A few people have asked me about my doctors appointment today. So Ill fill yall in. I met with my primary care doctor. She said I have two options: 1. Immediately schedule removal of the gallbladder because of the tumors inside it. (All they can do is grow and potentially become more dangerous, spread, and if they are not already malignant, become malignant.) 2. Refer me to a Gastroenterology Pro at UT and give them a chance to do so tests on me before surgery is performed. This way, before I am in pain and recovery from the removal surgery, they can try to determine things like: Are there polyps, tumors, or masses in other surrounding organs and digestive tracts? Where are my ulcers located? Am I having spasms? What is causing all of it? How might any of these condition impact my recovery from surgery? How might any of these conditions impact the actual surgery procedure itself. And after as much info is gathered that is helpful, then perform the surgery ASAP. I went with option 2. I am supposed to get a phone call in the next 24 hours that will have a day and time for me to meet a GI at UT and begin all this, but, if at any time, my symptoms worsen, or I just cant take it anymore, I can call and say, Im ready. Schedule the surgery now. Its so weird talking about all this. It seems sometimes like it cant even be real. Other times, when I am having pain, and feeling sick, its so real that I cant help but cry a bit, dry my eyes, and then go hug my daughter for as long as she will let me. Im very, very, very hopeful that these polyps are not in other parts of my body. I am praying so hard that they are isolated to this one organ and are benign. CANCER SUCKS!!! My primary care asked me, Didnt you used to have a GI specialist before? And I said, Yes, I did, but at that time, I was making a few dollars too much per month to be eligible for Bluecare / TennCare, and I had no access to affordable health plans as a self employed single parent, and the doctors were not able to work with me on the costs of everything, or this probably would have been discovered in 2011. I have literally tried nearly every single GERD, acid reflux, stomach acid, and ulcer healing medication you can find OTC, and several by Rx in the past 4 years. I have had 1 to 2 episodes per year where I would start having bowel problems and just drop weight suddenly. I would feel weak, sick, and food would just go straight through me. It was terrifying to be honest. And the doctors would just brush me off. It was pure torture. It was scary. It was depressing honestly. And it really affected my ability to enjoy my life and pursue a lot of dreams. The worst part was when my old primary care doctor, and the ER, in the past refused to do ultrasounds of my gallbladder, and other tests on areas where I have had chronic pain, when I was a cash-only patient, even though I had proof of income. Right now I have Bluecare, and it seems to be the golden ticket. Suddenly, Im getting treated like a real, live person. Having my boyfriend present at some of my Dr appointments seems to make a huge difference to, as opposed to going alone. When they can see you are loved, and they can see you have insurance, you certainly get treated differently. My Primary Care mistakenly said that some people have digestive problems even after having their gallbladder removed. I said, Yes, but these are not gallstones, these are tumors. They will grow, and they will kill me. My gallbladder will have to come out. Period. Whatever I have to deal with after that, I will simply have to deal with. And some people have them removed without a problem. But lets face it. Six feet under ground, or ashes floating in a river, will not provide my daughter with much of a mother. Im trying so hard to get everything ready that I need to. I hope that I get lucky with all of this. There is really nothing I can do, but meet with these doctors, schedule the tests, schedule the surgery, and pray that they do an excellent job. The rest is all a big waiting game combined with managing my current symptoms, and most of all, enjoying every single moment of life I have here and now. I have so many big dreams for my daughters future, and my future, and hopefully building a family and a home with my sweet man one day, but all this is so frustrating. No matter what happens to me in the future, I just have to enjoy one moment at a time. And if God calls me to heaven, then that is where I will go. :) I just hope my little one stays that amazing bundle of joy that God has made her. Joy is most definitely one of her gifts. :) This month is going to take a lot of patience on my part, and faith, and strength, and courage! :) Part of me wants to be so mad and cry and be frustrated, but the other part of me wants to just enjoy life so much, even more. I just have to wait for the doctors to do everything they think is necessary to give me the best chance I can possibly have. cancer.org/cancer/gallbladdercancer/detailedguide/gallbladder-key-statistics says that it is a rare form of cancer and that: Gallbladder cancer is not usually found until it has become advanced and causes symptoms. Only about 1 of 5 gallbladder cancers is found in the early stages, when the cancer has not yet spread beyond the gallbladder. The chances of survival for patients with gallbladder cancer depend to a large extent on how advanced it is when it is found. I have to find out what stage I am in of this gallbladder cancer to see what my chances are of living, and for how long. Here is a link that I can not really use yet, because until I meet with a GI, or until they remove my gallbladder and do tests on it, I wont be able to know what stage I am in. cancer.org/cancer/gallbladdercancer/detailedguide/gallbladder-survival-rates Matthew Gregory Karen Cobbs Morton Brittany Layne Matt
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 00:05:51 +0000
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