Rizvi's Road: February 2012

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Another Year of Great Health

Happy Belated New Year everyone. Long time no write as they sort-a-say.

Another happy start to the year for Syed. Since his bout with colon cancer, he remains in great health and continued remission. All last year, Linda accompanied him to all of his doctor’s appointments which I’m happy to report were frankly, “boring”. Not that the conversation wasn’t interesting but there was just nothing of concern to report since Syed is in continued great health since he has been taking such good care of himself.

I also wanted to let you all know that going forward, Syed will now be managing this blog. The initial intention was to keep everyone up-to-date on Syed’s road to recovery from colon cancer. We were going to shut down the blog but Syed decided that he would like to manage it going forward. The secondary purpose of the blog was to create a forum where people could possibly share their stories of recovery. Who knows, maybe Rizvi's Road will head in a completely different direction, hence the name of the blog.

Thank you all for your tremendous support of Syed. I think I can speak for both Linda and myself when I say that his circle of friends are ones to be admired. We were just stunned at how many people around the world reached out to be there for Syed through his treatment and recovery. While Syed is an amazing man, he is surrounded by truly amazing people. I think Syed has proved the saying to be true, “your friends are a reflection of you.”

Here’s to years filled with Health, Happiness, Laughter, and Love.

Caroline and Linda

About Rizvi's Road

You get yearly physicals. You enter new decades of your life. Your physicals start to expand to include new sets of “regular” standard tests. You place your faith in your doctors. You are vegan. You eat healthy. You exercise regularly. You are active in your community. You have never been to a hospital. You have never had surgery. You think you’re doing everything right to stay healthy. The next day you learn you have colon cancer.

This blog is about Syed Rizvi’s road to recovery from colon cancer—how he found out to what’s happening now.

Meet Syed Rizvi. Syed is from the India-Pakistan subcontinent. He was born in 1933 and spent his early years in Patna, India. In 1955 Syed moved to Karachi, Pakistan where he received his Masters in Physics and then taught Physics at a local college. In 1960 Syed migrated to the U.S.A. to continue his education. By 1972, he became a naturalized citizen.

Living and working in many cities across the U.S., Syed finally settled in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1996, the place he now calls home.

In mid April, 2010, Syed noticed he suddenly became exhausted, out of breath, and slightly dizzy when walking from his front door to the driveway. He immediately went to see his primary care physician. His doctor asked if Syed considered his symptoms serious—serious enough to be considered an emergency. Syed replied no, he did not consider his condition serious. The doctor then scheduled a series of heart-related tests.

After a month of tests, Syed’s cardiovascular system proved to be in tip top shape, yet his symptoms persisted. His doctor then recommended he see a neurologist. Before scheduling a new series of tests, Syed talked with his friends about his condition. His friends became concerned that his doctor did not consider his condition more critical and they helped Syed get urgent care. This was the moment when Syed’s life turned to a new chapter.

Syed took a blood test, a test that should have been taken the day he met his doctor the first time. The next day, his doctor’s office called, informed Syed he was severely anemic, and instructed him to go to the ER immediately. Syed was then admitted to the hospital.

Over the next few days, Syed underwent numerous tests. It was finally discovered that he had a tumor in his colon and he had been bleeding for quite some time. Within a few days he underwent surgery to remove the tumor and part of his colon. Syed then learned he had Stage 3 colon cancer.

Join Syed in his journey. Share your thoughts or your own story. We all have a lot to learn from each other. That’s what Rizvi's Road is all about.