My Ride with Cancer

For almost a year
I have been treated by my Primary Care Physcian ( PCP ) for Abdominal pain. It has been terrable, Ive had no sleep and I cant eat due to the pain. I have found that the only thing that doesnt incease my pain is Watermellon and Cantolope, so this is my diet. Watermelon for lunch with a glass of water and cantelope for dinner with a glass of water. Im losing weight at a rapid rate. My clothes dont fit, I am down to 160 lbs now with a waiste size of 32 inches, I havent been this thin since High School. Anyway, my PCP originaly diagnosed me with Liver problems and medicated me with no relief. From there she treated me for possable Kidney Desease, Pancreas problems , Gallbladder issues and now an ULCER. Well the pain just wasnt getting better , in fact its getting worse, I have developed uncontrollable gas now and whatever is wrong inside me is starting to put even more strain on my relationship with Debbi.
To be quit honest, it is very obvious to me now that my PCP ( Dr Hundemer, Frederick Md) has absolutly no idea what is wrong with me or how to treat me, not to mention my Doctor has a very " Hands Off " type of care which doesnt sit well with me.
I decided to venture out to the Internet and research my syptoms and find a good Internal Medicine Guy. Well I found a " Gas Man " by the name of Dr Leonard Kane on the net, he has great recommendations and excellent reviews, so away we go !
I first met with Dr Kane on May 8th, 2009. Dr Kane is a very well groomed middle age African American, he dresses immacuate and speaks very intelligently.He has a wonderfull straight forward , "tell it as it is " bedside manor, which is the way I like it !
I told him my syptoms and he listened as I rambled, My Syptoms are, excrusiating pain under my Sternum which intensifies with and food or drink, also radiating pain to my chest. Im having very painfull and frequent burps and hiccups along with fatigue and rapid wieght loss. Were talking almost 60 pounds in 4 months.
Anyway without even examining me he listened and looked straight into my eyes and said " You have Cancer !" Well I told him " NO ! I have an Ulcer, please just medicate me and send me home." I really need this pain to go away. Again he told me that I have Cancer.
Hmmmm, whats wrong with this guy, I say Ulcer and he says Cancer ! Does he not hear what I am saying ??? The word Cancer is just not processing in my head, its like I dont even hear it..
He led me into his office, he had books and papers piled as high as me, and Im 5' 10 ", I couldnt even see the top of his large Cherrywood desk . He opened up his top left desk drawer and sitting right on top was a pictures, he showed me the very top picture , and it was of a previous patient with Cancer of the Esophogas and told me that this is what you have and this is what it looks like." Well Im still not processing this, all I could think of I need to call and talk to Debbi who is at work and I know I cant get to her.
Well with disbelief and with my head spinning he scheduled me for a Endoscopy ( EDG ) for the next day. After the inevasive and brief EDG he met with Debbi and I, I asked him" well what did ya find Doc?" He very casually leaned accross the gurny that I was sitting upright on and litterally thumped my chest with his hand and said " You have Cancer Man ! "
Well results of my EDG confirmed that I do infact have Cancer of the Esophogas with involved Lyphnoids whatever that means.He told me that we need to act fast and that I need to quit smoking, well theres a suprise.
He refered me to The University of Maryland for Treatment. Since then The University of Maryland has been very aggressive and rapid with the scheduling of Diagnostics and prep for my upcoming road ahead. They have been wonderfull. I hope you follow me as I beat this bout with Cancer, This is my story.