Dear Editor,
Going for your colonoscopy just might save your life. My story starts here roughly three years ago. I had my colonoscopy done and they found a polyp and it was removed and sent for a biopsy and it came back non-cancerous.
Since the doctor found the polyp, I was scheduled for a re-exam three years later, and this time another polyp was found. As it turns out, when this biopsy was done, I had colon cancer, so the next step was to go for a cat scan and then meet a surgeon to go over the results. He stated he could do the surgery.
My response was: when I walk in the hospital I want to be able to walk out. I did not feel comfortable with that surgeon doing my operation, so I directed him to send me to the Ottawa General Cancer Clinic, as I felt this was the best place in my region for my surgery. Now having done this, I was very confident in going in for my surgery with far less stress.
The reason I am stating this is that, wherever you live, you have the choice about where you will feel more confident in getting your surgery done, if needed. As it turns out, I feel I won the lottery, as my surgeon was Dr. Rebecca Auer, who is the head of Cancer research with a team of 300 scientists working under her and she has an amazing surgical team.
I was operated on late Tuesday, April 2, 2019, when they removed a foot of my colon, then re-attached the colon, and I was released early Saturday morning with very little discomfort and I was eating solid food in my first meal.
My next point is that the nurses were excellent and very caring. I had asked a few of them why they chose to work in the cancer ward and I was surprised by their answers. It’s not at all for the money; but they want to be able to help people, as it makes them feel good and they actually enjoy their job. So, whichever department or hospital the nurses work in, they deserve all the respect in the world, as they work very hard in a stressful environment and somehow they manage to smile and talk to you. So hats off to all the nurses and student nurses out there.
Ross Ayotte, Smiths Falls
