This whole thing has happened so quickly that the recent past is a blur. This timeline is as much for me as for you!
1953 - April 2007: Nothing amiss in the duodenal area at all. Zero impact on life!
13-15 April 2007: Weekend in the Hunter Valley with the Anda family. First symptoms are a couple of severe vomitting attacks.
16 April: Made appointment with GP
18 April: barium meal, followed by GP consult. Booked into hospital next day
19 April: first consult with Tony Clarke. Told that an obstruction in that area is not a good thing! Awful sleepless night.
20 April: Gastroscopy reveals growth in third part of the duodenum, which Clarke's "experience" tells him is a primary cancer. Scheduled for CT Scan.
23 April: CT Scan reveals primary cancer, some swollen adjacent lymph nodes ("I'm not sure that these are cancerous") but no secondaries. Scheduled with surgeon following Monday.
30 April: Gaye's Significant Birthday, and met with surgeon Noel Tait at Calvary Hospital. Noel thought he saw a couple of things in the CT scans that we hadn't been aware of yet. He expressed a preliminary view that it might not be operable because of its proximity and possible effect on some of the close-by blood vessels. He also didn't like the look of the lymph nodes. He rides a Ducati! Scheduled me for a PET scan in Sydney.
2 May: Drove to Sydney for a PET Scan, which involves the injection and imaging of a radioactive isotope. 3 hours in a double donut costing $5M bucks! Our health dollars at work at last!
8 May: Today. Quick consult with Noel because he was in his office when I picked up the PET Scan films for the Oncologist. Confirmed that the Cancer was inoperable. The lymph nodes are cancerous, and more are involved than we thought, going up the drainage lines (looks like up past the lungs). Because the field of cancer has spread, cutting out the main cancer would still leave the others. And because of the spreading nature of the metastices, then radiotherapy is not an option (all to be confirmed). Meeting with Oncologist scheduled for Thursday 10 May. Surgery to put in a stent to bypass the Cuckoo (my new name for the interloper - look it up!) is his next preliminary step.
11 May: Meeting of the Case Management Committee that Noel works with to determine their recommendation for resolution of my little problem! More later.
18 May: Stent in place. Put in by Andrew Thompson pre-flight to States. Had hsi tarvel clothes on!
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2 comments:
Tony, you have a great attitude and your Doctor rides a Ducati, very positive. I hope your exercise routine includes some short sharp rides before the weather gets to cold.
Let us know how you go with the Oncologist they are a strange lot - I know I worked in that area for a decade. Some of the people io the oncology area may still remember me, but that was another life and nearly 20 years ago.
Cheers and look after Gaye and yourself.
Tony, Thanks for the blog. You've actually forced me to open my first blog (thought it was a bog with a stick in it!). Appreciate your effort to keep us all in the picture.
I'll keep on eye on you from here. I'm particularly impressed by your meditation and dog walking. I trust it'll fill the gap that medecine doesn't.
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