Don’t get ahead of ourselves. That’s what we kept telling ourselves through this process. It is tempting to think about all the What If’s, but we knew it would be best to deal with what is front of us.
Surgery was in front of us. I had never been in the hospital other than for the birth of our sons, a very happy occasion, and I never liked visiting people in hospitals or hearing about their medical procedures. But in my case, the fact that I could have surgery was a good thing. Since the tumor was detected early and without symptoms, I had a head start on being able to resect, or remove the tumor. Of course along with that would come major five-hour surgery to reach the pancreas, located deep in the body behind the stomach. It would include the Whipple procedure, which removes part of your stomach along with the pancreas, and has lasting effects on one’s digestive system. I have always hated being nauseous.
The medical team was fantastic. I would stack them up against the top medical centers in the country for their knowledge, diligence and cooperative teamwork. Dr. Saruwatari is my longtime internist whose eagle eye and constant monitoring of my health situation over the years led her to check the urine sample and order the CT scan that detected the tumor incidentally. It was her good work that enabled me to have a chance at life.
Dr. Maldini is the surgeon at Straub Hospital who specializes in gastrointestinal surgery. Originally from Rome, he often told me that I was a good candidate for surgery because I was slim, unlike many Americans. He was excellent in his knowledge, experience with Whipple surgery, and walking us through the possibilities. I learned medical terms such as: adenocarcinoma=very bad; neuroendocrine tumors=not good but could be treated, and it’s the type of tumor that Steve Jobs was diagnosed; and benign=possible but not likely indication in my case.
Dr. Maldini sent me for an ultrasound fine needle biopsy with Dr. Robert Wong, who thought the worst case scenario was not likely because aggressive cancer would cause symptoms, even at this early stage. He did not think benign was likely either. The biopsy came back negative. All the doctors, including Dr. Galen Choy the oncologist, found this to be inconclusive and concluded that surgery was the only way to find out what kind of tumor we were dealing with.
So armed with many prayers from friends and family and the good advice from our sons that the surgery was not the end of the process, but merely a step to recovery, I reported for surgery bright and early on September 9. It was the day of my dear Aunty Lur’s birthday and nephew Jaden’s birthday as well; all in all, as good a day for surgery as I could get.
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Beyond Six Five 