Wednesday....September 16th...2009

She is AT IT AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!

Mrs. Wood went in for her CTSCAN this am ...everything went well...we returned home...and then....

Linda has been experiencing some nausea, abdominal pain and belching....these started to increase in intensity once she got home. Finally she called her Oncologist who was in the Redmond office today....he took a couple of hours to return the call, for as we found out, he wanted to see the CTSCAN to see if there were any clues....there were...

The Oncologist called to report Linda had Cholecystitis an inflammation of the gall bladder. It is usually a pretty severe disease and requires the removal of the gall bladder immediately. The Oncologist called a surgeon...who then referred Linda to another doctor to look at the symptoms.

It was decided that Linda had eaten earlier and that a ultrasound scan was needed..but eating would affect the outcome.....so she was sent home with instructions to take pain medications and to head to the hospital for an ultrasound at 7:15 am.....then she meets with the surgeon at 8am....

What then? She either goes to surgery for one of two types of surgery....laparoscopic surgery which is the least invasive.....traditional surgery....an incision in the abdomen....or avoidance of surgery....which we will not know till tomorrow.

If Linda doesn't have surgery, we then meet with the Oncologist, as scheduled, at 11:40 to review the CTSCAN results and where she goes from there. The Oncologist did indicate today there was a small increase in the size of the nodules...but no spreading of the cancer......exactly what that means and where we go next will be known tomorrow....we hope.

It is important to note that this new "disease" (the gall bladder) is not cancer....it was not caused by the cancer...as the Oncologist said "cancer patients get sick too"....and it's not all cancer.

Finally. Linda threw up big time tonight but seems to be resting well...I am reminded why I suffered from anxiety last year...it is the unknown and the helplessness.

The gallbladder is a sac located under the liver. It stores and concentrates bile produced in the liver. Bile aids in the digestion of fats, and is released from the gallbladder into the upper small intestine (duodenum) in response to food (especially fats). Conditions that slow or obstruct the flow of bile out of the gallbladder result in gallbladder disease.

Cholecystitis is a sudden inflammation of the gallbladder that causes severe abdominal pain, abdominal fullness, fever, heartburn, indigestion, nausea and vomiting.....it comes and goes and surgery to remove the gallbladder (cholecystectomy) is usually needed.

LAPAROSCOPIC GALLBLADDER REMOVAL
Under general anesthesia, so the patient is asleep throughout the procedure.
Using a cannula (a narrow tube-like instrument), the surgeon enters the abdomen in the area of the belly-button.
A laparoscope (a tiny telescope) connected to a special camera is inserted through the cannula, giving the surgeon a magnified view of the patient's internal organs on a television screen.
Other cannulas are inserted which allow your surgeon to delicately separate the gallbladder from its attachments and then remove it through one of the openings.
After the surgeon removes the gallbladder, the small incisions are closed with a stitch or two or with surgical tape.
ADVANTAGES OF PERFORMING THE PROCEDURE LAPAROSCOPICALLY......
Rather than a five to seven inch incision, the operation requires only four small openings in the abdomen.
Patients usually have minimal post-operative pain.
Patients usually experience faster recovery than open gallbladder surgery patients.
Most patients go home within one day and enjoy a quicker return to normal activities.