Sharon Stark

Between Christmas and Thanksgiving is when my journey or should I say battle with Cancer started.  


I didn't realize that it was Cancer at that time, I thought that it was just stress with lots of things going on in my life.  The first sign was that I was having difficulty eating and keeping food down.  I had lots of visits to the Owatonna Clinic trying to figure out what was going on, I wasn't able to keep food down and the medication wasn't helping.


Finally it was determined that I should go to Mayo Clinic in Rochester to have an Endoscopic Ultrasound to get to the bottom of what was going on.  It was at that time that we realized that I had blockage in my bile ducts - they did a biopsy at that time.  I had the test on Monday, March 12th and then had to wait until Wednesday, March 14th for the results.  Unfortunately I got the results that I really didn't want to hear.  That ugly word Cancer!  Now the battle begins.


My appointment with the Oncology Team wasn't until April 2nd - so it was a long time to wait.  In the meantime I was still challenged to eat and keep anything down.  After consulting with my Dr. at Mayo they decided that I should go to St. Mary's and get a stent put in to help open my passageway between the stomach and intestines.  This was quite the ordeal.  I checked in at St. Mary's on Friday March 16th and wasn't able to have the procedure until around 10 pm on Saturday March 17th.  I am happy to report that the procedure is complete and went well.


The challenge for me now is to find foods that I can eat and that won't block the stent.  So I am on a liquid diet, not a lot fun!  Hopefully I can advance on to soft foods in the near future.  


I feel very blessed to have lots of close friends that have surrounded me through this very difficult journey - it truly touches me.  


I was able to check out of St. Mary's on Monday night and now am at home recovering and building my strength for the meeting with the Oncologist on Monday April 2nd.   That will be the next big day as I figure what the next steps are in battling this thing.


Please keep me in your prayers - specifically to help me find foods that I am able to eat, that I have strength as my battle with cancer begins.


Once again, thank you to all of you that have reached out sent cards, called or shared your positive thoughts and prayers with me - I am blessed in many ways!