy nurse lined up who can help you with these issues and teach you how to make this possible for you. I will certainly be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers for a successful surgery next Friday. I hope you will let us know how it goes when you are up to it. Take care.
Martha
Hi Mike.
So good to hear from you! You sounds good and are reminding yourself of the one moment at a time mantra.. Excellent. When we look too far ahead, things can seem overwhelming.
I know a women who went on to have surgery and has a bag and she is doing very well with it. In fact, she is living very fully and feels so good that she just got this done and got rid of the cancer. She has learned what she can and cannot eat, when to eat etc. etc. It would be great if your docs could hook you up with someone who has a bag also. My friend Leigh said this helped her tremendously. If you can’t find anyone, I would be glad to see if Leigh can be an email buddy with you.
I don’t know about the bathing suit thing. When I’ve been around Leigh she does usually have loose fitting clothes on and to tell you the truth I’d never know.
You sound good Mike and that makes us all happy.
Nova
Posted on I think I forgot to mention that you might also want to get your hormones checked. You may need some supplementation just like us women and it will make you feel so much better and sleep better. You could also try melatonine to kind of reset things…about 5mg. After the surgery, if you are able, get with a good naturopath. All of htis is a lot for you body to go thru and it needs healing inside out.
best,
nova
Hi Mike – thinking of you today as you go through with the surgery. Sending all best wishes to you for a great outcome and swift healing.
Best wishes, janet
Thanks for your support - 
