Busy week of doctor visits.......

After a nice weekend in Longview, visiting Ryan and eating at favorite restaurants until ready to burst, the girls and I came home Monday evening. The relaxation ended then, as Tuesday dawned and with it came the first of many doctor appointments for this week.

Tuesday I headed back to the oncologist for my "post-surgery" visit and another 3 week dose of Herceptin. I am firmly convinced that "Tuesday after a Monday holiday" appointments are trouble waiting to happen. First of all, the traffic on the tollway was worse than rush hour on the Dan Ryan. Then, I had to wait an hour to see the nurse practitioner. Then, they didn't have the pathology report yet, and when Janice (the NP) called the surgeon's office to get it, the office manager refused to fax it, as they had "no record of Dr. Holmes" in my file. Plus she then lectured Janice about government regs and HIPPA laws. Not a good way to start the week. We ended up calling the Pathology department at the hospital to get the report faxed over, but it will be a bit longer before I see it, as the doctor needs to review it first. Sigh......patience is a virtue. The rest of the appointment went fine; I got my Herceptin as quickly as they could drip it into my port and hightailed it out of there.

Today, I was back at the Cancer Center for my radiation "planning session." What a different type of appointment from all the others I have had! The radiation therapist who took care of me today is named Brian. He is from Trinidad, but he spent 5 minutes trying to convince me he was from Ireland! I found out that he has 4 children, he has 3 liberal arts degrees, but he is a radiation therapist because he needed to feed his family. He and his wife homeschooled their oldest 2 from grades K-3. He used to live on Long Island and has been in TX for 3.5 years. Lots of information.........all given while he was writing all over my chest with a Sharpie marker!!!

In addition to the Sharpie marker, they did a CT scan so the doctors can formulate a specific radiation plan for my body (during which time I held up both my arms over my head for at least 30 minutes!). They use all sorts of fancy 3D imaging to try their hardest to avoid shooting radiation where it doesn't belong. So, there is a lot of measuring, marking and the like. I got my first tattoos today - 8 of them. Brian told me they would pinch a little. Ummmm......no.......a few of them hurt like the dickens! He also assured me I would NOT end up looking like "Lydia, the tattooed lady." He kept his word. While the spots are permanent, they are also very small.

There are a few more steps in the planning process before I actually start radiation treatments. If I remember correctly, there are 2 more visits I will need to make to insure that everything is lined up correctly. The staff wasn't sure exactly when I would have my next appointment, but they should be calling me tomorrow to set it up. All in all, it wasn't too difficult going through all of these different procedures today. They were different, though, and for some reason I felt more like a cancer patient today than I have in a long while. Reality check. But the Lord had Brian take care of me today, and his humor helped lighten the load.

One of the other things Brian did this morning was to take my photograph when I first arrived. I was dressed in a gown by this time, so this wasn't to be a glamour shot but more of a mug shot. Brian's comment about my photo - "You have a good nun face!" ACK! I don't know if it's the hair style (what can you do when your hair is barely an inch long?) or the overabundance of gray or what, but a nun face??? Somehow that didn't give my morale a huge boost, although it was pretty funny as he went on and on about all the nuns he has known. I don't think I will be giving up my wig just yet anyway.

Tomorrow, I meet with the genetic counselor to go over the results of my (expensive) BRCA tests. Friday I do NOT have a doctor's appointment, but Kathryn does go to the orthodontist and the girls have piano, so it will be a busy day. Tonight, I think I will rest. It is amazing to me how sore I am from stretching out my arms overhead for 30 minutes and also getting 8 tattoos.

A nun face???????

posted by Kim @ 4:49 PM