End of the year appointments

As the end of the year approaches, I'm working hard to get all of those "last" appointments scheduled. Since we've already met our deductible, it only made sense to try and schedule as many -OLOGISTS as I could pack into the last weeks of December. In January, the deductible will start over and everything will be financially challenging. Today was radiation oncology day.

The office had moved and thankfully, when the receptionist called to remind me about my appointment yesterday, she also gave me the address for the new location. Instead of taking me fifteen minutes to get to the office, it was now going to take me an hour. I adjusted accordingly and left the house promptly at 8:00 a.m. Amid all the 9 to 5 workers, I eased into traffic and found my groove. It was a beautiful December morning and I was thankful to be alive.

On my way to the doctor's office, I received a phone call telling me the doc had been called into an emergency meeting. She wouldn't be able to keep my 9:00 a.m. appointment...would I be willing to see her at 9:30 a.m.? I'm flexible, so I agreed to move my appointment time but since I was already en route, I decided I'd just sit in the waiting room and read a while.

I found a parking spot directly across from the office door. It was a few minutes before 9:00 a.m. so I sat in my car and checked my text messages and Facebook wall. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something shiny. As I looked up, I saw a beautiful bald woman heading to her car. The sun was glinting off the top of her scalp and made her look even more beautiful. She was wearing her Christmas red...a lovely shirt with decorative trim. I tried not to stare but couldn't help it. I was still so very thankful I'd not lost my hair.

Entering the hospital doors, I scanned the hallways for the restroom. After finding it, I made a quick stop and continued on to the radiology oncology office. The receptionist greeted me and I asked how she liked the new office. She smiled and said, "it's great!" I picked out a corner chair and sat to read a magazine. Within a few minutes, I was being called back to get weighed.

You've lost a few pounds, the nurse exclaimed. I told her I hadn't been trying to but just hadn't had an appetite. She asked me how long that had been going on and I told her it had been several months now. She jotted notes on my folder and ushered me into the room.

The doctor came in shortly after I'd been seated and took a few minutes to make small talk. She was pleasant but we never really hit it off like I had with my regular oncologist. Something about her just didn't sit well with me. Maybe she reminded me too much of a relative...

Dr. S. had me remove my shirt and she began examining me. As she allowed her fingers to travel over my skin, she was palpating for any new or different variations in my skin and tissue. She exclaimed that my right chest cavity felt "hard as a rock," and I agreed. She said it was from the changes due to radiation.

She continued on with my exam and medical history making notes all along the way. She was attentive and thorough. When she was done, she asked about pain I might be having and I shared with her about the spinal pain, the insomnia, and the hip joint pain. She seemed genuinely concerned about all of these and told me it was important to get enough sleep so my body could regenerate cells. She prescribed some Ambien to try and get me over the "hump" of not sleeping and also wanted me to go see a pain management specialist. I left her office with all the instructions and she said she'd see me in 6 months. I was so glad...6 months instead of 3!

So now I'm waiting on the pain management clinic to call me to set up an appointment. Hopefully, I can get in before the end of the month. I'm nervous about going there. I don't want to get hooked on pain medication and I'm scared to death of having epidurals or other needle type injections in my spine.

I'm so tired of going to the doctor. It seems I have an appointment every other week. I keep wondering when or if the insurance company is going to say, "okay, we've paid enough out on you and we're going to cancel your coverage." I hope that never happens! I don't know how anyone with cancer could ever afford quality care without insurance. I'm so thankful we have good insurance and I'm even more thankful that my sweet husband is still able to work and provide for us.

Next week, I go see the regular oncologist. This will be a new doctor since my original oncologist moved his practice. I wish these doctors could just stay put! It's hard to find a doctor you feel comfortable with and then they up and move! It would be nice if everything could just stay the same but things are always changing. I guess that's just life...always moving, always changing.