The BIG Choice - the Dr.'s Team

In our consult, Dr. Bertelson had a jovial and optimistic bedside manner, something I would really appreciate later on. I liked and trusted him intuitively, something that is extremely important. With all my choices, I followed up with some background analysis to make sure. But, at least in my case, if you start with a reputable and trusted physician, their recommendations tend to be useful. And you have to decide, whether you trust this person with your life.

I remember asking my GP for a reference concerning a number of gastroenterologists.. He named about five from the list. I then asked, whom he would send his dad to. He smiled, and named one. It was Dr. Stein, the beginning of my chain.

Cancer is all about the complications. I had two major ones in the first six weeks, and if you do not trust your physician, it can lead to unnecessary blaming and interrupted confidence. I do not trust blindly, I work to understand the choices and issues facing the physician and me. If the actions are reasonable, things can still go wrong, and you have to work together to correct the results.

After the diagnosis of malignancy Dr. Bertelson recommended Dr. Cohen as oncologist. I was barely out of hospital, and I had my first consultation with him. His background was impressive, but he moved from being focused and piercing to almost absent minded. Later, I began to appreciate his shyness, soft humor, and preoccupation with caring for very sick patience seven days a week. It also took me several weeks to realize, he was Chief of Oncology at Good Samaritan Hospital, which was to become “Home Base” for several stays lasting two weeks in total. Some folks smilingly referred to his bedside manner, but I felt confident of his superior abilities and care, and anything else did not matter. Once I got to know him, I began to appreciate him for the person he was, and even started to get his very subtly sense of humor.

In the preop visits to the hospital like CT Scans etc., I asked nurses and others casually about the Dr.s, there was no hesitation in their responses, they knew of them and respected them. Genuine confirmation...

For now, I really feel lucky with the chain of choices. However, I realize that in case my progress takes a turn for the worse, or I have more difficult complications, I might have to ask for additional help from other experts.

Thankfully, my condition so far is routine colon cancer staged IIIA with a survival probability of about 80%.

The Beginning - Colonoscopy & Diagnosis

I have had some history of cancer in my family. My mother died a difficult death of pancreatic cancer at the age of 48. My father passed at 85 of colon cancer, but the age was considered advanced enough that it was not necessarily considered hereditary. But when my younger brother had polyps removed during his colonoscopy, I knew it was way overdue for me.

The procedure was easier than I thought, both the prep and the actual colonoscopy done expertly by Dr. Stein MD were really not difficult. I just used light sedation instead of a full MAC (monitored anesthesia care), so I could follow the procedure on a separate screen provided. The first two polyps were removed and no surprise, but when we hit the cecum at the end of the road (right ascending colon), there was a large mass visible. I knew I had a problem, but with a breath felt quite calm about it!

The reported results in the consult a few minutes later were no surprise. Dr, Stein expected the samples to be benign, and he recommended Dr. Bertelson for a surgeon.

Despite the fact the colon cancers tend to be slow growing, I felt compelled to act and line up the needed actions and decisions. I was not happy, but felt calm and collected about the situation.

We had our consult with my surgeon, Dr. Bertelson, one hour after the first diagnosis.