b i r d d r o p p i n g s

On August 1, 2007, I became eligible (by turning 65) for Medicare. I had learned that I was eligible for a one time “Welcome to Medicare” physical, and my primary care physician, Dr. Brian Pierce at his office in Rockport, Maine, performed that examination, on August 27. He advised me that an ultrasound scan examination should be done at Pen Bay Hospital  and we scheduled that for September 12 at 8:30, having fasted for 12 hours.

That procedure, similar to the one everyone knows as what you check out pregnant women and babies, but really was to check for an aortic aneurism, was done timely and painlessly, and I was back at home working by 10:30 that Wednesday. At noon, Dr. Pierce’s office called me and told me that he needed to see me at 5:30 that day.

Now I didn’t exactly fall off of the turnip truck…  I fully realized the he was not calling me to tell me that everything was just fine and I fully expected to learn of an aortic aneurism and the need for treatment for that disorder, but instead learned of what the radiologist who read the scans perceived to be a 6cm growth on my right kidney. That precipitated an appointment for a CAT scan on Friday at 2:30 also at Pen Bay Hospital, and Dr. Pierce called me that Saturday to advise me that he and the radiologists had read the scans and that my next option was most likely surgery, and I scheduled an appointment with Dr. Lars Ellison at Pen Bay Urology Associates.

At that September 25 appointment with Dr. Ellison, he confirmed the earlier diagnoses. He suggested that surgery was really my only option, and I saw the scans myself for the first time. A growth was obvious to me and my independent research had confirmed surgery really was my only option, and that if at all possible this surgery would happen laproscopically.

After some due diligence on my part, mostly by downloading free literature from The Kidney Cancer Association at their website kidneycancer.org, that surgery was scheduled for Monday, October 22. I checked in to Pen Bay Hospital at 7:30 that morning, having pre registered, done some lab work, and confirmed insurances previously the week before. I spoke with Dr Ellison and the anesthesiologist before being wheeled into a room chock full of electronics and that was the last I remember until I awoke in the Special Care Unit to see my good friend Lora Ludwig, a nurse in the post anesthesia unit, who told me everything had gone as planned. I had been in the OR for about 5 hours, and it was a little more complicated than expected because the tumor was on top of my right kidney right up next to my liver. The staff in the Special Care Unit was wonderful and my treatment could not have been better. It was essentially painless because of an initial morphine drip into an IV and later oral medication. I now understand why people like that kind of drug. I came back home on Wednesday afternoon, October 24, 2007.

I took some fairly heavy duty pain pills for a week, pretty much hung around the house for three weeks, and lots of good friends brought me food and good cheer. My pathology report and the final meeting with Dr. Ellison confirm that he removed all of a lemon sized (6.5cm) malignant small cell cancer tumor along with my right kidney in what turned out to be a bit more of a surgical procedure than was expected, but everything ended up well.  I have no need for further chemotherapy or radiation treatments, and I consider myself to be a very lucky and blessed individual. Had it not been for the chance timing of the ultrasound exam, which was not even looking for the Kidney Cancer but caused its early detection, the cancer would have undoubtedly sat there undetected until its removal would have been much more difficult, and my prognosis much less favorable.

The final score is Richard 1, Kidney Cancer 0 and I once again offer my sincere thanks to every party involved with this process… Medicare, Pen Bay Hospital, all of the doctors, and my family and friends.