Quick Food Post

I was reminded that the meatball sandwich on my eating hit list from my prior cancel should have been updated to be a meatball sub from Vinies in Elmira.  At the time I was unaware of the culinary excellence that is the Vincenzo's meatball sub.  If you ever get to Elmira it is worth checking out.  I can note that my last lunch before surgery was a dressed hamburger with bacon and cheese from the Elbow Room in Elmira.  Probably one of the best burger spots in the area and if you ever get to Elmira it is also worth checking out. 

Recovery Day 1

Everything went fine with the surgery yesterday. The urologist went out to talk to Sue and once again mentioned the cure rate for this type cancer is 95%. Big time yippee! for that. Probably the most stressful thing about the surgery was the anticipation (i.e. abject fear) of getting the spinal anesthesia and being sliced into.  Fortunately the anesthetist came in a talked to me before hand and I went over my concerns. The anesthetist was able to look up the sedation they used for my past procedures.  They ended up doing sedation with the spinal.  The last thing I remember is them sitting me up for the spinal. Have I mentioned that one of my favorite things about anesthesia is the amnesia effect?  There are many things in life that would benefit from that.   

Anyway back to the surgery. Being a frequent visitor to the outpatient surgery unit (17 times and counting) over the last few years I was familiar with the process. That actually helped out. Prior to getting there I was a bit stressed out about the surgery but once they walked me back to the prep area that all seemed to disappear. At that point I was in a process that I had been through before and was pretty familiar with. A nurse that knew me from my prior visits came out and got me from the waiting area and got me situated.  Nothing like being known by your first name when you go in for surgery. 

Because of the spinal it took longer to recover from surgery than before. Basically it numbs you from the waist on down. One odd thing about that was they asked if I could start to move my toes and I did but I mentioned that my calves felt like every now and then there was something like a blood pressure cuff on them. Sure enough they had these contraptions on my calves that looked like shin pads that would inflate every few minutes. They were there to help with circulation.  

One of the other differences from the other procedures I had before is that I was able to eat right afterwards.  With the procedures on my throat I wasn’t able to eat much at  and my throat was very sore.  Not so this time.  When the nurse offered a cup of custard I of course said yes… three times… along with 3 coffees as well. J  Nothing like coffee and custard to help with the anesthesia hangover.  

Probably the most notable thing about the surgery so far has been that I have been able to get up and around without any pain.  I did take two of the prescribed pain killers yesterday but after that I have just taken ibuprofen.   In some ways it’s like the fistula repair I had after the PEG tube was removed.  I can feel where the surgery was and need to be cautious but there isn’t any pain.  It’s definitely not what I expected.  I thought it would be a lot worse. I can also get around the house pretty well. 

As for the cancer stuff I won’t know any more about that until the end of the week.  Two more blood tests came back that look for markers for Testicular cancer and they were both in the normal range.  They send out the testicle they removed for testing and I won’t know the results of that or the last blood test until later in the week.  After that they turn me over to the oncologist for more tests to see if any follow up treatment is needed.

Quick Update

The surgery this morning went off without a hitch.  As always one of the benefits of anesthesia is the amnesia effect.  I remember nothing of the surgery.  Big time yippee! for that.  I am able to get around more than I thought I would be able to.  While it is tender in the area of the surgery I can walk around for small intervals, go up and down stairs and in general get around much better than I had thought i would be able to.  While they told me this is like surgery for a hernia I think the impact is going to be less. 

Cancer II The Sequel

So like any good movie there has to be a sequel.  There seem to be two ways sequels go.  The first is a continuation of the same story the second is a different story of the same type maybe involving the same characters.  In my case I choose the second option and have been diagnosed with testicular cancer.  

Like the first movie the plot line is also about cancer with some of the same characters.  New to the case is my urologist.  More about that in a bit.   

The way this came about is I went in for my checkup with the oncologist and I had been noticing a tightening / pulling sensation in my groin for a while.  The oncologist did the normal checkup for the first cancer I did have (also the namesake of this blog) and ordered up the normal blood work.  He also did a groin exam and ordered up an ultrasound.  Fast forward a week and I had the ultrasound.  The oncologist offices are in the same building and my oncologist happened to be there at that time so they asked me to wait to see him.  BTW It’s never a good thing when you have a test and they ask you to hang around to see the oncologist.  It's not like he wants to ask you how your golf game is going .

So it turns out the ultrasound in the groin revealed cancer in the left testicle.  They immediately set me up with an appointment to see the urologist the next morning.  Talk about being on the express train.  I think the normal process is to see your regular doctor, then the urologist, then get the ultrasound and then see the oncologist.  I went from the oncologist to the ultrasound to the urologist in about a week.  Getting a bit ahead of myself (spoiler alert!) I have surgery scheduled for Friday.

Anyways back to the plot line.  This morning I met with the Urologist and he pretty much confirmed what the oncologist thought.  He went over the treatment options (and I use the term options very lightly) with me.  Basically the first step is surgery to remove the testicle that has cancer in it.  They then evaluate that to see what type it is.  There are two types seminomas and non-seminoma.  The seminomas type is slower growing and less likely to spread to other parts of the body.  They won't know what type I have until they look at it under a microscope but the thought is that it is the seminoma type.  

The surgery is outpatient surgery and similar in scope to surgery to repair a hernia.  I won't be able to drive for a few days and it will be 3-4 weeks until I can resume normal physical activities.

After the surgery they will do some tests, blood work and CT Scans, to see if it has spread to other areas.  If it has then the treatment is chemo and / or radiation.  I am told that it is nothing like what I have been through with my other cancer so big time yippee! for that.

Once again the team approach is used for treating cancer.  So far the cast of characters includes myself and my oncologist along with his staff from the first movie.  The urologist is new for this movie and seems to be a good guy.  He is considered the best in this area for this type of thing.  If there is a need for radiation we will have to get a new actor to play the part as my radiation oncologist has moved on to other things as in out of the state.  Once the surgery is done the urologist turns me over to the oncologist who handles the rest of the program from there.   It’s kinda like a space flight.  The guys at Cape Canaveral handle the blast off and then turn it over the Houston for the rest of the trip.  

The overall cure rate is somewhere between 95% and 99% depending upon who you ask.  In general the prognosis in my case looks to be pretty good.    Having been through this before I am less anxious about the treatments and what follows.  The treatment I had for nasopharyngeal cancer was one of the more nasty treatment programs.  Things that have been discussed here are maybe one or two chemo treatments that are lighter than what I went through and maybe 3 weeks of radiation once again lighter and only if needed.    As with the first movie the thing I am most anxious about is the surgery.  

So I had thought I would just let this blog fade into the land of lost internet blogs  never to be updated again.  Instead its getting dusted off for the sequel.   Personally I thought the first movie didn’t need a sequel. Let’s just hope this doesn’t become a trilogy.  J