July 18 – I noticed blood in my urine. I didn’t react or seek any medical attention thinking that this was simply an anomaly and expecting that it would probably go away.
Aug 10 – More blood in my urine. Asked my wife, Kathryn, to accompany me to Urgent Care.
Aug 10 – Urgent care medical staff recommended a visit MN Urology.
Aug 28 – First visit with Dr. Chase Sovell, MN Urology. He performed a urtheralscopic inspection and stated that he saw a tumor, a polyp, and recommended that I undergo TURBT, transurtheral resectioning of the bladder where they would sedate me, perform a procedure to closely inspect the tumor and remove it, collecting samples for further investigation.
Aug 29 – the next day, Dr. Sovell’s office called to schedule a kidney scan for Sept 5th to determine if there was any evidence of the tumor spreading.
Sept 5 – Reported to Abbott NW hospital for a CAT scan of my kidneys.
Sept 9th – Dr. Sovell’s office called to say the CAT scan was clear and there was no evidence of the tumor spreading to the kidneys. They asked to set up an appointment for Dr. Sovell to perform the TURBT, indicating that he was booked through October. I was scheduled to travel to Florida for a BA conference on Nov 10 so wanted to wait until after I returned. I scheduled the procedure for Dec 2nd having no idea I was actually diagnosed with cancer.
I spent the next three months urinating blood, drinking 6-10 liters of H2O daily, and looking forward to having the little polyp “snipped.” I noticed that the more water I drank, my urine was lighter and there was less blood – duh! This mattered because i was hoping the tumor had stopped growing, or at least was dormant. I didn’t search the internet for information on bladder tumors and I wasn’t worried because I was oblivious to the real diagnosis, thinking that Dr. Sovell would simply snip the little bugger and I could move on. Some days, about weekly, a large blood clot would pass, and the blood would flow for few days, and I would pound more water.
Since the original diagnosis on Aug 28th, I stopped drinking any alcoholic beverages not wanting to irritate the condition. I don’t recall the day, but one evening, I drank a glass of red wine, and enjoyed another before retiring for the night. The following day, I passed a large blood clot and watched as the urine turned a deep crimson. I only drank alcohol one other time after that, during my stay in Ft. Lauderdale for the IIBA BBC conference. And that precipitated the same results, and scaring the hell out of me.
Nov 9 – Flew to Ft. Lauderdale, FL, for the annual International Institute of Business Analysis Building Better Capabilities conference where I spent four days participating in workshops, panel discussions, and a few learning sessions. I presented on Thursday afternoon, and found the experience exhilarating and uplifting. I can’t wait to present again, as we grow the field of cybersecurity business analysis.
Terry Baresh 