Many of you already know about my battle with Stage IV colon cancer. After three years of holding it at bay, he finally gained the upper hand. There are no chemotherapy options available at this time. Even if chemotherapy is an option, it is dangerous to use it. Because my liver is on the verge of failing and I’m at risk of liver failure no matter what kind of chemotherapy I use. All treatments have now been completed.
During my final visit to Mayo last week, I was told by the oncology team that I had two to three months to live, or up to six months, depending on who you ask.
So far, I’ve been doing relatively well. Although I’m not in pain yet (something that continues to baffle doctors), I find myself getting tired quickly and feeling tired pretty constantly.
The problem is that the tumor is pressing on the small bile ducts in the liver. This means that the tumor cannot process waste products and send bile to the larger tubes and ultimately to the digestive tract.
Bilirubin is a compound that breaks down dead red blood cells and is filtered from the blood by the liver. Because the bile ducts are blocked, the liver can’t process bile and it builds up in the bloodstream. Eventually it causes jaundice (I am already in the early stages of jaundice and the whites of my eyes have a slight yellow tinge. I can only clearly see the jaundice if I take off my glasses and look closely in bright light) . Fatigue is also one of the symptoms. Eventually, cognitive function may begin to decline. Bilirubin apparently contains ammonia, but ammonia doesn’t interact well with brain cells.
So what about me? Are you okay. When I was diagnosed, I accepted the fact that it was a possibility. Her five-year survival rate for this type of cancer is only 17%, so that was likely from the beginning. Immediately after I was diagnosed with cancer, I decided that I couldn’t live with this cancer for the rest of my life, and despite surgery and chemotherapy, I managed to live a normal life. I continued working for two and a half of the three years. I certainly want to live past 53, but 53 isn’t a bad age, and I’m satisfied that I was able to do some good in the world during this time.
Speaking of which, thanks to everyone who contributed to my GoFundMe efforts, we ended up raising three times more than our original goal. Books for elementary schools have been ordered and are expected to arrive in about a week. The remainder will be distributed to three underfunded school libraries, giving them the opportunity to expand or modernize their collections for the benefit of their students.
Anyway, you’ll probably be seeing me at DKos for a while yet – I just don’t know how long.
And this doesn’t mean I’m giving up. That means I’m at a disadvantage, but hey, underdogs surprise you sometimes. As far as this gun is concerned, I have one thing to say right now – as the football hooligans say, “If you think you can try hard enough, go for it!”
Until next time, stay curious.
