A Day in the (Cancer) Life Revisited -- Routine Oncology Appointment and Treatment
The day started off like any other routine medical day. A friend was able to drive me to the hospital for my appointments. That's important because, as my blood pressure has been high when taken at the doctor's office, I'm supposed to take my anti-anxiety med before I leave the house, so that my blood pressure shows normal. I can't drive when I take it.
We left the house at 8:00am, hit a bit of traffic (not unusual), and pulled up to the hospital at about 9:20 for my 10:00 appointment. I checked in at the clinic for my appointment with my oncologist, then sat in the waiting room. I alternated between knitting and closing my eyes. I was called back to a room just after 10:00. The wonderful girl who takes my vitals (always has a smile and a hug) apologized for the wait and told me that they were running behind. Not surprising, and no big deal. Sometimes they run early, some times right on time, sometimes late. All depends. I have my knitting and am content to wait. My oncologist came in to the room at 10:45. We talked about how things are going, about specific side effects and if they're the same, better, or worse; if I needed any refills on my medications. Mostly things are about the same. CT scan and echo are ordered for late January (routine). I told her about an upcoming metastatic breast cancer symposium being held in DC in February, where a colleague of hers will be speaking. I asked her about the recent conference in San Antonio that she attended (it's the biggest breast cancer conference in the country). We chatted a bit. I gave her a Christmas present.
A while back she had told me that her son (she has little guys) called her Wonder Woman. So, what did I give her? A Wonder Woman Wrap. She loved it! I'm so glad that she liked it. Because, you know, she is my Wonder Woman. She's kept the cancer at bay for over three years now for me.
The girl who checked me out is the twin of the girl who took my vitals. Again, always with a hug and a smile.
On my way to the infusion center, I stopped at the coffee shop; I was really wanting a white chocolate mocha latte (decaf, of course), but their espresso machine wasn't working. Small disappointment of the day. But, it worked out okay because when I got to the infusion center, they had hot chocolate in addition to the usual coffee and tea. That was a nice treat.
Infusion center was running a bit behind, too. When I checked in, I had requested Brandy, but the receptionist forgot to put her name on my paper. Brandy and I usually share stories and pictures about our dogs. And, she knows the ins and outs of accessing my port. I never have to worry about it hurting when Brandy accesses it. So, today I had Christina (first time), and it worked out well. Didn't hurt a bit, and blood return right away. Winning!
Another wonderful girl took my vitals in the infusion center, brought me a warm blanket and a pillow. Mary, their volunteer, brought me a sandwich and juice. They are all so super nice there. Christina accessed my port, and hooked up a premed of Zofran (anti-nausea). The Zofran runs over ten minutes, and then we wait 20 minutes for it to take effect before starting the other meds. So today, just after 1:00pm, Herceptin was hooked up. That ran for thirty minutes. As Christina was switching to Perjeta, another nurse stopped by to say that a volunteer was at the center, asking if anyone wanted to knit. Um, yes. 😀 So, she came in and sat with me. I knitted, we talked. She didn't have a personal project with her; she usually teaches people how to knit. I told her I'd be back in six weeks; she'll bring her own project and we'll knit together while the meds go in. It was really nice chatting with her. She told me how she came to be a volunteer, and how much she loves it.
Just before time was up, I got a text from Jimmy telling me he was here. Usually he gets there in plenty of time to park and come in and sit a while. I had texted him when the first med was hooked up (that's when I know I'll be done in about an hour) and he was there right about the time I would be done. So I texted back asking him if he was parking or waiting for me outside. Didn't hear back. Called; he didn't answer. So, I stopped at the nurse's station on the way out and told Brandy. I asked her to tell him, if he should come there looking for me, that I was going to the clinic entrance to see if he was there. She told me to sit right there, and she went outside to look for him. Found him. Came back in and walked out with me. Amazing people.
On the way home, we had to stop and get gas, it was raining, and we had another errand to run. I slept a bit. We stopped to get carry out for dinner because we were both too tired to make anything, and finally got home at about 7:30pm. So, here it is 9:45pm. Lunch is packed for tomorrow (half of my carry out), meds have been taken, bag is packed for work, and it's a few hours past my bedtime.
Goodnight, my family and friends. I hope you enjoyed the peek into the medical side of things.
We left the house at 8:00am, hit a bit of traffic (not unusual), and pulled up to the hospital at about 9:20 for my 10:00 appointment. I checked in at the clinic for my appointment with my oncologist, then sat in the waiting room. I alternated between knitting and closing my eyes. I was called back to a room just after 10:00. The wonderful girl who takes my vitals (always has a smile and a hug) apologized for the wait and told me that they were running behind. Not surprising, and no big deal. Sometimes they run early, some times right on time, sometimes late. All depends. I have my knitting and am content to wait. My oncologist came in to the room at 10:45. We talked about how things are going, about specific side effects and if they're the same, better, or worse; if I needed any refills on my medications. Mostly things are about the same. CT scan and echo are ordered for late January (routine). I told her about an upcoming metastatic breast cancer symposium being held in DC in February, where a colleague of hers will be speaking. I asked her about the recent conference in San Antonio that she attended (it's the biggest breast cancer conference in the country). We chatted a bit. I gave her a Christmas present.
The girl who checked me out is the twin of the girl who took my vitals. Again, always with a hug and a smile.
On my way to the infusion center, I stopped at the coffee shop; I was really wanting a white chocolate mocha latte (decaf, of course), but their espresso machine wasn't working. Small disappointment of the day. But, it worked out okay because when I got to the infusion center, they had hot chocolate in addition to the usual coffee and tea. That was a nice treat.
Infusion center was running a bit behind, too. When I checked in, I had requested Brandy, but the receptionist forgot to put her name on my paper. Brandy and I usually share stories and pictures about our dogs. And, she knows the ins and outs of accessing my port. I never have to worry about it hurting when Brandy accesses it. So, today I had Christina (first time), and it worked out well. Didn't hurt a bit, and blood return right away. Winning!
Another wonderful girl took my vitals in the infusion center, brought me a warm blanket and a pillow. Mary, their volunteer, brought me a sandwich and juice. They are all so super nice there. Christina accessed my port, and hooked up a premed of Zofran (anti-nausea). The Zofran runs over ten minutes, and then we wait 20 minutes for it to take effect before starting the other meds. So today, just after 1:00pm, Herceptin was hooked up. That ran for thirty minutes. As Christina was switching to Perjeta, another nurse stopped by to say that a volunteer was at the center, asking if anyone wanted to knit. Um, yes. 😀 So, she came in and sat with me. I knitted, we talked. She didn't have a personal project with her; she usually teaches people how to knit. I told her I'd be back in six weeks; she'll bring her own project and we'll knit together while the meds go in. It was really nice chatting with her. She told me how she came to be a volunteer, and how much she loves it.
Just before time was up, I got a text from Jimmy telling me he was here. Usually he gets there in plenty of time to park and come in and sit a while. I had texted him when the first med was hooked up (that's when I know I'll be done in about an hour) and he was there right about the time I would be done. So I texted back asking him if he was parking or waiting for me outside. Didn't hear back. Called; he didn't answer. So, I stopped at the nurse's station on the way out and told Brandy. I asked her to tell him, if he should come there looking for me, that I was going to the clinic entrance to see if he was there. She told me to sit right there, and she went outside to look for him. Found him. Came back in and walked out with me. Amazing people.
On the way home, we had to stop and get gas, it was raining, and we had another errand to run. I slept a bit. We stopped to get carry out for dinner because we were both too tired to make anything, and finally got home at about 7:30pm. So, here it is 9:45pm. Lunch is packed for tomorrow (half of my carry out), meds have been taken, bag is packed for work, and it's a few hours past my bedtime.
Goodnight, my family and friends. I hope you enjoyed the peek into the medical side of things.
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