July 5 2018 Routine oncology appointment and treatment
Today's appointment was at 10:00am. I like to allow two hours in case of traffic. Thought today would be light traffic being the day after the holiday. Woke up to the traffic report saying that there was an accident on my regular route, so taking an alternate route. Usually when one way backs up, the other ways are heavy with traffic. Turns out that my husband forgot his medication, so I made a slight detour to his workplace to drop off his meds. Breezed right in to the hospital. No traffic to speak of. I was actually twenty minutes early. The waiting room at the clinic, though, was crowded. I settled in with my knitting for a long wait. No coffee today, as my cardiologist had ordered fasting bloodwork, and I like to have the nurses in the infusion center take it after they access my port. Less needle sticks that way.
To my surprise, I was called back right away. The appointment went well. I brought up the option that she and I had discussed previously of taking a break from Perjeta for six months at a time. We talked about the risks (cancer coming back) and how we would handle that scenario. The reason for taking a break would be to decrease my neuropathy. Right now my neuropathy consists of tingling on the base of my feet and on the palms of my hands, in addition to me being off balance. None of those symptoms are unbearable at the moment, but they will undoubtedly get worse. I've noticed a slight increase over time. I do catch myself from falling off balance more and more often. We'll wait and talk about it again after I see the pulmonologist next week. We don't want to take any chances with whatever it is in my right lung. To refresh your memory, my latest CT scan shows inflamation in my right lung. Hopefully the pulomonologist will be able to tell us exactly what it is, and the it's not cancer.
Speaking of CT scans, it's that time again. Orders were placed for my every-three-month CT scan at the end of July. I need to wait until I see the pulmonologist in case he wants to add anything to the scan. I'll try to schedule my every-three-month echocardiogram on the same day. My cardiologist had recommended that my echocardiograms go from every three months to every six months. My oncologist would still like them every three months. They'll discuss. In the meantime, we'll stick with the every three months.
After I checked out, which consisted of paying the co-pay, getting a printout of the scan and echo orders, and making future appointments, I headed downstairs to the infusion center. They were crowded, too. I was not, however, called back right away. Those nurses were very busy. I sat and knitted, and struck up a conversation with a woman and her husband (he was the one getting treatment). Turns out they used to live in Waldorf. Their daughter lives in La Plata, and they visit once a week. It was a nice conversation.
After I was called back and vitals were taken (blood pressure was a little high), I asked the nurse about the bloodwork orders. With everything networked, you would think that within the same hospital, everybody would be able to access everything. Not so. Some departments still are not networked together. So, my infusion nurse was unable to pull up the order for bloodwork. So, I walked down the hall to the lab, asked them to print out the order, and brought it back. No big deal; I just find it funny that in a major teaching hospital that this kind of thing happens. Comical, really. So, finally, port accessed, blood drawn, Zofran as a pre-med pushed, and now we're just waiting for the meds from the pharmacy. So I watch The Price is Right while I knit and eat my peanut butter and jelly sandwich that I'd brought from home and wait. Meds come, I doze off as I usually do while they're doing their thing, and then all of a sudden it's time to go. I had checked in to the infusion center at 10:45 for my 11:00 appointment. I ended up leaving at 3:00. It's always such a long day.
On the way home, there was traffic. That's when I realized: the clinic and the infusion center were so crowded today because it's the day after a holiday. Everyone who usually has appointments on Wednesdays had to shift to Tuesday or Thursday this week. Note to self: Never schedule another appointment the day after a holiday.
So I'm home now and resting. No nausea yet, thanks to them giving me some Zofran before the treatment. It makes a huge difference. It's almost time for my nightly meds, then an early bedtime. These days are always very tiring.
To my surprise, I was called back right away. The appointment went well. I brought up the option that she and I had discussed previously of taking a break from Perjeta for six months at a time. We talked about the risks (cancer coming back) and how we would handle that scenario. The reason for taking a break would be to decrease my neuropathy. Right now my neuropathy consists of tingling on the base of my feet and on the palms of my hands, in addition to me being off balance. None of those symptoms are unbearable at the moment, but they will undoubtedly get worse. I've noticed a slight increase over time. I do catch myself from falling off balance more and more often. We'll wait and talk about it again after I see the pulmonologist next week. We don't want to take any chances with whatever it is in my right lung. To refresh your memory, my latest CT scan shows inflamation in my right lung. Hopefully the pulomonologist will be able to tell us exactly what it is, and the it's not cancer.
Speaking of CT scans, it's that time again. Orders were placed for my every-three-month CT scan at the end of July. I need to wait until I see the pulmonologist in case he wants to add anything to the scan. I'll try to schedule my every-three-month echocardiogram on the same day. My cardiologist had recommended that my echocardiograms go from every three months to every six months. My oncologist would still like them every three months. They'll discuss. In the meantime, we'll stick with the every three months.
After I checked out, which consisted of paying the co-pay, getting a printout of the scan and echo orders, and making future appointments, I headed downstairs to the infusion center. They were crowded, too. I was not, however, called back right away. Those nurses were very busy. I sat and knitted, and struck up a conversation with a woman and her husband (he was the one getting treatment). Turns out they used to live in Waldorf. Their daughter lives in La Plata, and they visit once a week. It was a nice conversation.
After I was called back and vitals were taken (blood pressure was a little high), I asked the nurse about the bloodwork orders. With everything networked, you would think that within the same hospital, everybody would be able to access everything. Not so. Some departments still are not networked together. So, my infusion nurse was unable to pull up the order for bloodwork. So, I walked down the hall to the lab, asked them to print out the order, and brought it back. No big deal; I just find it funny that in a major teaching hospital that this kind of thing happens. Comical, really. So, finally, port accessed, blood drawn, Zofran as a pre-med pushed, and now we're just waiting for the meds from the pharmacy. So I watch The Price is Right while I knit and eat my peanut butter and jelly sandwich that I'd brought from home and wait. Meds come, I doze off as I usually do while they're doing their thing, and then all of a sudden it's time to go. I had checked in to the infusion center at 10:45 for my 11:00 appointment. I ended up leaving at 3:00. It's always such a long day.On the way home, there was traffic. That's when I realized: the clinic and the infusion center were so crowded today because it's the day after a holiday. Everyone who usually has appointments on Wednesdays had to shift to Tuesday or Thursday this week. Note to self: Never schedule another appointment the day after a holiday.
So I'm home now and resting. No nausea yet, thanks to them giving me some Zofran before the treatment. It makes a huge difference. It's almost time for my nightly meds, then an early bedtime. These days are always very tiring.
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