3 different doctors told us my wife’s colon needed to be removed. This ongoing ordeal began last spring when she sent a fecal sample to Cologuard, a company that advertises frequently since the medical establishment has become fixated on reducing deaths from colon cancer. The results found genetic markers suggesting my wife might have colon cancer. The doctor ordered a colonoscopy. This procedure entails sticking a camera up a person’s ass. The doctor also removes polyps to be biopsied, while they are looking for possible cancerous tumors. Doctors normally find 1 or 2 polyps in most people, and most polyps are not cancerous. The doctor found hundreds of polyps in my wife’s colon–too many to remove at once because there would be an increased risk of perforating the intestinal wall. None of the polyps they removed or looked at were cancerous, but the gastroenterologist called them “pre-cancerous,” and he told us there was a “100% chance” she would develop colon cancer. He told us her colon should be removed.
My wife has hundreds of pre-cancerous polyps in her colon. Doctors want to remove her colon because they can’t biopsy them all.
I researched the subject before we decided to follow the doctor’s orders. It didn’t make sense to me that doctors would want to perform such a drastic procedure when they didn’t even find cancer. The average age of a person developing colon cancer is 71, and my wife is only 61. Why go through such an invasive operation before she might even get sick? Serious surgery could make her get sick when she wasn’t sick prior to the operation. I could find no studies that show pre-emptive colectomies (the term for colon removal) decreased mortality rates. Her surgeon later explained to me this data didn’t exist because most people get colectomies when their doctors tell them they need it. I also researched colon cancer, and it is scary. Colon cancer can spread to other organs and cause people to sicken and die within a few years. We consulted with our family doctor, and he concurred with the gastroenterologist. He explained the colon is located so near the liver that cancer could easily spread to this organ. My wife decided to have the operation based on our family doctor’s concurrence, and I didn’t object. Though I am skeptical, I’m not a doctor and I defer to their expertise. If I had this issue, I wouldn’t go through all this medical torture and would be content to take a dirt nap when my body naturally failed me, but I can understand why people fear death. Besides, what if I influenced her not to have the procedure, then she developed colon cancer? How would we feel about that decision? The regret might poison our relationship, and I might become wracked with guilt.
We went to meet the gastro-intestinal surgeon, and he agreed with the other 2 doctors, but he wanted to perform a colonoscopy himself, so he could determine what kind of colectomy would be best. If pre-cancerous polyps were found throughout the entire colon, he would remove it completely, and she would have to wear a plastic bag that collected her waste. Fortunately, he found no pre-cancerous polyps in her rectum and the bottom part of her colon, and he determined he would be able to perform a bowel resection–a procedure that involves connecting the small intestine with the remaining part of the colon. Nobody wants to wear a bag of shit, if it can be avoided.
This is the surgery my wife is going to have. The hospital estimates the cost will be $64,000, but our insurance company is going to cover it entirely. The insurance company isn’t going to pay anything close to $64,000, but if we didn’t have insurance, we would receive the bill in its entirety. What a bunch of crooks.
This is what the surgery looks like. I hope I didn’t ruin your appetite for Thanksgiving dinner.
We scheduled the surgery. It is officially called a hand assisted laparoscopic subtotal colectomy. A laparoscope is used, so they don’t have to make a large incision. Instead, the surgeon makes a smaller incision and inserts a camera that allows him to work without opening her up all the way. A urologist will also perform a procedure to prevent her urethra from being damaged during the surgery. The surgeon will remove most of her colon and suture her small intestine to her remaining colon, probably using absorbable sutures made from polyglycolic acid. The surgery will take 3-4 hours, and my wife will have to stay in the hospital for 3-5 days. The suture between the intestines is known as an anastomosis. The most common complication is leakage at the anastomosis. She won’t be allowed to leave the hospital until she has a bowel movement that proves the surgery was successful, but the opiate pain killers they give her will shut down her digestive system. They will administer additional drugs that will counter this side effect.
The first successful bowel resection was performed by Jean Reybard during 1825, but the Paris Academy of Medicine condemned the risky operation. Until the late 19th century, patients with intestinal injuries were left to die (given up to God, as they referred to it), but with the widespread use of anesthesia, medical science advanced. The surgeon rates my wife’s prognosis as good. Without the procedure he rates her prognosis as “unknown.”
We met a pre-op nurse who gave instructions along with a bag of special Ensure drinks to build up my wife’s immune system a week before the surgery. The nurse seemed a little too delighted. She was thorough, but her syrupy attitude struck me as oddly enthusiastic. It made me wonder what she’s really like at home. The crazy nurse from Stephen King’s novel, Misery, maybe? We have to be at the hospital at 6 am the day before the surgery, so the doctor can mark the spot of the anastomosis with a dye. This requires yet another colonoscopy. The day of the surgery we have to be there at 5 am–literally a nightmare. I’m an old man, and I hate driving in the dark. The sugary nurse told us we couldn’t bring a futon for me to sleep upon, but I am going to try to break that rule. If I have to sleep on a chair for 3 nights, I will be furious. I’m putting this blog on hiatus until next year. Going through this ordeal is going to be all consuming, and I don’t feel like working on it.
GeorgiaBeforePeople 