My Cancer Journey 2

Written in 2010 about my cancer surgery.

Somehow, word started getting out that I was scheduled for cancer surgery. Most of my friends reacted in disbelief because I had always seemed healthy and looked younger than my age. Then all the advice started coming in. Now, I don't mean to bad-mouth things, but this is my take on a lot of this stuff, OK? Someone suggested that I check out alternative treatments in Mexico. I did. They cost a lot of money and don't really have verifiable statistics as to their success. If they worked for others, that is great, but I just didn't have a good feeling about it. Somebody else suggested Cancer Treatment Centers of America. I called them, and found out that if you have insurance, you have to pay a deposit based on your estimated co-payments, and if you don't, you have to pay a deposit of approximately $150,000. OK, I thought, very many phone calls like that and I won't have to have surgery because I will die from shock. The helpful person at the other end of the phone suggested that most people feel their health is important enough to mortgage the house or something. That struck me as pretty funny, since we were already broke and facing loss of our house due to the housing market crash! (When you're in this situation, you dig pretty deep for stuff to laugh at.) So much for the out-of-town treatments.

I received much advice, mostly unsolicited, about various nutritional supplements and natural cures. I tried to give it all a chance, researching it as thoroughly as I could. Many of these products were cost-prohibitive and/or required joining multi-level-marketing type organizations--just what I needed, more paperwork to worry about! One thing I found in my research was particularly upsetting. In my attempts to be healthy, I had spent the last 15 years faithfully consuming products from AIM International, including their BarleyGreen, later BarleyLife, and their Herbal FiberBlend, which ironically enough, was supposed to help keep my colon cleansed, working properly, and parasite-free. My colonoscopy had revealed that I had severe melanosis coli, a condition in which the lining of the colon is stained black. The gastroenterologist advised me that this condition occurs frequently in people who abuse laxatives. I was shocked because I didn't think I did that. Further research revealed that the AIM fiber product, along with many others on the market, contained an herb known to cause melanosis coli: cascara sagrada. I promptly wrote to AIM and received a form letter stating that yes, their product did contain cascara sagrada, but that melanosis coli was generally thought to be harmless and the benefits of the product justified its use. Not satisfied, I continued researching and found that, basically, the jury is still out on whether melanosis coli is an increased cancer risk. Some researchers felt it was totally benign, but some researchers with respected teaching hospitals seemed to feel that, rather than simply being a discoloration, melanosis coli indicated an actual change in the cellular structure of the colon lining, possibly weakening it or making it susceptible to the growth of abnormal cells under certain other conditions. If I was mad before, I was furious now. Something I had done for years, trying to stay healthy, could have contributed to my problem! Lesson learned: Research thoroughly EVERY ingredient in EVERY supplement you use. If you use fiber products or colon cleanse products, be especially wary of the ones that just say "natural vegetable fiber" or "natural plant fiber". That could be where the suspicious ingredients are lurking. Disclaimer: I'm not saying the AIM product caused my cancer. I know people who used it longer than I did and are just fine. I am saying that I wish I had checked the ingredients first and made a more informed decision. Then I would not have to be wondering.

After taking a week or so to mull over all this information, it was time for my appointment with the surgeon. Dr. Brooks of St. John's (now Mercy) was kind, helpful, and to-the-point. He took plenty of time to go over colon drawings (gross), explain exactly what needed to be done, and answer all my questions. After an examination (by this time, I was a pro at lying on my side with my rear end sticking out of the hospital gown slit), he also seemed fairly confident that he could do the surgery laparoscopically, greatly lessening healing time. Head still spinning from all the alternative treatment info, I decided surgery was the quick and easy, get-it-over-with option, and probably the one we could afford, with the help of Christian Healthcare Ministries. I scheduled the surgery.

The night before surgery, I drank my second round of clean-you-out stuff (first one was for the colonoscopy). There is nothing that makes that stuff taste any better. I tried all the flavor packets individually, then mixed them all together. It tasted like flat Sprite with salt in it. Between runs to the bathroom, I worked on lists for Phil and the boys about chores, schedule, groceries, etc., checked with the person who was supposed to pick Luke up for homeschool orchestra that week, made sure Phil was stocked with spending money and diabetes care items, and thought about what was going to happen the next day. I had already signed all the waivers about all the stuff that could go wrong. Now I wondered, "If I don't make it through this, how long will my husband, kids, cat, and dog be able to manage?" (I decided it would be about two weeks, max, and then we'd all be together again in heaven, except maybe the cat who is pretty resourceful at fending for herself.)