The Lewis County Herald - 12/27/22
The call from the oncologist came as I was participating in an online meeting in advance of an approaching weather front that would bring bitter cold, wind, and snow to our area.
I didn’t answer. He left a voicemail message asking me to return a call.
He didn’t say in that message whether or not it was good news.
On November 9 blood had been drawn for an experimental test recommended by the oncologist to see if there were any traces of the adenocarcinoma mass remaining in my body.
That test would compare cells in my bloodstream with cells from the mass in my colon, which was surgically removed on September 27.
The oncologist expected test results in five weeks and a visit had been scheduled with the him on that date to discuss the results and develop a plan for treatment. The office visit went well, but without test results to give us some sort of starting point.
The doctor said he would call me with the information once he received it and we would go from there.
This was that call.
After my meeting, I got Tammy on the phone and we said a little prayer and called the oncologist back.
We enjoyed listening to two minutes and 49 seconds of Carol of the Bells while we waited for the doctor to pick up the call.
“So, finally got the results back. Sorry for the delay on that, but good news on the test, it came back as negative. So in other words, we don’t see any little microscopic cancer cells floating around when they test your blood.
“Given just what we saw on the final pathology report from your surgery, as well as this test, it certainly does not seem like you would need to be considered for chemotherapy.
“I think at this point, the surgery alone should be sufficient and this should hopefully be cured with that alone, based on what we’re seeing.”
I heard the word cured.
Prayers had been answered
In my first installment of this series to chronicle this journey (which appeared here exactly three months ago), I wrote that the surgeon would operate with the “intent of removing a section of my colon that, hopefully, contains all of the cancer cells in my body.”
That was the prayer that had been repeated so many times.
That was the prayer that had been answered.
Tammy set about telling immediate family members and we decided to first spread the good news with our church family at Vanceburg Christian Church.
It was these family members who called us together two days before my surgery to pray for my swift and complete healing.
They, and so many others, continued to pray.
I know those prayers were heard, and I will never be able to assemble the adequate words to thank these prayer warriors, or God, for the healing that has followed.
There are still a few loose ends.
My stoma reversal, which is now planned for mid-January; a baseline CT scan; semiannual follow-ups with the oncologist; and some regular medical monitoring which follows such an event.
And I’ll continue to write about those for the ones traveling along on this journey.