Stronger Every Day

For those following my colon cancer journey, I am pleased to share that my surgery was as successful as it could have been, thanks to the dedicated and professional team at Mackay Base Hospital. My recovery was swift, and the doctors were impressed that I was up and about with minimal discomfort the day after surgery.
However, I did experience a setback when I caught a nasty virus, which sent me back into the hospital only days after discharge. The initial scare was that it might be sepsis from the surgery, but scans revealed that my surgical incisions were intact. It turned out I had just been unlucky to catch a bug, that spiked my temperature to near 40 degrees and gave me intense chills and sweats for days.
Feeling stronger every day, I'm back at work to keep my mind busy, and the team here at Life Publishing has been incredibly supportive, allowing me the rest I needed to recover without stress. Last week, I received the histology report from the removal of the cancer, which shows I have stage 3 bowel cancer, which is treatable. During surgery, they removed around half of my lower bowel, and thanks to the skill of the surgical team, I didn't need to have a stoma. Out of approximately 16 lymph nodes removed, seven showed traces of cancer, and the cancer had permeated through the bowel wall into some layers of fat and muscle. Despite this, the surgical team is confident that everything was removed.
I will soon meet my oncology team to discuss ongoing treatment, which will likely involve chemotherapy and possibly radiation since the cancer has spread beyond its tumour.
Thank you for the many well wishes via phone and email. Your support has been truly appreciated. It’s great to be back, telling the stories of the community for you all to read. I’ll be at the Pioneer Valley Show this weekend so if you see me with my camera, come and say hello and smile for a photo.
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Amanda

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