Ugh.
Just … ugh.
I had my CT scan on Monday as planned. Sunday night, my stomach was upset. Nothing major, just your typical upset stomach. It was still upset Monday morning when I had my scan. I figured it was nerves. After all, cancer “restaging” scans are not the most pleasant things — they cause a lot of anxiety and stress over the results.
My stomach remained mildly upset up until my Wednesday afternoon appointment with my oncologist. I even had to stop running on Wednesday morning due to some stomach cramps. (I attributed said cramps to dehydration. I ran indoors on the treadmill on Monday and I don’t think I hydrated back up adequately afterwards.)
My oncologist’s first question this time wasn’t “any lumps or bumps?” or “how’s your chest?” but rather “how does your stomach feel?” That was a new one, but hey maybe Dr. S gets tired of asking the same questions all the time. Or maybe he just wanted to make sure I was awake. I told him it had been a little upset.
Turns out he had a reason to ask.
The CT scan came back good on the chest. The lymphadenopathy in my chest (i.e. those baseball size masses) had stayed the same size and is even starting to calcify. My spleen remains enlarged, but it hasn’t grown or anything. All and all good.
But of course I can’t have a normal CT scan. The scan came back with this:
In the left upper quadrant, there is a loop of proximal small bowel, likely jejunum, which has concentric appearance of an intussusception. This is anterior to the left kidney and medial to the spleen. This may be a transient phenomenon, however, given the history of lymphoma, a pathological lead point cannot be excluded. Small bowel follow through is suggested. No evidence of bowel obstruction is seen supporting a transient etiology.
An intussusception is basically an obstruction of the small intestine. It most often occurs in children. When it occurs in an adult, it’s likely due to a benign or malignant neoplastic growth.
Adding to the problem, I happen to be one of an apparent handful of people in the entire world who is allergic to oral contrast. A “small bowel follow through” involves drinking barium and then making sure it doesn’t get stuck along the way (if it did, that would suggest an obstruction). Kind of hard to do when you’re allergic to oral contrast.
Since I had none of the acute symptoms one would expect of a person with a bowel obstruction, it obviously was not an emergency or anything. That was the good news.
To make a long story short, it appears that it turned out to be nothing to worry about. Basically, the doctor concluded it’s a watch and wait type of issue, just like my baseball sized masses in my chest and my giant spleen. As long as nothing goes wrong, we don’t do anything. That type of thing. We let sleeping dogs lie so to speak.
But of course my stomach has remained mildly but persistently upset all through the weekend, which raises an interesting issue as to whether there is something going on or not. If not for the scan result, I would not even be complaining in the least about this mild stomach upset. So now what? Even though it didn’t appear to be a problem, do I go back to my oncologist (which would mean more tests)? Or should I just sit tight and wait it out. That is what I mean by …. ugh.
Tags: cancer, ct scans, hodgkin's, intussusception, remission, restaging
Wow…I hope it turns out to be nothing. I’m pulling for you.
Personally, if it were me, I would follow up with the oncologist. I didn’t realize you could watch and wait with intussusception. In any event, since the pain is continuing, I would make a call to the doctor.
I’ll be thinking of you, Jenny…I’m sure all is well, but it doesn’t hurt to find out for sure.
Do the safest thing. There are times to gamble and times not to. If it turns out to be nothing, you win. If it turns out to be something, then you are ahead of it. I am hoping that it turns out to be nothing.
Thanks everyone.
I don’t have much stomach pain … Basically my stomach just feels upset. I feel exactly like I have a mild stomach virus. No nausea or vomiting, however. Just that ugh, I think I ate something that doesn’t agree with me. Stomach feels irritated, not painful if that makes sense.
I think “watch and wait” was the preferred course because I didn’t really have any acute symptoms, which supported that this was just a transient thing.
I post on a HD board and I’ve never heard of HD actually presenting in the bowel. NH Lymphoma can, but I could find nothing on HD doing so.
If it is no better tomorrow morning, I’m going to run it by my oncologist. He likes seeing me so much anyway. :)
Stinking intusseption, wrecking my otherwise good CT scan. Grrrr.
What do they do with people who are allergic to the contrast solution? There has to be some way to check that out.
You know how I feel about watch-and-wait. I hope you do follow through and the doctors rule out major issues. But you know your body, and you’re smart enough not to take unneeded risks with your health.
Wishing you the best!
Hi Jenny
Go see your doctor for peace of mind.
Hi Jenny - you and I haven’t met, but a lot of folks on the Forlorn Hope group which I’m part of do know you, and that’s good enough for me. Just wanted to say hello and that we are keeping you in our prayers. Sounds like you just have an upset and perhaps nothing else. But it’s darn smart to get it checked out!
Take care now,
Martha
Jenny,
Through time, Shirley and I have kept abreast of your health problems, mainly with the help of Sam Elliott (SDE80). When I first heard of your cancer, I made you an Honorary Swede since you can’t kill a Swede that was born to be hung. But seriously, you have been on our prayer list. I know you’ll make it since you are a Hellava fighter. Vaya con Dios Jen
Wayne
When there hadn’t been any updates on your site for a couple days had concluded that SOmething was Going On and It Wasn’t All Good. Thanks for giving news and discussion. For what it’s worth I agree with others who are saying Do the safest thing. But I’m not the one who has to suffer through the tests. (A coworker, long time ago, one caid “Nothing is impossible, for the man who doesn’t have to do it himself.” Never forgot that) Anyway, glad it is no worse. . . and suspect that you will feel better for getting your oncologist’s advice.
Live long, and prosper!
Thanks everyone for the good thoughts and vibes. I appreciate them!
I remember the FH group! =) My best regards to everyone! Drop me a line sometime: jgoellnitz@gmail.com is my email address.
I am feeling better today, but I talked to my oncologist’s office anyway. Basically still leaning towards the fact this was just a transient scan oddity, perhaps one that could even be temporarily caused by having a stomach virus.
Oncologist seemed less concerned about it than I am. My oncologist is real conservative, so if he thought something was really up, believe me when I say he’d be all over it.
I will keep everyone apprised. Hopefully my stomach will continue to feel better — which would rule out any problem. I do have an appointment with a gastroenterologist on Thursday, however, so we’ll see what the expert thinks.
I’m sorry to hear that the air hasn’t completely cleared for you Jenny. If your oncologist isn’t concerned, I would try not to be either. Obviously that is easier said then done. Hopefully you see the Dr. on Thursday, he/she can give you something to get your stomach feeling better. Best wishes!