Diary of a young colon cancer patient - Diagnosis
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How Did We Find Out What Was Going On?
"Let me tell you a littl about myself. As of this writing, I am a 20-something femal living in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. My goal is to trave the world and pursue a career in the theatre. So far, I hav been to thirteen European countries, Canada, and quite a bi of the United States. As for the acting, well, starving isn' for me! My career consists primarily of stage work, whic doesn't pay in Minneapolis. So I have to hold down a norma job. (In a casino, a truly abnormal environment).     :-)

In November 99, I began t notice a persistent need to go to the bathroom. This wa accompanied by red blood in the bowl and mucus-like stool. figured that stress or diet was to blame. At the time, I ha no health insurance and little money to see a doctor.

Two months later fatigu was added to my list of symptoms. Even with a proper night' sleep and decent food, I would still feel drained of energy Again, I thought, it must be the stress of my workplace. decided that it was time to seek professional medical advice.

Minnesota has severa sliding-fee clinics for people like myself. My docto initially diagnosed me with constipation and hemorrhoids. Sh told me that cancer was out of the question because onl older people get it. For a while, life was relatively normal Then, suddenly, my bowel habits went right back to where the had started. It was horrid! I constantly felt a need to us the toilet, where I would spend a good 10-20 minutes tryin to pass something. Only blood and mucus would come out. M family and I would go out to dinners where any type of foo caused cramping and gas. Worst of all, there would be time when runny stool discharged itself into my underwear. It wa humiliating. I didn't want to tell anyone at work, so I woul sneak off the floor several times a day to use the toilet The stress of being caught and labeled a slacker wasn' helping matters.

The community clini doctor then referred me to a colorectal surgeon. By now, i was April and I was very upset that no one could tell me wha my problem was. I knew that the surgeon would be expensiv for an uninsured person. On the day of my exam, the surgeo found an anal fissure which prevented a thorough exam. H gave me some medication with the assurance that I probabl just had a problem with my diet, since young people don't ge cancer. So now I had to suffer even longer while the fissur healed.

In May, 4 months afte this had all started, I finally got my much needed exam. H did a procto exam (finger where the sun doesn't shine). Thi was followed by a flexible sigmoidoscopy, in which a scope i inserted into the rectum and the lower part of the larg intestine. OUCH! I couldn't figure out why the doctor wa taking so long. (Later, I found out that he was taking biops samples.)

I should have known i would be bad when the doctor asked me if anyone ha accompanied me that day. When he came into his office, th doctor was visibly upset. "You have a large mass in you rectum- -and its cancer." Know what? I started laughing What irony- the one thing we dismissed all along turns out t be the culprit. In a few seconds reality set in and I starte crying. "Am I going to die"? was my first question It didn't help much when my doctor told me that he didn' know. Having your whole world suddenly upended is a strang feeling. I had bills to pay, a play to direct, and a possibl new boyfriend. Suddenly it all seemed lost. Oh yes- and ho the hell was I going to pay for lifesaving treatment? Because this was clearly an advanced case, I was schedule for further exams the next day to determine the spread of th cancer.

My first exam was a recta ultrasound, an experience similar to Hell's waiting room. Th exam consists of a finger probe, then a scope is inserte into the rectum, through which a rubber "balloon" is passed. The balloon inflates to allow a better view Normally this would be slightly uncomfortable. When you'v got a large tumor partially blocking the rectum it becomes horribly painful. It seemed like an eternity because th doctor wanted to get several readings- and he tried to ge the scope past the tumor! OUCH! OUCH! OUCH! Afterward ther was a good deal of bleeding that would last for half the day I just about freaked when this particular doctor estimated m chances at 50/50. Now I had a three hour wait for the CA scan. Some very kind nurses set me up in an exam room wit some warm blankets so I would not have to sit and bleed i the waiting room. At that time I was paid a visit by th hospital social worker to discuss emergency state medica aid. Very discouraging. It seems that Minnesota will onl give full aid to those who make $470 or less per month Otherwise, they assign you a percentage of the bills based o your gross income. Gross income? Hmm, they want to includ all the money that I pay them in taxes? It was explained tha this method was the fairest way to do it, since some peopl have many more deductions from their paychecks. Certainly i would be too much work indeed to look at one's pay stub an adjust deductions. If you agree that this is wrong, pleas visit my "links" page and email your congressmen.

There is much less to fea from CAT scans and chest X-rays. An X-ray requires n preparation and is over in a minute. As for the CAT scan, yo have to drink large amounts of contrast to colour the larg intestine. While in the machine, you will be injected wit radioactive isotopes. Yes- all this and you get a shot, too A CAT scan takes about 20 minutes, during which you will fee an extreme need to pee out the large amounts of liquid tha you ingested for the exam. Otherwise, there is no discomfort.

Some hours later, m community doctor called me with the results: the tumor wa large, but had not metastasized (spread). My chances o survival were up to 75%! Even though learning about my cance flipped my world upside down, I felt much better. No mor uncertainty and guessing about what was wrong with me."

 
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