Google a body

I studied some human anatomy and a bunch of non-human animal anatomy as part of my science degree. But that didn't help me when the surgeon first mentioned removing my seminal vesicle: I pretended I knew exactly where it was and then raced home and checked a textbook.

Ah ha! That's why my bladder was in danger

Then, confused about why my whole bladder, and not just part of it, may have to be removed, I took that atlas to my next consultation. Having the surgeon show me on an actual diagram what may have to go and why was worth more than a thousand line drawings on hospital stationary.

I wish I'd known about Google Body

Google Body is a free web-based atlas of the human body. You can select male or female, skin or no skin, all muscles, some muscle or no muscle.

It allows you to fade organs and systems in and out, hide tisssues, and highlight organs. It also tells you what you are looking at.

bodybrowser.googlelabs.com/

I think Google Body is an excellent tool for patients to better understand their situation and participate in their healthcare.

It's only one version of human anatomy (we're all a little bit different), but still a powerful visualisation tool

Cancer patients hear a lot about lymph nodes, I have added them here (green nodes and channels)

Found you seminal vesicle!

Packing heat

I left hospital a changed person. 

I lost 12 kg and gained an appreciation of high-fat, high-protein and high-everything food. I lost a tumour and re-gained the feeling that I will live a long life. I lost my sigmoid and gained abdo-bum. I lost my rectum and gained a new storage pouch made of colon. I lost fluid via a leaking hole and gained a tail.

Yes, a tail

The rectal tube starts somewhere upstream of the leak. It's job is to collect fluid that may otherwise leak out of the hole in my new colon and cause infection. A small balloon keeps it in place and the tube connects to a collection bag outside my body.

The mission

As I was strapping the bag to my thigh I felt like a spook packing a concealed weapon. A thigh holster holding a 9mm. Buttons, straps, shiny white plastic, nozzles, tubing, tape. I was in mission mode and the mission was simple: re-enter society and look normal.

The unit: lucky I have one of the longest thighs in the world

I have tail envy: leaving hospital with this tail would be cool

Leaking hole

There are risks with every surgery. The risks are the things that frighten us during surgical consults. Acknowledging risk is part of the reason patients sign surgical consent forms.

One of the risks when a piece of colon is removed is that the new connection could develop a hole. This is what happened to me, and the reason I am still in hospital after 21 days.

Leaks happen in five percent of patients

My surgery left me with a fully connected large intestine (minus the bad bits of course). The ileostomy (my Abdo-Bum) protects the large intestine while it heals by diverting waste at the end of the small intestine.

Even though the large intestine is not handling food, it still produces mucous, sheds cells and is housing lots of resident bacteria.

When the hole developed, this fluid was able to leave the colon and fill the space outside it. The body really doesn't like it when fluid that is supposed to stay in one area enters another. The result was an infection.

Heal me

I started feeling better several days ago. My small intestine has begun adapting. I can stomach food. The hot flushes have stopped. The reflux is under control. The dry retching after each meal has ceased. I'm no longer dehydrated. The fatigue is passing. I can hold a conversation.

The hole will take a while to close. This happens naturally and over time. While it heals I will keep Abdo-Bum.

I like Abdo-Bum, because after all, it saved my life. Had the colon not been bypassed that level of waste leaking out of the hole would have made what I have just been through look like a fairy tale.

Adaptation

Surgery went well. In addition to losing my rectum, sigmoid and descending colon I underwent a partial vasectomy. The tumor ended up not being that intimate with the bladder and right seminal vesicle and the one-sided vasectomy shouldn't affect man-functions too much.

Time to grow up Small Intestine

I'm still in hospital. The temporary ileostomy I had means that what is left of my colon is bypassed. The main job of the colon is to absorb water.

My small intestine is behaving as though nothing has changed, as though it can just keep passing water to its larger sibling. It's time to grow-up small intestine, it's your time to shine. Haven't you been training for this my whole life?

The large amount of water leaving my body via this new junction means I can become dehydrated easily. The most unpleasant symptoms of dehydration include being told:

'You look like crap'
'Your eyes are like sunken pits'

Media Release

Friday 1 July 2011

EXPAT SAYS NO TO 40 CENT BEER, YES TO DRY JULY

BEIJING–In a country where toeing the party line is the norm, one China-based expat has decided to stand up and say no to alcohol for the month of July.

Susan Clear is an Irish-Australian and has been living in Beijing since 2007. She once believed her Irish genes and Australian binge-drinking behaviour would serve her well in the boozy Middle Kingdom, but Ms Clear simply was not prepared for the level of drinking in China.

“I remember getting off the plane, and I definitely remember going to my first Chinese banquet. The next four years are kinda blurry” says Ms Clear.

A liter bottle of beer in China costs a mere 3 Chinese Yuan, or 43 Australian cents. While their most famous liquor Baijiu still dominates social occasions in China, the country is now the largest consumer of beer in the world, and growing.

“I think people drink a lot everywhere, but in China people's social lives revolve around eating and drinking. People live close to each other, less people drive, and there is literally a new bar to try every second week” says Ms Clear.

Like thousands of Australians back at home, Ms Clear is abstaining from alcohol this July to raise money for adults with cancer. This is something Ms Clear knows about first hand.

“A close friend of mine was diagnosed with colorectal cancer at the age of 28 earlier this year. This just isn’t something you expect to happen at our age.”

“Cancer is scary, sad, and a reality check. Watching Ben take on cancer made me homesick and feel helpless, but also inspired me to do things today, not tomorrow” she says.

When asked if Ms Clear was concerned about standing out in a nation that has long encouraged its citizens to stand in exactly the same way, all the time, she said that she had bigger things on her mind.

“I want to support a good cause and be healthier at the same time.  I’m not sure of any link between alcohol and cancer, but drinking definitely leads people to do other unhealthy things, like smoking, grabbing a 3 am kebab or eating large oily hangover breakfasts, which are known risk factors.”

But avoiding a cool beer on a humid Beijing summer night can be hard. Help Ms Clear by donating at https://www.dryjuly.com/profiles/susanclear

ENDS

Unlike these women, Ms Clear is going to walk to a different tune

Conformity is serious business in China

Tsingtao, China's number one beer