A week after I finished my 6th round of chemo, I ended up in the ER. It began with a constant sharp stomach pain after dinner. It didn't feel like a normal stomach ache but I wasn't entirely sure. I contemplated taking some pain medication for it, but I wanted to monitor the situation. I figured if it was a stomach ache, it would eventually go away.
Needless to say, it didn't go away. Instead, the pain got progressively got worse over time. By the time I reached the hospital, my pain was a 7 out of 10. I had an x-ray, and a CT scan and it turns out that I had a partial bowel obstruction. They inserted a nasogastric (NG) tube in order to drain, and decompress my stomach. That was not fun. At all.
The NG tube ended up relieving the blockage, and I didn't need any additional surgery. The surgeons explained to me that there was no cause as to why I had the obstruction. Patients that have undergone abdominal surgery tend to have kinks in their bowels, and that these individuals are prone to have obstructions. There's nothing that I could do to prevent it. Great. Another thing to worry about.
In retrospect, it's a good thing that I listened to my body, and went into the hospital when I did. If I had left the obstruction untreated, part of the bowel could have died, or I could had a bowel perforation, both leading to sepsis. I was lucky to survive septic shock once already, I'm not sure I'd be as lucky the second time around.
Initially, my oncologist wanted to push for an additional 2 cycles of chemo, for a total of 8. All my other cycles went well, and she believed that I would be strong enough to go through more. However, with the partial bowel obstruction, neutropenia, and the possibility of the cancer becoming resistant to the chemo drug, my oncologist decided that it would be safest if I didn't have the additional 2 cycles.
I definitely wasn't happy with this news.
I want to get rid of this cancer once and for, and I'm hoping that 6 cycles will be enough. I'm very nervous of cancer recurrence, but I suppose I'll just cross that bridge when I come to it. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy life, and do a little bit of traveling to visit my friends and family.
Upon the suggestion of my sister, I'll be talking about popcorn. When I had a temporary ileostomy, I wasn't allowed to eat it because it didn't digest well, and could potentially cause an obstruction. How fitting for this blog entry! In any case, the ileostomy has been reversed, and I can now eat popcorn to my heart's content.
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| A loop of the small intestine is pulled out through the skin. The waste is collected in an external ileostomy pouch. |
Microwave Popcorn
Pros: quick to make, little clean up
Cons: high calories, use artificial flavorings and other ingredients, some of which may pose health risks (e.g. popcorn lung)
Stovetop Popcorn
Pros: low calorie, low fat, cheaper, complete control over the flavoring, and ingredients
Cons: requires more time, clean-up after use
As you can see, it's much better to prepare popcorn using the stovetop. It definitely requires much more work, but it's definitely worth it if you're looking to save money and eating healthier.
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- 1/3 cup of high quality popcorn kernels
- 2 tablespoons of butter (optional)
- Salt (optional)
Directions
- Pour the canola oil into a 3-quart saucepan.
- Heat the oil on medium high heat.
- Put 3 popcorn kernels into the oil and cover the pan.
- When the kernels pop, add the rest of the 1/3 cup of popcorn kernels in an even layer.
- Cover pan. Try to keep the lid slightly ajar to let the steam escape. This produces more drier and crisper popcorn.
- Shake gently every few seconds until popping slows to several seconds between pops.
- Remove the pan from the heat.
- Pour immediately into a large bowl.
- Season to taste.
Who knew making popcorn could be so fun?
Yummy Flavorings Toppings for your popcorn!
- Lawry's Seasoned Salt
- Old Bay Seasoning
- Lemon Pepper
- Chili powder
- Cajun seasoning mix
- Cumin
- Grated Parmesan cheese, olive oil
- Paprika, garlic powder, cracked pepper, and cayenne pepper
- Garlic power, olive oil
- Nutritional yeast, salt, garlic powder, onion powder
- Sugar, cinnamon
In Case You're Lazy...
You can combine the best of both worlds by having air popped microwave popcorn!
- Add 2 tablespoons of popcorn kernels into a brown paper lunch sack.
- Fold the top of the sack over and so that it's held closed.
- Microwave the bag for 1 1/2 minutes, or until popping slows to several seconds between pops.
- Add seasonings and flavorings.
