My oldest brother has been living with ulcerative colitis for years now. It’s one of those chronic medical conditions that can usually be well managed with a healthy lifestyle, eating right, and medications. But during a routine exam, inoperable polyps were discovered. Surgery was conducted last week to remove all or part of his colon, depending upon what the surgeons found when they went in. They discovered that it looked like they could just remove a part of his colon, conduct a biopsy on the part they removed, and leave the rest alone.
Yesterday, the lab results came back. Unfortunately he was confronted with the diagnosis nobody ever wants to hear from a doctor, and no doctor ever wants to give — cancer. The polyps were cancerous and he will need to start chemotherapy treatment immediately. He will also likely lose the remainder of his colon.
It’s amazing and sickeningly sad how quickly you can go from living a normal life — getting up, going to work, not feeling the least bit sick or unhealthy — to having to go into the hospital for surgery, recovery, and then finding out you have cancer to boot, and you’ll be out of your life and work for months to come. For all of the billions of dollars spent on cancer research, it’s no longer a death sentence it was 30 or 40 years ago. And yet, it is still a prevalent disease that can cause anybody’s life — anybody’s life — to come to a screeching halt.
Please keep my brother in your thoughts and prayers as he battles this disease in the upcoming weeks.
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2 Comments to
“Cancer: Lab Results Nobody Wants to Hear”
As if ambushed in a jungle or in the wild west, a cancer diagnosis is indeed “getting up, going to work, not feeling the least bit sick or unhealthy” and ka-boom.
I wish your brother well, good courage and good humors while enduring this dastardly disruption.
On the one hand it is good that the disease had been diagnosed in time, but the diagnosis was not pleased … I also wish for your brother to get, and will for him to pray … Good luck to you and do not lose hope, Sincerely Jill Travis
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Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 30 Jan 2007
