I’ve had probably close to a dozen ultrasounds over the years (one a really miserable internal and that’s as detailed as I’ll ever get about it!). Ken had his very first ultrasound Monday. We debated over the weekend whether it would be internal; it was. The doctor described the procedure in advance — there’s a balloon inserted and a little camera.

It seems likely that most people would NOT consider a rectal ultrasound a repeatable experience; but congratulations to Ken, his next one will occur in May to allow the doctor to monitor progression of the tumor.  I’ll leave the details about the ultrasound to the imagination; suffice to say they had to apply a topical anesthesia for the procedure to continue past the initial stage.

The whole process took no more than 10 minutes. We all met up again in the doctor’s office to review the pictures (sadly no DVD to share!). The colorectal doctor was very congenial (his office staff is not). He spent more time talking with us than actually doing the procedure. It’s likely that the original surgical plan will remain; basically, the surgeon will remove the entire rectum/ sphincter and create a stoma for Ken’s permanent colostomy bag.