“Summertime and the living is easy…”
Follow up doctor visits are mandatory if I wish to remain healthy & cancer free; this was the week for such appointments as I try to schedule them on non-duty days.
Monday was my six month oncologist visit which requires giving up some blood. My favourite phlebotomist is on vacation in Corpus Christi this week which didn’t bode well for me. Yikes! Doesn’t sound difficult unless your veins are ‘blown out’ from treatments and your mediport has been removed. The whole procedure lasted an agonizingly long five minutes but it is for a good cause. My oncologist is a wonderful soul who LISTENS to patients, quite the anomaly! Told me all was well and said to come back in six months.
Today, (Wednesday) was the mammogram! I arrived 25 minutes early and waited 45 minutes just to fill out paperwork. “We are quite busy” was the response when asked if I was late for my appt. Finally, I get called back for the procedure which requires one to put on a ‘cape’ for the exam. Not a problem since we have some semblance of privacy BUT it felt like 60° in the waiting room. Now the fun part, being prodded to make sure everything was in position, then the boom gets lowered! You are then asked to hold your breath and not move while they take the picture. OMG, when you are allowed to breath, it takes a while to recover but once again it is for a good cause. I was told that my discomfort was due to scar tissue. I am directed to sit in the waiting room while a doctor reviews the films. A door opens, “Ms. BA, the doctor says all looks fine and for you to come back in a year.” It took some time to process that so when I finished changing, I asked her if I had heard correctly and she repeated the above statement. High fives!!!! The only appointment left is with my surgeon who will review the films with me in about 4 weeks.
Follow up doctor visits are mandatory if I wish to remain healthy & cancer free; this was the week for such appointments as I try to schedule them on non-duty days.
Monday was my six month oncologist visit which requires giving up some blood. My favourite phlebotomist is on vacation in Corpus Christi this week which didn’t bode well for me. Yikes! Doesn’t sound difficult unless your veins are ‘blown out’ from treatments and your mediport has been removed. The whole procedure lasted an agonizingly long five minutes but it is for a good cause. My oncologist is a wonderful soul who LISTENS to patients, quite the anomaly! Told me all was well and said to come back in six months.
Today, (Wednesday) was the mammogram! I arrived 25 minutes early and waited 45 minutes just to fill out paperwork. “We are quite busy” was the response when asked if I was late for my appt. Finally, I get called back for the procedure which requires one to put on a ‘cape’ for the exam. Not a problem since we have some semblance of privacy BUT it felt like 60° in the waiting room. Now the fun part, being prodded to make sure everything was in position, then the boom gets lowered! You are then asked to hold your breath and not move while they take the picture. OMG, when you are allowed to breath, it takes a while to recover but once again it is for a good cause. I was told that my discomfort was due to scar tissue. I am directed to sit in the waiting room while a doctor reviews the films. A door opens, “Ms. BA, the doctor says all looks fine and for you to come back in a year.” It took some time to process that so when I finished changing, I asked her if I had heard correctly and she repeated the above statement. High fives!!!! The only appointment left is with my surgeon who will review the films with me in about 4 weeks.
Now I can relax and focus on my upcoming trips!!
ttfn,
~ba
2 comments:
awesome! congratulations
Great news!!!
Post a Comment