WARNING: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN POOP, TESTICLES AND SMALL TUBES GOING UP URETHAS. ENJOY.
Well the last week has been just as exciting as the week before. Is it because we might finally get wintery weather in Colorado? No. Is it because it's 10 days until Christmas? No. Is it because we are seeing the new Star Wars tomorrow? No. Is it because I'm a mutant with double ureters attached to one of my kidneys? YES!!!!!!!!!!!!
Last I updated the blog I was worried about a possible liver tumor. An MRI revealed that to be a false positive and that was great news. Last week I also developed some new pain in addition to the back and abdominal pains. Those of you who have read through the blog may know that way back in March before I had my tumor removed I was having testicular pain. I had an ultrasound on my parts and nothing was shown. Well the same pain returned to that area and I got another ultrasound. The good news is there was once again nothing to see there. The bad news is there were no answers for the pain. Cut to this Monday (12/11) and the pain in that area was getting more severe. I called the Cancer Clinic and they had no ideas so I called my primary care doctor. He did the standard exam and seemed pretty confident I had an infection so I was prescribed antibiotics. I had also started taking some decently strong pain pills that were masking a lot of my issues.
Tuesday afternoon (12/12) while working I started to feel fairly severe abdominal pain. I left work early and eventually had some wonderful liquidy output that relived the pressure. Later that evening the pain returned and I hardly slept. By morning I felt a little better but not great. I was feeling suspicious that nasty things (well nastier than what was already going on) were occurring inside of me. Now Wednesday (12/13) was the day I was supposed to go the University of Colorado Hospital to consult with the colrectal cancer clinic. After we dropped the kids off at school Carrie and I began the drive to Denver. I just wasn't feeling right so I called both my cancer office and the Denver clinic. They both agreed that I should probably get checked out at the ER. We chose to continue to the ER at UCH just in case I needed any sort of surgery then a surgical oncologist would be available.
In the ER they took blood and I gave a urine sample. They did about 7 different tests on me all of which came back entirely normal. My liver and kidney appeared to be functioning normally and my immune system had recovered since my last chemo session. I was given some oxy to help with my pain. I had to drink some imaging fluid mixed with cranberry juice over an hour and a half. They then carted me off to get a CT scan. After that was over we waited and waited for someone to give us results. Then an orderly came to the room and informed us they wanted me to do another CT scan in a different position. After that we waited for at least an hour before a doctor finally spoke with us. He said it was likely the cancerous mass causing pain but there wasn't much we could do but move forward with my chemo treatment plan which would hopefully shrink the mass. This was somewhat disappointing since I really wanted to know what exactly was causing my various pains. He told us I would soon be discharged and went on his way.
Five minutes later he returned to inform us that the plot had thickened. The radiologist contacted him to inform him that I am a mutant with double ureters coming out of my left kidney. The ureter is the tube that drains the kidney into the bladder. Most people have one tube for each kidney. About one percent of people have a kidney with two ureters. I am finally part of the one percent! The fact that I have double ureters is not an issue. The issue is that one of the ureters is being pressed on by my tumor. This is causing my kidney to back up a little. This is what is likely leading to my various pains.
I was then visited by a urologist who discussed some options. The first option was to put a stent in the ureter. The stent goes in through your uretha and sounds like a really good time. The stent itself can cause discomfort so there is no guarantee the pain would go but the ureter would stay open. The second option is to get tube through my back to the kidney that could help drain it. This would be neat because then I could have poop coming out my front and pee coming out my back. The final option is to manage it with pain and hope the cancer treatment resolves the issue. For now I am going with option three as the other options are generally reserved for dire emergencies or entirely unmanageable pain.
At this point I was discharged and given an oxycodone prescription. On the way home I spoke with my contact at the colrectal cancer clinic. The team of various doctors had still met to discuss my case despite my absence. Their final recommendations was radiation treatment followed by surgery followed by some possible rounds of chemo. I don't have a lot of details about the plan yet but today I spoke with my local oncologists and she is on board. On Tuesday I will go back to Denver and meet with a medical oncologist, a radiation oncologist and hopefully a urologist who regularly works with the clinic. At that time I will hopefully understand the radiation treatment a bit better and will know a schedule.
In the meantime I am trying to figure out the pain meds. Since they are serious opiates I am trying not to go crazy but they help me especially at night. I don't like the idea of taking these pills for weeks and weeks. I'm lucky to live in a legal weed state so I may explore that option and run it by the doctors next week. Until then me and my ureters will enjoy a relaxing weekend.
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