Hey everyone - I posted an update on some other forums so will include it here as well...Thanks everyone. I just returned home last night after six days in the hospital, most of that time on an IV and a clear liquid diet (broth and clear Ensure). The surgery went well, but the tumor was larger than the surgeon expected and it had wrapped itself around one pair of the mesenteric arteries and veins. But he said it did not look like cancer. A week later and the pathologists are still not sure just what it is, but are fairly certain it is not cancer. It was growing slowly but have no idea how long it had been in there. Whatever it is, it is apparently very rare to find one in a living person. Maybe they'll name it after me.
I have developed a new appreciation for what goes on inside the mesentery. It is the principal factory where our food is burned and provides our body's energy. The superior mesenteric artery and vein split off just below the aorta and vena cava. This is where your body decides whether to direct blood supply to your arms and legs to do work, or direct it to the bowel for digestion. Hence your stomach hurts after physical exertion or you feel tired after eating. All this runs deep within the abdomen, near the spine. I lost about
10% of my small bowel and one branch of the blood supply, so I still tire easily and sleep a lot.
My roommate at the hospital had a sigmoid resection for colon cancer the same morning as me, but he was eating normal food within a few days and was discharged a day earlier. My prayers are for him, as he still has to go thru chemo and whatever else lies ahead. But just as not all prostate cancer is the same, not all bowel disorders are the same. I can rest easy knowing that whatever it is that the surgeon took out, it is no longer growing and the pains I still feel are not caused by cancer. That is a tremendous relief.
I see the surgeon in another week or two for a checkup. Hopefully by then the pathologists will have a name for it. I suspect that if it were cancer then it would already have a name. But at this rate I should be in good shape by Thanksgiving. Thank you everyone for your thoughts, and thank you Gary for posting my status. I'll keep in touch.
Post Edited (RobLee) : 11/6/2018 8:01:58 AM (GMT-7)