I didn't realise at the time when the consultant and nurses talked about doing a CT TAP (CT scan of Thorax, Abdomen and Pelvis) that it was a staging scan i.e. what stage is the cancer at?
Off I went to Radiology. There's a form to fill out every time you get a CT scan that's unchanging. It mostly concerns allergies (particularly to contrast dye) as well as cardiac issues. The scanner is rather ominous but the radiology staff are kind and it doesn't take too long for the scan. It does take about a week for the scan to be read though. Once that was out of the way it was a wait before going back to see the GI consultant.
March 22nd, a month or so after my GP visit, was the date for my colonoscopy. A pretty straightforward affair despite a lot of “will I get the prep right?”
> Aside: If you're getting a colonoscopy, drink lots and lots of water so you're very well hydrated. I didn't (because I'm bad at drinking enough water) and that meant the Kleen Prep took longer than expected to kick-in which is stressful. Anyway, got through that with a good amount of trepidation for when I finally decided to try and go to sleep (I stayed at a hotel beside the hospital)
The colonoscopy itself involved getting checked-in at the hospital and hopping into a bed in a daycare ward. There was a line of us that the GI consultant would be rattling through that day.
You get lined up by the porters and nurses check with you about why you're here and if you've had a colonoscopy before. Then you get wheeled in and have an explanation of what will happen. It's all very light-hearted and you get a sense of it being very routine. I don't remember the start of the procedure but do remember the end as it finished up and I got wheeled back to recover. I can't remember how long it was before the GI consultant came around to tell me they found a tumour. He made a little drawing where he said a surgeon could remove it easily enough by cutting out a part of my colon and stitching it back together. Might even be able to do it laparoscopically. At this point I'm just thinking “tumours can be benign”. Next thing is to schedule a CT TAP scan. Then it's tea and toast. It was very tasty but I wasn't fully ready for it as I still had air trapped so I ended up vomiting that up and staying in for a bit longer before I headed down to hospital reception to get collected by my brother.
It started with the post Christmas “I'm stuffed” which meant I didn't feel hungry and was going to the bathroom more often.
Going to the bathroom more often became a daily thing that lasted for a few weeks. I'd go several times, particularly after eating. I didn't think to mention it to my GP when I went to get my regular Eltroxin prescription until she mentioned that my liver function was a little high. “Probably an infection, we'll check again in 3 months”. A little while after, my brain put this and the frequent bathroom visits together so I made an appointment to go back and ask. That was February 20th where we had a chat about symptoms (I did note that I'd see bright red blood on the paper from time to time but also had some itching so “probably just a haemorrhoid” was my thought) and she did a brief check for any obvious issues. Nothing obvious so she recommended going for a colonoscopy.
In my head this was going to be a GI issue like IBD or Crohn's and I'd be told to stop drinking coffee and eating spicy food. Cancer got mentioned as a possibility but it didn't even register with me that it could or might be so I didn't even worry about it.