All went well. Dr. Said based on what he saw it was good to remove. Pretty tiny opening in colon could have been easily blocked. About pinky sized. Also could see the liver and some of the reduced lesions. Dont know if that means anything. Got things put back together without any issues. 1-2 percent chance of leaking in this type of procedure. Sarah could go home as soon as wednesday. Scott

Hello, My Fabulous Family and Friends!
How are all of you??? Hope you’re all well. We’ve had a gorgeous fall and a beautiful start to winter here in MN. I love this warmer weather. Bring on the global warming!
I’m feeling very well. The neuropathy in my fingers and feet (caused by the chemo) is s….l....o….w...l….y…. improving. I’m still dumb as a post, thanks to chemo brain—at least that’s what I’m claiming--but that’s “supposed” to improve, too. I certainly hope so. I feel very UNintelligent these days!
In my last update, my tumor markers were down and I was about to have my colonoscopy and CT scan. Here’s my attempt at a quick update:
The colon tumor is still there (but smaller). It was biopsied and the biopsy came back clear of cancer (however, cancer cells may still be hiding in the portion that wasn’t biopsied). However, the tumor is partially blocking my colon, which doesn’t cause any significant troubles at this time except that I can feel some dull pain in the tumor area after I eat.
The CT scan showed no clear evidence of disease progression but my liver lesions and lung lesion are still there.
Now the not-so-great news: my CEA tumor marker numbers have increased…9 in October, 41 in November and 203 as of yesterday. This is a little disheartening. However, the Oncologist explained that it’s likely a different form of the cancer and this cancer may have a different scale in regard to the tumor markers. For example, the cancer that reacted very well to the chemo may have produced 1 tumor marker per one cell of cancer. This one may produce 50 tumor markers for each cancer cell. Either way, I still have cancer. Bummer!
Surgery wasn’t going to be performed to remove the tumor. However, because it’s a stricture and could possibly block my colon, my Oncologist wants it done now to avoid an emergency surgery when I’m in the middle of chemo and my body won’t be as able to fight off infection.
So…I’m having surgery (a laparoscopic right hemicolectomy) this Monday (12/21) to remove the tumor. I was fortunate to get in so quickly. I can’t begin chemo until 4 weeks post op; so, the sooner the better. Our hope is that the cancer cells are in the tumor and will be excised with the surgery. However, if not, then I will be doing chemo again. Sigh. I have another CT scan in January to check for disease progression. My Oncologist predicted correctly that I would probably have to restart chemo 6 months after my last chemo. How much I wish he was wrong.
So, there’s the update. Not the best, but not the worst, either. It can ALWAYS be worse! This was expected.
As we all know, God is in control of all. I see his hand in everything that’s happened and I see all the amazing things He’s done to make this experience bearable. For example, He’s allowed me to see how wonderful all of you are. Thank you for being my friends and my support group and my go-to buddies. Your encouraging notes and prayers have been priceless. I know God hears them. Please continue them. They really help!
Oh yeah, the good news: I’ll be about 0.8 lbs. lighter with the 8 inches of colon they’ll remove. Yes! No-treadmill-required weight loss. Perfect![...]