Thursday, November 24, 2011
Thanksgiving
Played football today at our church congregation's annual "turkey bowl." The youth and adults gather at a local park, and we play two-handed touch football. While we were setting up the field, I walked with the head of our congregation -- a good friend of mind named Bryan, who also is a patent lawyer (our church has an all-lay clergy). I told him of my diagnosis, and watched as he processed the news. Aside from my family, we had not yet spread the word. He wanted to know all about it, and I realized that just repeating what the doctor had told me was not enough. I'll be spending much of the Thanksgiving holiday doing more research.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Initial diagnosis
Today I was diagnosed with bladder cancer. I intend to chronicle this journey on this blog.
About me: I'm 49 years old, married to Jennifer to 28 years, and have 4 children, ages 23, 20, 16, and 13. I've generally been in good health; I don't smoke or drink, and have no apparent risk factors for bladder cancer. Professionally, I am a partner at a big DC law firm, specializing in patent litigation. I am active in my local church congregation, teaching Gospel Doctrine to the adults in Sunday School.
On Saturday evening, November 12, I noticed some blood in my urine. It happened twice that evening. The second time, a small piece of mucus-like tissue came out, and I had no further blood after that. That's not right, I thought. I had just had a complete physical in June 2011, and aside from being overweight, had no adverse issues. In July, Jennifer and I started a diet, and by November had lost nearly 50 lbs. I wondered if the blood in the urine could be something related to the diet. On Nov. 13, I emailed the doctor who I had consulted for the diet, then flew to Memphis for a hearing Monday morning.
After the hearing, my diet doctor responded to my email and said that nothing in the diet could cause the blood in the urine, and that i should to go to a urologist. I called my primary care doctor, got a referral to a top urologist, and made an appointment for the next day.
On Tuesday, Nov. 15, I had my initial consultation with Dr. Fred Hendricks, who is associated with GW Hospital, who did a complete exam and sent a urine sample for testing. He also scheduled me for a ultrasound on Friday, Nov. 18, and a cytoscopy on Nov. 22. The ultrasound revealed a distinct papillary mass in my bladder, about 5 cm by 1.5 cm. The radiologist didn't want to tell me anything more than that, so of course I Googled it as soon as I came back to the office and found that I may have bladder cancer.
On Monday, Nov. 21, Dr. Hendricks' office called to say that the cytoscopy would not go forward on Nov. 22, but instead he wanted to have a consultation. We met today, and he said that the urinalysis confirmed that I had transitional cell carcinoma. Dr. Hendricks recommended that I have a transurethral resection of the bladder tumor (TURBT), which is done via endoscopic surgery through a Foley catheter threaded through the urethra into the bladder. We scheduled the surgery for Thursday, December 1. Dr. Hendricks was optimistic that the tumor could be removed, then I would have my bladder washed with several rounds of BGC -- an anitimmunsuppressant that would kill any remaining cancer, then I would go on my way with regular checkups. Ok, I thought. No big deal. But still . . . I'm going to do some more research into this.
About me: I'm 49 years old, married to Jennifer to 28 years, and have 4 children, ages 23, 20, 16, and 13. I've generally been in good health; I don't smoke or drink, and have no apparent risk factors for bladder cancer. Professionally, I am a partner at a big DC law firm, specializing in patent litigation. I am active in my local church congregation, teaching Gospel Doctrine to the adults in Sunday School.
On Saturday evening, November 12, I noticed some blood in my urine. It happened twice that evening. The second time, a small piece of mucus-like tissue came out, and I had no further blood after that. That's not right, I thought. I had just had a complete physical in June 2011, and aside from being overweight, had no adverse issues. In July, Jennifer and I started a diet, and by November had lost nearly 50 lbs. I wondered if the blood in the urine could be something related to the diet. On Nov. 13, I emailed the doctor who I had consulted for the diet, then flew to Memphis for a hearing Monday morning.
After the hearing, my diet doctor responded to my email and said that nothing in the diet could cause the blood in the urine, and that i should to go to a urologist. I called my primary care doctor, got a referral to a top urologist, and made an appointment for the next day.
On Tuesday, Nov. 15, I had my initial consultation with Dr. Fred Hendricks, who is associated with GW Hospital, who did a complete exam and sent a urine sample for testing. He also scheduled me for a ultrasound on Friday, Nov. 18, and a cytoscopy on Nov. 22. The ultrasound revealed a distinct papillary mass in my bladder, about 5 cm by 1.5 cm. The radiologist didn't want to tell me anything more than that, so of course I Googled it as soon as I came back to the office and found that I may have bladder cancer.
On Monday, Nov. 21, Dr. Hendricks' office called to say that the cytoscopy would not go forward on Nov. 22, but instead he wanted to have a consultation. We met today, and he said that the urinalysis confirmed that I had transitional cell carcinoma. Dr. Hendricks recommended that I have a transurethral resection of the bladder tumor (TURBT), which is done via endoscopic surgery through a Foley catheter threaded through the urethra into the bladder. We scheduled the surgery for Thursday, December 1. Dr. Hendricks was optimistic that the tumor could be removed, then I would have my bladder washed with several rounds of BGC -- an anitimmunsuppressant that would kill any remaining cancer, then I would go on my way with regular checkups. Ok, I thought. No big deal. But still . . . I'm going to do some more research into this.
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