Brian's Cancer Fight-One Mass-ive Pain in the Butt-Literally

Friday afternoon, Brian had a casual doctor’s appointment in Owatonna because he’d been feeling a bit run down lately. They did some blood work and discovered he was severely anemic. His doctor recommended that Kiley drive him to the ER in Rochester that night.

Once there, they ran some additional tests, including an X-ray and CT scan, to figure out where the bleeding might be coming from. They noticed something unusual in his intestines and decided more testing was needed. Brian received two blood transfusions and was kept overnight for monitoring. On Saturday, they admitted him to the hospital to continue that monitoring.

On Sunday, they began prep for a colonoscopy and endoscopy. The endoscopy on Monday went smoothly, but the colonoscopy showed a larger and more defined mass than they had anticipated. That night, a surgical team met with us to discuss removing the mass right away, as its size and location meant surgery was likely necessary regardless of the diagnosis.

Early Tuesday morning, Brian went in for surgery to remove the first part of his large intestine and the last part of his small intestine where the mass was located. They ended up taking a bit more than originally planned, but they were able to piece everything back together, and Brian stayed stable throughout the procedure.

Now, here’s where they all take a deep breath: Brian is in great hands, working with an incredible medical team in Rochester. His overall health is still solid, and—most importantly—he’s still Brian: cracking jokes, charming the nurses, and keeping everyone smiling even from a hospital bed.

As of now, Brian is off work while he focuses on healing and recovery, and the family is currently relying on Kiley’s income alone. While he continues to rest and might not always be up for company, your love, support, and, of course, a steady stream of his favorite bad jokes and memes are always welcome.

So while they don’t have all the answers yet, what they do have is a lot of hope, a great team behind us, and a guy who’s ready to take on whatever comes his way—with humor, as always.