Report Card

As I write this I am realizing that I am long overdue for posting, on Thursday I will be getting Herceptin again so that will make it almost three weeks since my last post. It has been a very busy few weeks and I am afraid that I have been procrastinating on posting. Every evening I will think about it just as I am heading to bed, search my mind (not a long process ;)) and decide that by evening I am pretty well brain dead so I will tell myself I will try to post earlier in the day the next day, which somehow seems to get lost in the busyness of the next day.
However, I do realize as people tentatively ask me if the MRI was OK that I left people hanging and I really need to report on the results and about my last oncologist visit and on life in general.
I was a little frustrated on the day of my oncologist visit as I was scheduled to go into work by 1200. I arrived at the hospital at 7:45 and had my bloodwork drawn. My appointment with the oncologist was scheduled for 1000 and on a normal clinic day I would have been in and out by 1015. I didn't get called in by the nurse until around 1100 and was then told that my oncologist was on holiday and that the GP who sometimes helps out on clinic days would be seeing me instead. I have given up on telling nurses at the clinic my concerns as it seems that they aren't really listening anyway - a good lesson for me. The nurse left the room after taking my vital signs and then came back in and asked me to change as the doctor would need to examine me. I did and then waited again.
Finally the doctor came in and I don't know if I was just impatient by then but I wasn't very impressed by her bedside manner, but she was running very late and that could have been part of the problem. She didn't tell me what my MUGA scan scores were but told me the MUGA was good and that my last four Herceptin treatments were booked, the last one will be October 3rd. She then told me that my MRI was a good news/bad news scenario - good news that there was no signs of metastases to the spine - not so good in that there are some issues with the cervical spine and the lower lumbar and sacral spine that are causing my back pain. She said I should see my GP and have her refer me for follow up on these issues. She also acted surprised that I hadn't seen my GP since I started my breast cancer treatment, my oncologist had specifically told me that she would be responsible for my care while I was having my treatment, which this doc appeared skeptical of. She told me my next oncologist visit would be in six months and that I would no longer need to have my heart monitored, which is not the information that I had been given by the oncologist. I had been told that because of the epirubicin and the Herceptin and their potential effect on the heart I would need to  have it monitored for 5 years. She then did a quick exam telling me that since I wouldn't be seen for six months it was required. As I was driving to work (late) I realized that nothing had been said about port removal after my Herceptin treatments were complete and that six months was longer than I wanted to wait to ask about it. I will have to see what the chemo nurses advise.
I have been back at work for three weeks now after being late for the first day, the first two weeks were only two half days, last week and next week are three half days, gradually working up to full time mid-October. My employer and myself have to complete a progress report (report card) every two weeks and submit it to the insurance company to make sure everything is staying on track. I am enjoying being back at work, it feels good. I am gradually feeling that, in my mind, I am thinking and living beyond cancer treatment and making plans around other things than when my next appointment or treatment is. I've even started my Christmas shopping :).
Paisley is 4 1/2 weeks old now, she has been on her first car trip to see her cousins and she has almost made it through her first cold. She is smiling and becoming more alert and, of course, I think she is beautiful. It looks like she may keep her dark hair and her eyes show signs of possibly being blue - could be a stunning combination!
All of this and my garden are keeping me pleasantly busy this summer, a far different summer than last year at this time. Nice to have gotten this far.
Just to confuse me a little after the 'oncologist' appointment I received an appointment booking in the mail yesterday for another MUGA scan in October, after my last Herceptin treatment. So maybe I didn't misunderstand about the continued monitoring. Who knows?
Take care everyone