March 29, 2018
TRUSTING MY GUT (and saving it!)
On January 23, 2018, Dr. Kenneth Binmoeller removed a "giant" sessile tubulovillous cecal periappendiceal adenoma from me without removing any intestine or other organs.
On August 15, 2017, as I was waking up from a routine screening colonoscopy, the gastroenterologist said, "Carol, the good news is you don't have cancer; the bad news is that you need surgery. But don't worry, the surgery won't significantly shorten your life or interfere very much with your quality of life." He said the polyp was in the cecum right next to the little opening of my appendix and possibly in the appendix. I was very frightened by his report and agreed he could schedule an appointment for me to meet with a surgeon.
This was my first ever health problem of any sort in my nearly sixty-five years of life. That fact echoed in my mind as I asked myself, 'is this, perhaps, a panic- motivated response or an illustration of physicians set in their ways?' As soon as the propofol completely wore off (the next day), I began researching alternatives to surgery for polyp removal. It felt like a miracle when I found Jim Sease's website. I clicked on the Endovision link and began my search.
My journey was laden with well-meaning, uninformed warnings from physicians, logistical obstacles, and overprotective skeptics. I knew in my gut that surgery was the wrong choice for me. Even so, as a solo voyager I have to admit to a good amount of self-doubt in my pursuit of an alternative. Conversations with my husband and children, several visits to my primary care physician, two meetings with the recommended surgeon, denied requests for an appointment with the diagnosing GI, emails and calls to my then health insurance company left me to trust my instinct alone. Neither PCP, GI, nor surgeon would even try to submit a referral to my insurance to try to get them to pay for me to be treated at CPMC IES. They all- but-stated they thought I was crazy for wanting to travel from Massachusetts to California just to get a polyp removed. I mean, come on, what's the big deal? Everybody has colorectal surgeries for large polyps nowadays and, after all, women have more than five feet of intestine, plenty to spare, still a lot left after cutting some out. I must say that discovering my desire for self- (and intestinal-) preservation revealed to me an inner strength previously only hypothetical.
A stroke of luck deemed that the open enrollment period for changing health insurance through my employer was four months earlier than usual; I could switch to a plan that allowed me to refer myself to any doctor I wanted, effective January 1, 2018!!! In September, I submitted all my required documentation to CPMC (it was almost as much work as applying to college) and my case was accepted. In October, I filled out the change of insurance form, submitted it to my employer, called CPMC
IES, scheduled a 9:30 A.M., January 23, 2018 appointment for an Underwater Endoscopic Mucosal Resection with Dr. Kenneth Binmoeller, and then I WAITED.
August 15, 2017 to January 23, 2018--just over five months--was an eternity. Now, on the other side of it, I am a changed woman. I had always been pretty happy and self-caring, but a little lazy and overconfident when it came to understanding nutrition and not completely convinced of the preciousness of my life.
From 2010 to 2017, I ate soy products every day, lots of them. I was doing my part to save the planet by not eating animals. Also, as a post-menopausal woman, I had heard that the estrogens in tofu would be good for me. For people blessed with moderate temperaments, soy is probably fine. But I have always been the "little girl with the curl in the middle of her forehead." I prided myself on the immunity from disease I believed was mine, due to my consistently super healthy diet. What a fall I had!
I am learning that most foods, eaten in excess, even the touted "healthy" ones, can cause disease. Dr. Binmoeller mentioned possible protection from the formation of polyps when magnesium and vitamin D levels are adequate and balanced. You can read about this after your procedure and see what make sense for you.
It is worth going to great lengths to avoid colorectal surgery unless you definitely have colorectal cancer. Adenomas are pre-cancerous polyps, not cancerous ones. UEMR may work for you, too. Believe you are worth getting the best care and treatment available and then go for it. Don't be intimidated by or too obedient to doctors who would quickly shuffle you off to surgery. Spread the news about the endoscopic innovations of Dr. Binmoeller and others who have learned from him. Too often, medical practitioners stay inside the box and can only think of drugs and surgery as solutions. There is so much more out there for you. Best of luck!
Carol Ch. read more
