| My Colon Cancer Timeline Date Time | Symptoms | Action Taken Conditions/Reactions | Diagnosis | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March, 2005 | Like a mild stomach flu, had diarreah | Rested, seemed to be better | Under stress of job | ||||
| April, 2005 | Severe Cramps lasting 24hrs approx; but no diarreah | Rested; Thought I had food poisoning from some | Under less stress | ||||
| almonds I bought at a | |||||||
| home show | |||||||
| 8-May-05, Sun | 5:30pm | Extreme Severe Cramps lasting | Under little stress from job | ||||
| 36hrs approx; but no diarreah; | |||||||
| Pain way over a 10 | |||||||
| 9-May-05, Mon | 5:30pm | Went to local hospital ER | My wife drove me into ER, they had me wait. I asked for a gourney to lie on they declined. I laid on the floor. They | ||||
| brought me a blanket. After a few minutes they brought me | |||||||
| inside, and sat me at a nurses desk to get my information. The nurse got up to do something, I laid on the floor next to | |||||||
| her desk. They finally get me on a gourney. | |||||||
| May 9,2005 | 1:00am | Local hospital cannot take me because my insurance will only | Transferred to UC Davis hospital | Pain killers given, ultrasound, MRI, CT scan, X-rays performed. | ER doctor sees no reason for cramps, but notices certain pancreatic enzymes are | ||
| cover University of California Davis Hospital in Downtown. | elevated; he believes I have an accute pancreatitis | ||||||
| So they begin the transfer | |||||||
| process via ambulance, to take me to downtown UC hospital. | |||||||
| 10-May-05, Tue | 3:30am | Admitted to UC Davis | On IV fluids, had not eaten since dinner, May 8, 2005 | ||||
| 10-May-05, Tue | Mob of Doctors decend upon | Except for lower back pain (due to a degenerative disc | |||||
| me, MRI, CT Scan, Blood Tests | condition), I have no other abdominal cramps or pains. | ||||||
| Run | |||||||
| 11-May-05, Wed | Released | No Pains other than lower back pain | Accute Pancreatitis, UC Davis doctors agree | ||||
| with trauma doctors at other hospital; I should | |||||||
| eat low fat, blander, softer foods. Condition | |||||||
| should resolve, and appears to have already, | |||||||
| because elevated pancreatic enzyme levels are back to normal | |||||||
| 16-Jun-05, Thu | Went in for an upper GI | Asked technician if he saw anything, says he saw some | |||||
| test | blockage in my intestine, but I will have to speak with a | ||||||
| specialist to get a diagnosis | |||||||
| My Colon Cancer Timeline Date Time | Symptoms | Action Taken Conditions/Reactions Diagnosis | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 20,2005 | 2:00am | Severe abdominal cramps; has been ocurring for at least 24hrs; | Ambulance checks me into local hospital; they | Pain is managed through administered pain killers, and IV is given | Transferring me to UC Davis facility downtown | ||
| Had my wife call for an ambulance, rather than attempt | administer pain medication; perform | ||||||
| to drive me to ER and go | Ultrasound, MRI and CT | ||||||
| through their waiting formalities | scan, I tell them that I just had an upper GI | ||||||
| performed where they did see some blockage in the | |||||||
| lower intestine; This is the | |||||||
| way to get into ER, no | |||||||
| waiting, no filling out | |||||||
| forms sitting up; I also tell | |||||||
| them they will have to | |||||||
| move me to UCD Davis | |||||||
| downtown facility | |||||||
| June 20,2005 | 8:00am | Cramps have been negligible, | UC Davis doctors at least | Pain is managed through administered pain killers, and IV is | |||
| managed pain through pain medication | 12, decend upon me at different times, all asking | given | |||||
| the same questions, I tell | |||||||
| them all the same things, I told the original ER | |||||||
| doctors | |||||||
| 23-Jun-05, Thu | Colonoscopy | Confirms, "Large cecal mass distal traverse colon a | |||||
| pedunculated polyp 7 to 8mm" | |||||||
| 23-Jun-05, Thu | PIC Line installed | I have had nothing to eat, dinner, June 19, 2005; They | PIC line is not in the right place, instead of | ||||
| suggested a PIC line due to problems with IV, and to provide nutrition | being near the heart, it ends up in my neck. They suggest waiting a day to see if drops into | ||||||
| place. | |||||||
| 26-Jun-05, Sun | A strange sore throat develops, it does not feel like a normal | PIC Line Related | Nurses are told, but know one knows what the cause would be. | ||||
| strep throat, but it can be seen from the outside | |||||||
| 27-Jun-05, Mon | A fever develops; I am scheduled for surgery | I mention to a student Dr. of my sore throat, and | They will cancel the operation if necessary, and check to see if the PIC line is the cause of | ||||
| tommorrow | she thinks it’s the PIC | the infection | |||||
| line causing the problem | |||||||
| 28-Jun-05, Tue | Fever | PIC Line | Fever still going strong | They determine it is the PIC line, we ask the medical team to be removed of the case. | |||
| Surgical team takes over case, and has PIC line removed, and has antibiotics administered | |||||||
| My Colon Cancer Timeline Date Time | Symptoms | Action Taken | Conditions/Reactions Diagnosis | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29-Jun-05, Wed | Fever starts to come down | Antibiotics | |||||
| 1-Jul-05, Fri | Fever is down; Operation to | I am told this morning | Extreme pain after coming out of surgery | ||||
| happen | that my gall bladder will also have to be removed, | ||||||
| in addition to the colon | |||||||
| resection in the | |||||||
| ascending colon, to | |||||||
| remove the tumor | |||||||
| 9-Jul-05, Sat | Discharged from hospital | ||||||
| 19-Jul-05, Tue | 1:45pm | Met with Oncologist | She would like to start chemo treatments by Aug 17, Weds, | She talks about FOLFOX for adjuvant chemo, | |||
| but tell her I am getting a 2nd opinion that day. So we will | Flouroracil, Leucovorin, Oxaliplatin | ||||||
| probably start the week after, Aug 24, Weds | |||||||
| 17-Aug-05, Wed | 2:00pm | Visit with Dr. Alan Venook, UCSF for a 2nd opinion. | He says the standardized treatment FOLFOX | ||||
| Although they had me send the pathology slides to UCSF, he does not re-exam pathology, and the pathology slides are | regimen is appropriate, he himself might lighten up on the Oxaliplatin, and discontinue it | ||||||
| not re-examined by another pathologist. He says after seeing colon cancer tumors for so many years, he can tell | in the 9th treatment to avoid neuropathy condition. He says there is a unpublished | ||||||
| its cancer, by looking at the x-rays, which I show him that day. Hmmm..... | study being done, that shows that cutting back on the Oxaliplatin in the 9th treatment, may not | ||||||
| make difference on the outcome. | |||||||
| 22-Aug-05, Mon | 2:00pm | Met with Oncologist | Talk about treatment, 2nd opinion | ||||
| 23-Aug-05, Tue | 10:30am | Central Port to be installed in my chest by | My lung is accidently punctured, during the procedure. They have to decompress my chess, by making an incision | They will watch, and consequently my chemo treatments which were scheduled for | |||
| the Trauma Surgeon who performed my colon | in my chest cavity and inserting a tube to relieve chest pressure. | tommorrow 8/24 is now cancelled. | |||||
| resection | |||||||
| 26-Aug-05, Fri | 3:00pm | Released from Hospital | Dr. D'Andre would like to start chemo | ||||
| treatments Weds, Aug 31. but I have | |||||||
| reservations about my recovery, and the chemo affecting it. Also I am starting to | |||||||
| question the care at UC Davis Sacramento | |||||||
| 30-Aug-05, Tue | We decide to start chemo | ||||||
| Sept 6, 2005, Tues | |||||||
| Sept 6, 2005, Tues | Chemo Starts | Feeling a bit drugged, and a bit slowed up, but otherwise OK | FOLFOX 6 is the regimen; Pump pack is | ||||
| given to continue the Flouroricil administration | |||||||
| at home | |||||||
| 7-Sep-05, Wed | Chemo Home Day | Feeling more drugged, head is in a fog, and a little more tired | |||||
| 8-Sep-05, Thu | Chemo Pump Returned | Feeling much worse after pump is removed. Very | Very Nauseated, Tired, and mind is very | ||||
| nauseated, and extremely tired. I got on the | |||||||