CUT IT OUT

It has been some time since I posted a blog to update you all. This is partially due to the fact that teaching full time while undergoing chemotherapy doesn’t leave much energy for writing at the end of each day. The other key reason being that there really hasn’t been much to report. My tumour markers have continued to go down and the lesions have continued to shrink with each treatment. Some cycles of chemo have resulted in negligible side effects, whereas others have been quite trying. Nonetheless, the journey has been far from exciting over the past few months. The big goal for the last little bit has been to change my status from “inoperable” to “ready for surgery.”

A couple of months ago, we had a glimmer of hope as a local liver surgeon had decided he liked my progress and wanted to consider surgery. In fact, he seemed to think that a full resection might not even be necessary; that other laparoscopic options might be all we need to get rid of the tumours. During the last cycle of my treatment, Dr. Proctor broke the bad news that upon further review, the surgeon thought that the tumours were too spread out for him to operate. Back to inoperable.

A few requisitions were sent out to other liver surgeons in BC. After of few weeks of fearing we would have to reach out further than my home province, I received a call from Dr. Kim’s office in Vancouver. They wanted to set up a consultation with me! If you are as up to date with BC liver surgeons as I am, you will know that Dr. Kim is THE guy to get the job done. Getting this call was certainly relieving; however, it was far from getting the go-ahead for surgery. He wanted to review my pending MRI results before considering my case so a phone meeting was set up for the following Wednesday after school. In great anticipation, remaining cautiously optimistic, I awaited his call. In fact, I made sure I had absolutely all of my after school duties taken care of so I could rush home to take the call. My students were baffled by the fact that the agenda for the next day was posted before dismissal. “It’s not Thursday yet, Mr. Osborne! Are we living in the future?” Kids are so clever. They are also understanding. I told them why I was in a rush to get home and I don’t think I have ever witnessed a group of 12 year olds clean up a room so enthusiastically. My phone rang just as I was pulling into my carport. His echoing voice sounded like it was coming from heaven (or another far away place that didn’t have very good reception). “I have reviewed your latest MRI and I think it is reasonable to remove the tumours on your liver all at once.” I had to ask for clarification as I had been told that even if surgery were an option, they would be forced to remove the tumours one lobe at a time. He validated my understanding of his words and said they were small enough that the surgery would likely not require much regeneration of the liver.

This news was nothing short of miraculous. There were still a lot of details to be hashed out but at this point, it looked like we had found a surgeon!

We have just returned home from Vancouver to meet with Dr. Kim. He had me go for a specialized MRI with contrast that was not available in Kamloops so he could ensure the lesions that had “disappeared” had actually disappeared. God certainly put our patience to the test as what would typically be a 3 hour trip to my sister’s place in Coquitlam turned into a 12 hour overnight endeavour (thanks, snow!). I owe Cariann every back massage in the world. She braved the wheel the entire time despite being stuck behind closed roads for over 4 hours and having to back track about 200 kilometres to get us there in time for our appointment in the morning. I also owe my sister a DQ blizzard for waking up at 3:30am to let us in. Thanks, Courtney!

In typical hospital fashion, our 9:45am consultation turned into an 11:30am meeting. In the waiting room, there were a few patients becoming a bit vocal about their wait times. I did my best to calm the masses with my signature dad comedy: “I guess that’s why we are called patients!” I don’t know if it calmed them down or just redirected their anger at me. Either way, the complaints ceased.

It was a delight to meet Dr. Kim in person. He was courteous and did not rush our appointment at all. He made my case feel like the most important one in the world at that moment. He showed us the images of my liver (which was the first time I had actually seen the results) and explained how the whole process would work. I didn’t really know what to expect going into the meeting. I suppose my deep hope was that he still thought surgery was a possibility. And he confirmed it! Although, it will be a little different than what he first proposed. He explained that it would likely be possible to resect all the tumours at once but it might be a bit more dangerous than he feels comfortable with. Therefore, he has recommended that we book the resection of my left lobe at the same time as the removal of my rectal tumour. It will then take about 6 weeks for my liver to regenerate and they can operate on the right lobe.

I have been planning a big reveal for all of this news for some time now. I had orchestrated in my mind all of the different possibilities that would include a definitive finale: “I went down to Vancouver and the surgeon removed the tumours on the spot!” or “By December 10th, I will be tumour free!” These scenarios have not played out quite as I expected. I feel a little bit silly about saying “Hey friends! I get to have surgery but I don’t know when!” but I guess that is where we’re at right now. The word is that January will be the earliest I’ll be able to get in for surgery. Until then, back to the chemo ward for a couple more cycles. Hooray for me.

I am learning a lot about patience and how mundane even the most traumatic experiences can become after a while. I just can’t wait to share the good news with you all that I am finally finished this battle. I can’t wait to celebrate with you all one way or another. Stupid Covid. I’ll save that for another blog though. Thank you to all of you for your continued support. I love this army.

I hope you haven’t forgotten that cancer of the rectum #CantRecTim