Colon cancer!

I had my first colonoscopy yesterday. The doctor found colon cancer. It seems surreal. Before they sedated me via an intravenous anesthesia, the nurses and anesthesiologist were trying to figure out how to compensate for my too low resting heart rate of 37 (due to all the cycling, I suppose...and maybe also the nice, warm blanket the nurses had covered me with) and then when I wake up a few minutes later, I find some not so good looking photos (see below) on the cart beside me and my wife Kim coming into the recovery room (even though there is a sign stating that family members are not allowed) wiping tears from her eyes.

Some of these photos are of the three polyps the doctor found and removed. The larger orange mass is the tumor. I have no idea what the gauze looking thing is. Maybe some kind of surgical instrument.

I am scheduled for a cat scan this morning, so I have to drink this thick, metallic tasting, "berry flavored" barium sulfate "smoothie", which I guess helps my innards glow in the dark during the scan. I have an appointment on Thursday afternoon to talk to the doctor after he sees the scan results to discuss surgery options. He said that I definitely need immediate surgery to remove the cancerous section of large intestine and then sew the two healthy ends back together.

Kim called a family council last night so that we could tell the kids. She ordered pizza to ensure they would come. Before I knew about the council, I emailed the news to family and some other people. So, Katie (who is very electronically connected) found out first and then told Judd before the meeting. Kim called Clayton, who is in med school at Penn State. Jayson and Zach found out when they showed up for the meeting. In true teenager mode, Zach's response when Kim told him was "that sucks". Jayson's delayed response was, "No, wait. Can you die from this?" The answer, unfortunately is yes. Hopefully it has been caught early enough that it can be successfully treated. I think I read that colon cancer is the 3rd most lethal form of cancer. I'm trying to stay positive, maybe too positive some family members imply. Hey, what can I say? I anticipate that I will need plenty of humor to grease the skids of life these next few weeks and months.

I've been on a liquid diet since Sunday night and am hankering for some real food. On the positive side, I may get closer to that elusive ideal weight the charts tell me I should be at. Those impossible charts say I "only" need to loose 50 pounds to be at the "ideal" weight for someone my height who can overlap thumb and middle finger around my wrist. Kim says I'm already too thin.

Stay tuned for further news. It would appear that I'll have plenty to write about. I just hope that I can make time to post. I'm also having computer problems. I bought a new hard disk and scanner yesterday and am trying to effect repairs in the midst of everything else that's going on.

Your well wishes and prayers are very much appreciated. As the line from Savior of the World says, "All flesh is in his hands".