"Save the Sphincter" cancer fund
Donation protected
On April 5th of this year, I finally got in for my 1st colonoscopy. I'm turning 58 this year so I was a little late, but finally I had insurance to cover it. I had been having symptoms of fatigue for years, but just thought it was menopause. What spurred me to get in finally, was that I started having bowel symptoms and shortness of breath.
As I was coming out from under the propofol, my doctor appeared and said they had found a 3 cm mass in the rectum, quite near the sphincter. He apologetically explained that although he couldn't be sure, he thought it was cancerous, but we wouldn't know for sure until the biopsy came back. In 5 days he called me to report that the tumor was in fact cancerous and that I needed CT scans to stage the cancer. He referred me to a surgeon and an oncologist who would take it from there.
After the CT scan of the abdomen and pelvis they determined that it was unlikely that the tumor had metastasized. However, a PET scan was performed to confirm and to locate the tumor more accurately so that the radiation treatments would pin point the tumor.
On May 7th, I began chemo and radiation treatments. The purpose of these treatments is to shrink the tumor so that the surgery, if necessary, is minimally damaging to the rectum. I've learned so much about this specialized part of the colon. You see the rectum is located outside the peritoneum and has its own blood supply. This is why cancer in this region so often metastasizes to other parts of the body and why it is one of the deadliest forms of cancer.
Shrinking the tumor is vital to saving an even more important part of the rectum, the sphincter. If the sphincter is damaged, I could be wearing a colostomy bag for the rest of my life....yuck. So to that end(the business end), I will receive 30 radiation treatments over 6 weeks. I also carry around a chemo pump 4 days a week with a continuous infusion of 5FU into a port in my chest which was surgically implanted prior to beginning the treatments.
After the chemo and radiation treatments, there will be a 2 month recovery period during which time they will determine if a surgery is necessary. If it is, there will be an additional recovery period afterward and possible additional chemo treatments.
Since beginning the treatments 2 weeks ago, I have been experiencing a variety of side effects of the treatment which have been impacting my ability to work. I have already reduced my work schedule in order to accommodate the treatments. I was informed that, the side effects will likely get worse and will continue for at least two weeks after the treatments stop.
So as you can imagine, financially I am struggling already and I am concerned that my ability to work will be compromised further and for longer. My copays for the medical bills so far are into the thousands of dollars. So I am reaching out to my community for help. I have guestimated what my needs will be over the next 4-6 months of treatment. I will continue to work as much as I can and will only use what I need from whatever funds are gathered.
Thanks you guys!
As I was coming out from under the propofol, my doctor appeared and said they had found a 3 cm mass in the rectum, quite near the sphincter. He apologetically explained that although he couldn't be sure, he thought it was cancerous, but we wouldn't know for sure until the biopsy came back. In 5 days he called me to report that the tumor was in fact cancerous and that I needed CT scans to stage the cancer. He referred me to a surgeon and an oncologist who would take it from there.
After the CT scan of the abdomen and pelvis they determined that it was unlikely that the tumor had metastasized. However, a PET scan was performed to confirm and to locate the tumor more accurately so that the radiation treatments would pin point the tumor.
On May 7th, I began chemo and radiation treatments. The purpose of these treatments is to shrink the tumor so that the surgery, if necessary, is minimally damaging to the rectum. I've learned so much about this specialized part of the colon. You see the rectum is located outside the peritoneum and has its own blood supply. This is why cancer in this region so often metastasizes to other parts of the body and why it is one of the deadliest forms of cancer.
Shrinking the tumor is vital to saving an even more important part of the rectum, the sphincter. If the sphincter is damaged, I could be wearing a colostomy bag for the rest of my life....yuck. So to that end(the business end), I will receive 30 radiation treatments over 6 weeks. I also carry around a chemo pump 4 days a week with a continuous infusion of 5FU into a port in my chest which was surgically implanted prior to beginning the treatments.
After the chemo and radiation treatments, there will be a 2 month recovery period during which time they will determine if a surgery is necessary. If it is, there will be an additional recovery period afterward and possible additional chemo treatments.
Since beginning the treatments 2 weeks ago, I have been experiencing a variety of side effects of the treatment which have been impacting my ability to work. I have already reduced my work schedule in order to accommodate the treatments. I was informed that, the side effects will likely get worse and will continue for at least two weeks after the treatments stop.
So as you can imagine, financially I am struggling already and I am concerned that my ability to work will be compromised further and for longer. My copays for the medical bills so far are into the thousands of dollars. So I am reaching out to my community for help. I have guestimated what my needs will be over the next 4-6 months of treatment. I will continue to work as much as I can and will only use what I need from whatever funds are gathered.
Thanks you guys!
Organizer
Renee Cowan
Organizer
Laramie, WY
