1.) Experience of a Colorectal Cancer Suvivor

First let me warn you this blog is not for the squeamish some parts are graphic and cover medical subjects. When it comes to my insisting on getting the treatment I should have I don't take hostages. The photo is a before picture of my polop before it was biopsied.
I started this as a personal experience diary but realized I wish I had been able to read more stories like this when as I started my treatment. I've scowered the internet for information to the point I jokiningly list Dr. Google as my primary physician. I have not seen anything in my travels that details each little indignity a rectal cancer patient gets to endure with detail and humor so here I go.
The adventure began the end of May 2009 with a visit to a Great World Famous expert in the field of colonoscopy. The reason for my scheduling the procedure was passing my 50th birthday and I had some painless rectal bleeding during bowel movements I assumed was hemorrhoids. The Skilled clinician I refer to has been known to paint the toenails pink of folks he knows can take a joke so I declined full anesthesia to head off the possibility - or participate in the laughter. I probably should mention here the kind doctor I'm referring to and evaluating so highly has done nail painting before and knows of my sence of humor making my pink toenail likelihood almost a certainty. The procedure was without much discomfort. I watched the video monitor as the camera explored my pink insides. A large mass was identified in the rectum and a electro-caurtey snair was used to remove a large portion of it. Lots of pictures were saved along the way to insure my scrap book would be gross well illustrated. The tissue samples were prepared for a pathologist to evaluate. It was a little odd to watch the little puffs of smoke from the caurtery as the tissue was snaired but it wasn't painfull. as the procedure came to an end I was dreaming of eating my first solid food and drinking something much tastier then lemon-lime flavored gogo juice. For anyone who has yet to enjoy the pleasures of a colonoscopy prep it really doesn't mater what flavor you get. If you keep it in your mouth long enough to actually taste it you were not given proper instructions. You should think of this as a bar game, the goal is to empty the cup in as few seconds as possable. I could probably come up with a variation of beer pong for bowl prep and make a fortune.