Who would have thought constipation would have led to the diagnosis of stage 4 colon cancer that had metastasized to the liver, lungs, and lymph nodes? Not me, that’s for sure. Our journey started in May 2003. After years of alcohol abuse, my father woke up one day and decided he was no longer going to be a drinker. Initially this was great news! We had waited for this moment for years.
Little did we know how our journey would unfold. All of the sudden, my dad could not have bowel movements and was in incredible pain. We visited a small hospital emergency room several times and without a real diagnosis, were sent home with laxatives and even pain medication. None of that helped. Finally we took him to a major medical center’s emergency room. After my dad explained his history to the doctor, she ordered a MRI. My dad did not leave the hospital that day. Instead he was admitted, because they doctor had found an obstruction where his colon meets his intestine. She wanted to do a PET scan and then schedule surgery to remove the obstruction. All this was going to happen first thing in the morning.
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