My Dad on Colonoscopies

Remember Katie Couric exhalting the need for colonoscopy on NBC's Today Show because her husband died of far advanced colon cancer?....I should have listened then...Don't underestimate the importance of colonoscopy. I am 68 yr. old, practicing neurosurgeon, never been sick, never had any surgery and the epitome of good health. I confess that I neglected to have a colonoscopy done after age 5o and procrastinated every time I should have it done.

Anyway, last month, I had an episode of lid diarrhea and I did not "like" the color of my stools. They were not bloody nor were they discolored but I thought they were "different". So, the next morning, I took my stool specimen to the lab. Results: blood in the stools. Several days later, a friend who is a Gen. Surgeon schedule me for colonoscopy and found a 1.5 cm colorectal cancer. I had hand-assisted laparoscopic removal of the tumor by a colorectal surgeon in Rancho Mirage, Ca. who happens to be me nephew. He practices in the Palm Springs area and operates at the Eisenhower Medical Center.

I am now looking at further adjutant chemotherapy and radiation. Prognosis seems to be good as the tumor was found early. It would have been better if I had colonoscopy done 5 years earlier as the cancer probably was a small polyp then, that could have been easily removed without any major surgery. In short.... you hear about all the horrid things about colonoscopy.. Its actually a "breeze". You just need to put up with the"yucky" laxative you need to take in order for you to empty your bowels the evening before the procedure. After they give you that "good stuff"...you won't even remember the procedure... Go get your colonoscopy done..You'll thank me for it....

-Manuel Cacdac, M.D.

Saturday Morning Jam Session

We're heading down to Jackson park in Potrero Hill this morning. One of Julian's fav spots since there is not only playground, baseball fields, tennis court, basketball court but he can ride his bike on the sidewalk.... around the entire block. It's close to the bestest indoor spot too, Recess , run by a great group of folks who are dedicated to play!

As we prepare our snack-pack and get the bike ready and what not we are jammin' out to Medeski Martin & Wood's new kids album, Let's Go Everywhere, a newcomer to the rotation. We like it we like it yeah! I've always been a fan of MMW and this new project seems to make a lot sense, not to mention we can both listen to it and rock out. I just wish Phil Harvey was still mixing sound for them. He was, in my opinion, the best translator of their ideas from stage to audience. I was lucky enough to catch a lot of those shows back in the day and man, that guy is one of the most talented front-of-house engineers out there today, a true artist. Thanks for the sound Phil.

Purple Reign O'er Me

Is it real? You bet it is. I almost had to change my underoos when I heard that Prince has joined the lineup of the Coachella Music Festival, headlining the second of 3 nights. I've never seen him in concert and hopefully this will be my chance. He's on my "artists to see before I die" list. Oh and I found this whilst messing about this morning too. Purdy cool.


I will be at Coachella again this year, this time mixing sound for The Breeders on Friday night, right before the Raconteurs. I don't know how many children are out there since I haven't spent much time in the audience but it is the desert and the conditions can be very harsh indeed. So if you must bring your kiddies along please do your homework and come prepared for the desert climate, drink lots of water, provide a shady spot for your tikes and pack a first aid kit. I didn't find much on their site besides an FAQ regarding strollers so please educate and prepare before making the jaunt into the desert and you will have a much happier experience.

I guess I get all this "preparedness" from a combination of: having a great Dad, being in the production world, having a kid and participating in Burning Man for several years. And if you can't make it to that funky art festival in the Black Rock Desert then you can get a taste of some of the Burning Man art at Coachella, lucky you.

If you are indeed going to Coachella please say hello to Sean at the Steampunk Treehouse. Sean and co. at Kinetic Steam Works produce some wicked kinetic, steam-driven sculptures. Be sure to look for Michael Christian's work as well, another mind-blowing artist from the Bay Area.

Pathology

Well, my worst fears have been confirmed. My Father's pathology report came back positive for one node. I'm trying to remain positive, upbeat and strong for him.

This means some radiation and some form of chemotherapy is in his future. Dad remains stoic and strong as usual. Man, nothing can shake this guy and that's good; a real trooper. He'll be here in Palm Springs for another week will hopefully be strong enough to fly back to Indianapolis. My brother, Chance, will fly here from Florida to assist otherwise as I will be in Europe.

So I urge you guys out there again: get a colonoscopy if you are of the age.

Discharged and Recovering

All I can say is, "WOW!". My father is truly an amazing, strong and determined man... nothing short of inspiring.

Just a few couple of short hours ago, my Pops was discharged from the Eisenhower Medical Center in Palm Springs only five days after my cousin, Ricardo "Ricky" Cacdac M.D. removed a cancerous tumor. Five days. To put this in perspective, most patients stay twice that long recovering from this type of procedure. Ricky said that all my Dad had to do was pass gas and he could go home. Easy enough, right? Um, no.

Basically the bowels/intestines go into a form of shock ( I've forgotten the technical term) when they are scooped up and layed out on the stomach. Think of a caterpillar minding its own business, inching along on a leaf. Once touched by a human finger its instinctive defenses are to tighten the muscles and lock down, sort of like "if I can't see the boogey man, he can't see me" or something like that. This is what the bowels do after the surgery and they take their sweet time expanding back to their former, relaxed state. So passing gas becomes a monumental feat to say the least. Generally patients will pass gas 4 or 5 days after surgery.
My Dad was able to do it the very next day. This tells me a couple of things: 1) Ricky is a very talented surgeon and, 2) my Father has an extremely resilient anatomy.

I never thought I'd see the day where I would be cheering, clapping and jumping up and down for Father's Farts. He can now start eating more solid foods and is not limited to soup, pudding, jello and applesauce. Woohoo.

Now that he is recovering like a champ my family and I have a chance to exhale. But this is just the first part; now we await the pathology report for his lymph nodes. Hopefully we will know tomorrow whether the cancer has spread or not. Fingers X'd.