Getting closer

I saw the surgeon today. The cultures done from the port site did grow a very rare anaerobic bacteria. None of the surgeons and none of the staff at the hospital or doctor's office has ever seen or heard, of a port getting infected within a day of insertion. I've always got to be the oddball.

I finally had him look over the PET and MRI results and compare that to the areas he did something in during surgery. The spots that lit up on PET sound like right where he did the liver biopsies - he used a procedure where it burns a little circle. He said this causes enough trauma that it SHOULD be seen by a PET for several weeks. The same goes for the enlarged lymph nodes up in the area where he released the sigmoid to drop it down for resection. He complained that one of his biggest challenges lately is when scans are run too soon post-op - things light up that don't really mean anything. I feel much better after having him confirm he things the areas on the scan were areas he traumatized.

I asked him which day he could put another port in - Monday or Tuesday - because I'm starting chemo next week. This is before he saw the wound. He started to tell me there was no way I could have it done next week. But I explained how important it is at this point to get chemo moving. The he looked at the wound, and it is healing better/faster than the he expected. He said no way did he expect to be considering another surgery for me next week. But after looking at it, he said he needed to consult with staff and "think about this for a minute." He came back in agreeing to schedule for next week, but with the condition that I see him the afternoon before to make sure I continue to heal up - enough that he won't be worried. He says every extra day we can give it is that much better. Right now the hole is a lot smaller, and not so deep. But it still is an open wound. He wants it completely scabbed over.

He did go after it a little aggressively today, swapping out as much dead skin, etc., as he could. He said we need to get down to the pink again (there was a lot of white in there.) Then he saw something that wouldn't scrub off - so out came the surgical scissors. It turned out I had stitches still in there from the first surgery. He removed those but then started cutting something else - and it hurt. It turns out I had an area closer to the top that was closing up before the area under it. He released it and said I'll heal better and have less of a scar this way. Not so sure I care about the scar. It didn't hurt much at all anymore this morning. And now it does again... And it looked more healed before I saw him than it does now. I hope this doesn't set it back at all.

So Monday AM I need another pre-op physical. I find that funny. I had one September 1, and it covered me for surgery on September 2 and still covered me for October 1. I had surgery again on October 4 to remove the port. No pre-op needed. But now after just being in the hospital where they took blood repeatedly and checked my vitals and listened to my lungs and heart repeatedly, I need another pre-op? What a scam... If it is good for 30 days, and you've been checked out by a dozen nurses and doctors and had dozens of blood draws more recently than that, why the need for another pre-op?

Then in the afternoon I go see the surgeon, with fingers crossed that he does not pull the plug for Tuesdays attempt at another port insertion. If all goes well, chemo on Thursday.

My CEA was 2 after colon resection. It was up to 6, 3 weeks later. I want to get moving on chemo.