December News - Part 2

Jumping back in where I left off in part 1...

A month or two ago, I finally asked for a referral to Digestive Health. I've always had trouble with my digestion, and the chemo was only making it worse. Digestive Health called and said they could see me in April 2026. Just like my ENT referral, the appointment would probably occur after the issue was over. But, incredibly, a few days later, I got a text saying they had a cancellation open up a slot on December. 11. I didn't even know there was a cancellation list. But as soon as I saw the text, I replied as fast as I could - and I got the slot!

So on December 11, I went up to Digestive Health, hoping to figure out what's been causing my pain and an approach for managing my overall digestion. But the fellow came in and asked me some questions, all about my liver. Then the doctor came in and did the same thing. He finally introduced himself as a hepatologist (liver doctor), and the info that he had as the reason for my referral had nothing to do with digestive health.

I was disappointed, because I really needed help with my digestive pain. But instead, I got a specialist in liver issues, which was an area of my body we had been struggling to understand. I think it could only be God who had given me that appointment and cancellation slot just when I needed it most, and not in April. 

The hepatologist had reviewed my abdominal CT scan, among other things, but also wanted to do an abdominal MRI to be able to see even more of what's going on. By this time, I had reconciled myself that my digestive health issues weren't going to be addressed, but something more important was. I was thrilled to have a liver specialist looking at my liver and, hopefully, providing additional insight.

I had the abdominal MRI on December 15, and the results were really hard to understand. (Why can't radiologists speak in words that anyone can understand?) But with some digging online, I was able to piece together that I have "extensive/widespread metastases," and that these were hindering the doctors' ability to visualize the cancer more clearly. They confirmed the pseudocirrhosis diagnosis and portal hypertension, and it was finally officially not my chemo causing this.

Stay tuned....