It's a good thing to know back roads.
Heading out to my appointment with my onchologist today, I noticed that 495 South was at a standstill. With some quick thinking I headed towards the New Hampshire border and took Rosemont to Hilldale to Monument to Rte. 97. I meandered my way to West Lowell Ave and into Methuen. Smart move. Apparently there was a huge pothole on the bridge spanning the Merrimack which had caused a traffic tie up since 9:30 AM. Close call.
Not sure if it were the lunch hour or the effects of the traffic, but Holy Family was a ghost town. I had to check my appointment card to ensure that I was truly supposed to be there. Every cloud has a silver lining and things were smooth sailing. I was in and out of vitals check and had my labs taken care of in just 15 minutes. I hardly had enough time to check some emails when I was called into the examination room. While waiting to Dr. Mehta to arrive, I was researching the symptoms of DVT (deep vein thrombosis). DVT has been known to be a side effect of Tamoxifen. Today, I woke up with some pain in my calf. Thinking it's because I haven't been able to do my regular regimen of exercise (due to my recuperation from recent reconstruction surgery), I had taken a three mile walk at 10 AM. The pain I had was more - muscle soreness, but my heightened awareness to side effects immediately placed me on the path to DVT. I did want to discuss this with the doctor.
Dr. Mehta arrived shortly after and was surprised by my 'new look' (my hair is growing back and I now have facial hair). He said that I was looking good. [I bet he says that to all his cancer patients LOL]. He asked me to tell him everything - meaning any and all side effects, aches pains, and concerns. We discussed my progressing cataract condition. He said that Tamoxifen has been found to cause vision problems, he did say that stopping Tamoxifen would not reverse the condition. He suggested trying some over the counter remedies (visine, omega 3 supplement) which he said may help. But he did say that as the cataract(s) progress, surgery is the only option. So we'll continue to monitor its progression. At this point it's more of an aggravation. I'm thankful that my left eye hasn't shown symptoms - yet.
Dr. Mehta looked at my list of reported side effects and asked how each was doing. The back pains in my flank area seemed to have dissipated, my stamina is improving. There are still some stubborn pockets of neuropathy that persist (finger and balls of my feet). He asked if I had noticed any lumps. I had mentioned that I recently had surgery and he asked to take a look. He said, "Things are coming along nicely". He then began feeling for lumps/masses. He was gentle, given that things were still in the 'tender' stage. He said he didn't feel any masses. [It's scary to think that with everything I've been through, that I still have to be super cognizant of new lumps. Yup, scary.]
He asked if there was anything else. I mentioned this new calf pain that started today. He asked me to raise my pant leg and began feeling and positioning my foot while asking, "Does that hurt?"
Other than a 'sore muscle' sensation - no it didn't hurt. He said, "If you had DVT, you would be in much more pain." I'll monitor this. It's tough being super sensitive - because you have to.
Dr. Mehta said, "At this point, your labs are all good, your marrow is producing, you didn't need a boost. So I'll see you in 6 months. No labs are required. However, if your tolerance to Tamoxifen changes or side effects manifest (or worsen), please make an appointment."
I thanked him and said Happy Thanksgiving and he responded with, "Happy Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and all the others. I'll see you in 6."
One chapter placed on hiatus. Reconstruction continues, then on the Triple A. Will cataract surgery jump the line? We'll see.
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