Jim's love of life and inspired drive to heal have been fueled by your caring and support. Thank you for joining us here, and please keep the love flowing!
The short story: After a routine colonoscopy in early Dec. 2016, Jim was diagnosed with rectal cancer. He had surgery Jan. 12, 2017 to remove the tumor and a foot of his colon. Because the tumor had spread beyond the rectal wall, and into one of the lymph nodes, his cancer (originally thought to be stage I) was diagnosed as stage III, and after much deliberation, he decided on conventional medical treatment: chemo and radiation.
***Phase 1 was surgery, Jan. 12, 2017. The rest of 2017 looked like this: ***Phase 2 started March 22nd: chemo therapy infusions, which were given in four rounds, two or three weeks apart, starting on 3/22 and ending on 5/17. ***Phase 3 started on May 30th: 5 1/2 weeks of daily radiation therapy and daily doses of oral chemo. The last of these sessions was July 10. We're now in a three-week recovery period from this, eager for treatment to end altogether. ***Phase 4 started in mid-August: four more rounds of infusion chemotherapy, which ended October 4th. WE ARE NOW INTO 2018: ***Phase 5 is NOW...our full attention is on recovery (Jim's regaining weight, regaining energy reserves, building strength, continuing to monitor body needs, addressing whatever residual trauma patterns can be addressed) (Deb's losing weight, and all those other things that Jim's doing, too).
We've developed a wonderful team of conventional and integrative medical practitioners. Our thanks also goes to them. We've fit in as many integrative care services as we can manage with the time, money and energy that we have. Our integrative care providers have included an excellent CranioSacral Therapist, an acupuncturist, a nutritionist, a mind-body therapist, an art therapist, and a physical therapist. Without the extra support, we'd have been totally overwhelmed by the fear, pain, discomfort, bewilderment and sheer exhaustion that the medical procedures. interventions, and after effects have brought.
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