Back Story

For this latest skirmish, we go back about a year. Without going into detail, suffice it to say my guts weren’t behaving well. Spent some months just waiting for the whole issue to go away. In November I went on the internet and implemented suggestions I found there about modifications to my diet. The modifications helped, but they did not cure. After some months, I tried stricter modifications. Again, I got improvement, but no cure. I fought going to a doctor because I did not want to bounce around the medical system while various docs tried to determine what was going on.

On the morning of May 25 I was having a quiet prayer time, and the issue of my misbehaving gut bubbled into the front of my thoughts. I half expected the wrath of my Lord to descend and tell me in no uncertain terms, “You fool! Get your body to a doctor!!!” What I got instead was an overarching sense of peace about going to the doctor. I called my primary Doc, Dr. S, and quickly had an appointment for the next day.

The visit with Dr. S, lead to a referral to a GI doc, Dr. D. Dr. D ordered up a colonoscopy, scheduled for Monday, June 6.

At the colonoscopy, tissue was taken and biopsied. On Thursday, June 9 I heard from Dr. D. He reported that there is a tumor and the tumor has cancer.

At this point I began emailing select people: My church small neighborhood care group. My kids. Select colleagues at work. These Early Emails have been copied and posted on this blog, serving as the beginning of the more immediate narrative.