A Story

A few of you are already aware of this, but I know the majority are still in the dark. I have a story to share with you and it starts back in December...

I'd first like to say that some elements of this story are sort-a gross. Some of you may like to know them and others not, but I'm including them either way.

Anyways....

Back in December I noticed that my bowel movements were not as they should be (yes, "bowel," as in involving the large intestine and poo). Instead of nice, healthy stools, I was seeing very few stools and quite a bit of blood. So, Mom and I went to the doctors. The doctor examined me a bit and said it was probably constipation. She prescribed me some laxative and I went home embarrased about having to go to the doctors for something as trivial as constipation.

Well, I was taking the laxative and at first it seemed to be working some, but not a whole lot. There was still blood. Eventually I just stopped taking it because it wasn't really doing anything. I proceeded to live the next few months with my irregular bowel movements and bloody stools; afterall, it didn't hurt and didn't seem to be affecting me much in any way.

Now it was about midsummer and I reminded my mother that something still wasn't right with my gut and that we should probably get the problem corrected before I headed off to Iowa State University.

Again we went to the doctors. They ended up referring me to the gastroenterology division where I was examined by a Dr. Loftus, who sent me to have blood drawn, an abdominal X-ray, and collect stool samples (gross, yes, I know). After that was all said and done, Dr. Loftus revealed to me that I had an intestinal colitis and that I was a bit anemic. A colitis is basically an imbalance in the intestine of good and bad bacteria. Nothing too serious. He prescribed me some pills and said to take them four times a day for two weeks. So I did just that. Again, at first they seemed to be doing something, but in the end there was still blood and the stools weren't normal.

I returned to Dr. Loftus for a follow-up appointment. I tell him that something must still be wrong: the medicine didn't work. He said the next step was a colonoscopy and a CT-scan of my lower half. A colonoscopy involves specialized doctors sticking a tube up your bum and examining the inside via a little camera attached to the end of the tube. They also take tissue samples with a minute clamp when need be.

I was awake, yet sedated, for the colonoscopy, so I got to watch what they were doing on the screen. It was weird, but kind-a cool. I remember hearing the doctor during the colonoscopy saying something about an "anomoly." That made me a bit apprehensive when we went to visit Dr. Loftus again.

The news was not good. They had found a tumor. It rings around my large intestine about twelve centimeters up from my rectum. What was more, there are dark spots on my liver. The cancer has probably spread. I still have the colitis and am anemic as well. By the way, the day I learned this was this past Friday, July 28. That was all the details that Dr. Loftus gave me. He referred me to the division of oncology, where they deal with cancer patients to learn more.

So this morning (Monday, July 31) I finally got some concrete details about what's going.
1. Cancer Type: Andocarcinoma
2. Stage: 4
3. Current known locations of cancer: large intestine, liver, and hip
4. Treatment: chemotherapy; possible surgery to remove tumor in intestine

That is what I know so far. Today I had another CT-scan of my upper half to check that it hasn't spread to my lungs and tomorrow I have a bone scan.

I guess we'll see how things go. The doctors have promised me that having a "normal" life is no longer in my future and that my plans for school will probably be altered some.

So that's my story. I hope I didn't gross you out too much, but now you know everything that I know.

I'll be sure to post updates, add useful information, and keep in touch with all of you to answer any questions/comments.

~Cheryl