Whether it's a doctor, family member, or friend, this is one of the first things we're asked. And the answer is never the same.
Also important to mention is that Mom had just had her last check-up for her breast cancer. She was given the "all-clear" from her breast cancer oncologist on April 6, 2021.
This diagnosis was 3 days after that.
For the last 18 months, mom had started complaining of stomach issues. She had an "iron stomach," so it was out of character for her to even mention nausea, changed appetite, and stomach pains. Remember? She's fine. I promise.
No. She did not have a colonoscopy. Ever. We've all agreed there's no point in reminding her that this could be a completely different scenario had she gotten a colonoscopy, but she didn't, and that's all I'll say about that.
Oh, and once you hit 50, GET A FUCKING COLONOSCOPY!
Mom's stomach issues never went away. In fact, over the last 18 months, she had gone to several doctors explaining how she had been feeling, hoping to get some relief and find out what was causing it.
Her PCP had sent her for an ultrasound of her abdomen in January 2020, and everything looked fine.
She went back to see him the following month since she still wasn't feeling well, so he sent her for a CT of her abdomen in March of 2020. Again, she was told that everything looked "fine."
Interestingly, nothing had ever been mentioned to her about her pancreatitis or kidney stone. In fact, it wasn't until this past week (over a year later) that I found this information in her medical portal online.
May 18, 2020, two months after the CT scan, she told her doctor she was still sick with diarrhea, stomach pain, and nausea. She was sent for Hepatobiliary w/CCK, a type of Nuclear Medicine testing that uses a radioactive material (radiotracer) to determine the structure of the liver, gallbladder and biliary ducts. This test came back normal as well.
In hindsight, I wish I had started looking at her lab and x-ray results sooner than now because they paint a picture that is clear as day to me now.
Nearly 11 months later, she was still having stomach pains and nausea. On Easter Sunday, April 4, 2021, the kids and I were having dinner at her house. She was wearing leggings and told me how badly they were hurting her stomach.
Leggings.
She lifted up her shirt to show me the waistband, and her stomach was distended about the same amount as the belly of a woman in her third trimester.
I remember feeling the color leave my face because I knew something was very wrong. She and my dad didn't seem to be alarmed at all. When I asked her how she felt, she said, "not great. But I'm fine. I promise."
I went home that night and so began my Dr. Google degree in medicine.
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