I am grateful that I work and learn on the ancestral and unceded lands of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Nations in Burnaby and on the ancestral and unceded lands of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations in Port Moody
SURGERY AND THE DAYS AFTER
Original: 2005-11-02
Rewritten: 2025-4-25
The surgery and the days after were easier than before the surgery.
Before undergoing surgery to remove liver cancer, the most difficult thing was how to accept the fact that I had cancer. It's not easy to accept the facts. If you choose to accept the fact that you have liver cancer, you will inevitably think about the recovery and survival rate of liver cancer patients, which is generally not very optimistic and the prospects are quite bleak. Considering the age, earning capacity, self-care ability and support resources of my wife and children adds to my worries.
If you just don't accept the facts and don't face the reality, the remaining options are denial and escape, which will make life more difficult and the experience more miserable.
An example of not accepting facts is imagining that your illness is not serious. One example of not facing reality is intentionally or unintentionally delaying and avoiding treatment.
The essence of facing reality is not to rely on luck, not to fantasize about "what ifs", not to expect miracles, not to blindly believe in secret recipes and miracle doctors, and not to conceal your illness.
Repositioning my life, saving my life and protecting my body are the top priorities, follow the doctor's instructions in life, quit part-time and odd jobs immediately, get more rest, pay attention to diet and do moderate exercise to prepare for treatment in good condition. In order not to add burden to my wife and children, I choose to be an obedient patient. After calming down, I tell my relatives, friends and colleagues about my situation to avoid speculation, and make arrangements in my life and work.
My condition is not too bad. I don't need chemotherapy or radiotherapy. I just need to wait for surgery. The hardest thing is waiting because time goes by so slowly. I have to face my uneasy mood all the time, and my mind keeps wandering between dawn and darkness. During this period, the patient's psychology can be very fragile.
The operation took four and a half hours and a quarter of the liver was removed. The two surgeons were highly skilled and the painkillers were enough to completely eliminate the pain. The nine-inch diagonal wound on the left side of the abdomen was almost painless.
Instead, it was the side effects of the painkillers that made me have some strange, tense and exciting dreams. I had IV tubes inserted into the backs of both my hands, which were painful and swollen, and I couldn't sleep all night. I coughed two days after being discharged from the hospital and it hurt my wound. Apart from that, the progress was better than expected. The surgery was performed on Monday and I was discharged from the hospital on Saturday.
On the fourth day of hospitalization, one of the surgeons told me calmly that my liver had become severely hardened due to years of inflammation, so only a quarter of it could be removed. A healthy adult could have two-thirds of the liver removed and still survive. I asked if there was any solution? Should I abstain from certain foods? He replied that there was no need and that a drink now and then would be fine. I thought to myself, a Chinese herb practitioner would not agree.
My relatives and friends were keen to provide me with liver-nourishing menus. I also collected some information and found that because I have several chronic diseases, if I give up all foods that are said to be bad for cancer, liver, blood, heart and kidneys, I will have almost nothing to eat. If I only eat foods that are not beneficial to the above, I shall not have the space and time to eat normal meals. Having said that, I abstain from spicy, hot, fried, offal and strange-shaped foods to reduce the burden on my liver.
My appetite was amazing. I could eat solid food on the fourth day after the operation and felt hungry every three hours. After being discharged from the hospital, I woke up hungry in the middle of the night. I had to get up and eat some midnight snacks like milk and oatmeal before I could fall asleep. It was as if I had returned to the state of a baby. My wife complained that she couldn't cook rice as fast as I eat. In fact, she felt comforted when she saw that I could eat and sleep well. It was worth it for us to share the joys and sorrows.