My Cancer journey continues.

Status: Stage IV Colorectal with Mets in the left lung and posterior pleural wall soft tissue. Inoperable, incurable, and seeking palliative care while I can.

I went in to have my first round of palliative chemo today to find that my freshly installed medical port isn't working. It looks kinked on today's x-ray, compared to last Thursday.

Backstory

For anyone just tuning in for the first time:
From ~2015-2020 I kept going into the VA with complaints of lower back pain and occasional red stool water. Lose weight, here's some hemorrhoid cream, was the docs response.

2020, age 40, was when my bowl movements started getting very painful. After a year of hearing me complain, Mrs went into the doc appointment with me and gave the doc an earful. Late summer of 21, I finally got a endoscopy which had a 7 cm tumor just inside my rectum.

That winter I had radiation treatment and pill chemotherapy. Spring of 22 I had a foot of my large intestine removed, with an ileostomy.

Summer of 22 was chemotherapy. Infusion and oral. It sucked.

Fall of 22 my ileostomy was reversed and I officially was in remission.

Periodic CT scans showed growths in my lungs in 2024. I went to the VA for treatment, and they referred me out locally for surgery. The doc they referred me to said that he'd basically need to cut my back from down by my mid side, up, and around the ... Umm... Around the ... (He turned and looked to his medical assistant) scapula?. Yes scapula!

Soon afterwards I went to MD Anderson. They got me in April and June for lung lower lobe resections.

In November of 25 a new spot was found growing in my left lung by CT. In December another in the soft pleural wall tissue, found via PET scan. Early January determined it wasn't surgically viable.

MD Anderson said that it also wasn't a good candidate for any medical trials.

That should bring us back to getting my port last week.

I think the word is spelled "spatula"

medical port isn't working. It looks kinked on today's x-ray

Did you not shell out for Premium Plus Diamond tier medical port? Added benefits include 100% kink-free?
I hope they have this fixed soon
Sorry sounds like a shitty day

It's just another delay in my life extending treatment, no biggie

Hope they get your port straitened out.

You get that any humor or general lack-of-seriousness I attempt to use in here is a coping mechanism right? It's kinda my go-to. And yes indeed; F Cancer.

Oh of course! If I didn't have dark humor I'd have run out by now.

and around the ... Umm... Around the ...

im not sure how i would have handled that moment
but i can tell you it would have been awkward

🩷

butterknife said:

and around the ... Umm... Around the ...

im not sure how i would have handled that moment
but i can tell you it would have been awkward

I'm picturing Zap Brannigan as the surgeon and Kiff as the assistant.

Any organs we can all be like on the lookout for or something man?

Mich respect WG.
Fuck cancer.

God damn, Fuck cancer. Good luck WG!

ghoast said:

I think the word is spelled "spatula"

I don't know why this got me laughing so hard.

I've now got a fever of 100.7 and have had liquid shit for over a day. And I didn't even get any chemo yet.

I am sure you know 100.4 is fever. You need to tell a doctor.

Fever dropped over night. 100.2 at 3, 99.2 at 6.

Woke with severe abdominal pain and decided to go to the ER.

Had a CT, labs, stool sample, and IV acetaminophen and fluids.

Waiting on results of various now.

fuck man can u catch a break
pls

sorry to hear- i hope its a gas bubble or something dumb

Fuck all of those things too.

Most of my mom's immediate concerns with her cancer revolve around pooping and such. So that's what we talk about these days.

Not the flu or COVID, both negative. Stool sample was too yellow so that's something. Still waiting.

Port surgery to correct it moved from tomorrow to Monday. Need to update chemo depending on that.

Unless my colon is just pure cancer now at which point I guess I can just die.

"too yellow" has me imagining you pooped a Simpson

Abraham Shitson

Rotovirus

So not cancer related this time

Oh. Rotavirus.

rotivirus mmmm

feel better dude

oh man
hope your poop becomes a better color soon
and that everything is going as well as it can

Hey man
I love you and thanks for all the fish

Hey.

You made a difference. A bunch of strangers in this crazy world are better off for having you in it.

These little things are how you measure a man's success.

If you leave, you leave as a net positive for us, for your family and for humankind.

If you leave, your family was lucky to have you.

And regardless of what is ahead, thanks for being one of the good ones.

My port correction procedure was moved to Monday the 23rd, and now my first infusion isn't until Mar 3rd.

So I've known I've had this inoperable incurable tumor next to my spine since November, but I'm not getting palliative treatment started until four months later. Palliative care that should keep me alive for 8-12 months.

How am I currently still upright?

Why didn't they do infusions right away?

Chemo's expensive shit. You gotta let it breathe

First they wanted to make sure the new spot was for sure cancer. Delay 1 - PET scan.

Then they wanted to verify it was the same cancer, not another one with different treatment options. Delay 2 - Biopsy.

Both of those compounded by Christmas and New Year's.

Then they wanted to see if there were any medical trials, nope.

Then scheduling for my infusion port.

Then the port didn't work so redo on that.

🎶 Navigating the American Health Care System 🎶

decanting his chemo like a sir

i must have misread your posts because i didn't gather it was next to your spine ughh

grooves, wanted to come on here and say fuck cancer

Meanwhile the hooray for cancer thread is a ghost town. I think that really says somethin ya know

Ah shit man, glad to see you're still around

Right about there.

When you said port I guess I imagined something IV. But direct spinal access. Thats crazy

That’s different. You are right. The port would go in his chest wall. That picture you’re seeing is probably the biopsy? I’m not sure.

I’m also high as giraffe pussy right now so this could all be on me

Correct,

My port is under the right chest wall. The tumor is on the back.

My bad on the lack of clarity.

"wanna know how i got these scars?"
-the jester

They had to pull it and put a new one in. I'm quite sore today.

*eye blinking emoji*

Congrats on the new port
How are your upload speeds? Low latency i hope?
Best test would be if you can enjoy a live event without Neflix flaking out

Just joshing. I know you're not getting the good stuff just yet. A few more days. But I do know a guy wears a trench coat and psst psst can get you anything you need for a blowie

so the nurse pulled out this time
that was considerate

Imagine if it's like a USB port and they go to start Chemo and "whoops no it's backwards again"

Mrs had a bit of a breakdown over me confirming my appointment with palliative care.

The toll that fucking disease takes on friends & Family is terrible, let alone to those of us going through it.

Being immersed in Cancer since 2018, from an outside viewpoint.
i can imagine, but.........................then i cant since i'm not psychically effected.
I'm following your journey Alden
I care for Nancy, and try to keep as much of her freedoms as i can intact.
i'm here in OK, just south of Tulsa. If i can help in anyway, pls PM me and we'll see if that can happen