Visit With Dr. J

Tuesday I went to a new Oncologist here in Phoenix.  I've heard great things about him.  My friends Nicole and Michelle came along for support which I was so grateful for.  These girls are amazing, so kind and genuine. 

I thought it strange that the first thing Dr. J did was a pelvic exam.   Typically you do a get to know you and your history before the big plunge.  What was even more strange is after I got dressed we went in his office and he was dictating his note throughout my appointment.  He never even really took a history or asked how I was doing.  His nurse definitely made up for his interesting bedside manner.  She seems fantastic and I'm glad she will be the one who will be doing my chemo, which I start again on Tuesday. 

Dr. J wasn't very warm and fuzzy like my other oncologists have been, but it could be that he was having a bad day or he just doesn't know me.  In the end he did give me a hug like my other oncologists have, but it wasn't as genuine as Dr. Dans.

I do feel like Dr. J is going to help me though.  He feels like I really need to have a full dose of gemzar instead of halving it like we have been.  He also wants to switch from the carbo and put me back on cisplatin which I was on the first time I had chemo.  He thinks it works better than the carbo. 

He was kind of sarcastic/joking with me when he asked me questions and I didn't know the answer "since I am a PA."  He mentioned something about the fact that treating medical people is difficult.  I let him know that my knowledge is limited in Oncology and that I'm the patient and to not treat me any differently.  Yes it is nice to have the medical information that I do, but when it comes to me being the patient it doesn't make a lot of difference, especially because my specialty is Emergency Medicine.

I held it together rather well until Dr. J told me that I was going to have to have chemo for as long as it takes for my CA 125 to be in the teens or single digits.  It has a long way to go with it being 77.  Special prayers please that this chemo works, that my counts decrease and that I don't have to do chemo for too much longer. 

The Good New:  Dr. J felt the mass which he says is on the vaginal/anal wall and not on the anal sphincter has gone from what they were saying in Boston was measuring 2.5-3 cm to now 1.2-1.5 cm.  That to me makes me think we are seeing results, even if the CA 125 is lagging behind.

So there you have another chemo/cancer update.  Someday I hope that I am cancer free and I don't have to bore you or myself with these fun facts.