This might be a cancer journal, #2: The lung biopsy

Sunday, November 23

Linda K and I have an early lunch at Cafe Colucci, right at 11 when they open. The food is good, but not as perfectly cooked as usual. That seems to be useful information: the gomen is better when it cooks a long time. We talk about gomen, cole slaw, and treats that aren't sweet (like fat bombs).

 

Monday, November 24

We make cole slaw. Linda shows me how to use my mandolin, and I am so excited. I thought that thing was impossible, but I was just holding things wrong, and using the plastic food pusher too soon.I can do this! We made half with brined cabbage, and half without. The sauce still has too much of a mayo taste. But this is so much closer to what I want. I trust that we'll get it right after a few more tries.

I eat a bunch of candied ginger throughout the day to help alleviate any nausea the next day. I have taken two doses of the modified citrus pectin each day except one day it was just one.

I call three times to get my MRI set up. December 12. I also call for the osteosurgical oncologist. 

Tuesday, November 25

Q takes me to my lung biopsy appointment. I think I'm arriving on time (before 7:30), but getting through the front desk takes a few minutes, and when I arrive at the 3rd floor, they are relieved to see me, and the first nurse is feeling pressure to get back on schedule. The second nurse (B) is really nice, and I meet Dr. T in person. The anesthesiologist is kind of a jerk. But after he leaves, I ask B if he's good and she says he is. I say bad bedside manner, and she nods. But she says she would be happy to have him do the anesthesia if she needed it. She has reassured me.

They wheel me to the operating room. There are so many people there I ask if there's more than one operation happening. Nope. (Of course not.) All those people are for me. It's a robotically-assisted operation, and also requires radioactive tracer, so there are lots of people dealing with the different technical needs. One person was in what I thought of as a moon suit - a one-piece coverall that extended over the head with a clear mask in front of their face. Something about the radiation.

I think it was 8:30 when they put me under. Was it 11:30 the first time I looked at the clock after coming out of it? I was in a recovery room by then. And I was not hideously nauseated! Maybe a tiny bit. The male nurse helped me dress. He put undies, long pants, socks, and shoes on my feet, and then turned away so I could pull it all up and put my shirts on. He warns me that I'll cough up a little bit of blood from the cutting they did in my lung.

My son came in a Lyft, and escorted me home in a Lyft. I immediately ate, and then took a nap. Got up, ate again, napped again. I was so happy not be be very nauseated. 

 

Wednesday, November 26

I had lots of errands and felt a little stressed about getting them all done. I still felt pretty good otherwise. But pooping was weirdly hard and pee just leaked out a few times. I think maybe both were related to residual anesthesia in my system. I went to acupuncture, dropped some pectasol off at my friend's house, got food at Three Stone Hearth, and went to the butcher shop. I had never been there before. The Local Butcher Shop uses locally-sourced pasture-raised meat. The line was long, and it moved slowly. But the shop was fascinating, so I didn't mind. My turn, the butcher shows me the duck breast. I ask him to cut it in two, and I ask for more. Sure. But he has to go in back, bring out a whole duck, and butcher it. I got to watch. Next stop, El Cerrito Natural. The traffic is getting worse. I finally get home, and I'm starting to notice how weird my face feels. 

While i was driving, I kept touching it. Hot? Swollen? A bump near my left eye? I look in the mirror. The left side is worse than the right. The left is quite hot. At first, I think the right isn't. But when I put two fingers over the red part on the right, I can feel the heat there too. Websites are saying it's not an allergic reaction when it's that delayed. It's close to 5. Everything will be closed for days. I find a Sutter nurse number. She gets me to describe it in great detail. The only serious concern is the possibility of breathing trouble, which is not happening. She and I finally come to thinking about the mask they used during the operation. She says perhaps my skin is reacting to that. She says to wash with soap and warm water, rinse with warm, and then with cool. I do. That dries my skin out, so I put some coconut oil on it. Somewhat better.

I've been coughing up little bits of blood, not much. I keep needing to cough. I'm glad to be getting that out of me. 

The osteosurgical oncologist hasn't gotten back to me, so I call again. T says it's good I did because my previous call slipped off her work queue somehow. She says she is getting all my records to a team of physicians who will look them over. She'll call back on Monday or Tuesday to schedule me.

I feel like this was a crazy day.

I marinate the duck, and get to bed by ten. 

 

Thursday, November 27

I feel ok when I wake up, and my skin is all better, but soon after I get up I'm feeling so many pains. My muscles hurt from coughing. I think my lung hurts. I figure the anesthesia is finally wearing off. I'm trying to drink lots of water to wash it out of me.

Then my back hurts right where it does when I have a hernia episode. (I have a sliding hiatal hernia. Episodes usually last almost two weeks. It's not clear why.) The pain gets worse and worse. I finally take an oxycodone. Sometimes that can work really fast. This time it's more gradual. The pain level goes down. I sleep some, then read some.

All day, I feel crappy when up, and less crappy when lying down, sometimes fine. 

We have a minimalist Thanksgiving. The duck (so good!), and mashed potatoes and gravy from Three Stone Hearth. That's it. And that's plenty.

I go back to bed and read. I stay up late to finish the book.

 

Friday, November 28

None of the hernia-like symptoms. And when I cough it hurts less. I'm a little nauseated, so I eat more of the candied ginger. I take a nap. A biopsy does not sound like a big thing, but this has used up four whole days.

No test results yet from the biopsy. I hope to see them by Monday.

Bone biopsy still in my future. That seems like it might hurt more. But it's in an extremity, so maybe it will be easier on my body overall. I sure hope so. 

 

Saturday, November 29

Biopsy does not mean it was a little operation. This may be the most significant operation I've ever had. (I shoulda canceled our tiny Thanksgiving, so I coulda stayed home on Wednesday.) I slept well, and felt good in the morning, but I still feel weak.

I finally managed a proper poop. I guess my body has finally gotten enough of the anesthesia out to do that.

I think of all the stuff they pumped into me: anesthesia, anti-nausea, radioactive tracer, pain med (presumably, but no one said they did). I think a list of all intended meds (etc) beforehand would be a helpful addition to the process. Anyway, every time I pee or poo I'm happy to be getting more of those chemicals out of my system.