“I’m a cancer survivor,” or one hell of a year
That phrase still freaks me out a bit as I write it.
“I’m a cancer survivor.”
It doesn’t feel like words I should say or type. I am and even though I am, I feel I’m stealing a bit of glory from those that have fought much harder problems than I.
Flashback to Christmas 2017. After a rough summer plagued with intestinal issues I get under my stocking a new one. Diverticulitis. It’s not a great present. It can be a really nasty problem if left untreated but I wasn’t one to just try and ignore a strange, nearly constant, stabbing pain in my gut. So I went to the doctor, got diagnosed and went on antibiotics.
Part of the process is to verify the existence of the inflamed diverticula in my gut. It’s a super simple CT scan, not unlike the one I had a few months earlier for my previous intestinal problems. Only it found something that they thought might have just been an imaging issue in the last scan: a tiny little lump on my left kidney. Only now that they had two pictures of it, it was very clear it wasn’t something to take lightly.
It’s possible to have a non-cancerous lump on a kidney. About ten percent are benign. But when the odds are 9 out of 10 you have cancer, you take every recommendation your doctor gives you for treatment.
