For those in the know, Mercury is in retrograde until the end of September. This means different things to different people and nothing at all to others. Having a full Harvest Moon on the tenth and Mercury in retrograde at the same time, being a Virgo, one must be vigilant and expect the unexpected. After all, It's a wise man who rules the stars; a fool, ruled by them. (Thank you Darrell Martinie, the Cosmic Muffin).
With that back story, I had my 6 month check up with my oncologist, Dr Mehta, at Dana Farber in Methuen. It was an early appointment with a blood draw done first, so I went to bed an hour earlier only to be rudely awakened by my alarm clock at 7:15AM. Need coffee!
Got up, turned on the coffee maker, took my daily pills, checked my blood pressure, grabbed the local paper and sat down for a nice strong cup of coffee while I paged through. (Ah, the simple pleasures.) First sip, and hmmm...tasted like Dunkins' brown water coffee. (ala Mrs Sloccum, "Weak as water"). I went back to the coffee maker and noticed that most of the ground coffee was still dry. So I poured my cup of 'brown water' into the basket hoping for a stronger brew. I felt adventurous, so I slowly poured the contents of the carafe. Well that didn't go well. It decided to spill over the counter and bubble up on the hot burner. Used the quicker picker upper and managed to save one cup of the new brew. Yuck. Horrible taste. But I did manage to drink it. I needed the caffeine. Looking up I noticed I was running late so I finished the paper, made the bed and got ready to leave.
6th Month Check-Up
Traffic was typical for the time of day, but uneventful. I got to Dana Farber when I had expected. Had my mask on and entered the lobby. I was greeted and screened for Covid. Had my temperature taken and was directed to the 3rd floor. Arrived at the third floor and waited for an attendant to call me over.
I stated my name and my reason for being here. She quizzed me on my date of birth, verified a few housekeeping items and printed my wrist band. I was also given a tracking device so they could find me if I decided to walk around(?) The attendant had very long nails and was having a hard time peeling off the paper so the adhesive would work. She took a staple remover and was unsuccessful. In fact she mangled it so another had to be printed. She asked a co-worker to help. Finally I got my wrist band on. I was given my SAT to complete (but no pen). However, I just got seated and my name was called.
Christine was my phlebotomist. She took my vitals. I was shocked at my blood pressure readings: 156/79 pulse 45. That was high. I take my pressure daily and today's reading at home was 128/69 pulse 49. She said that all the movement and white coat syndrome causes higher readings. (To my self: Then why not have me sit/rest/stabilize before taking the readings?)
Christine then asked if I had an arm preference for the blood draw. I told her that I don't have much luck on the arms and lately they have been taking it from my hand. She wrinkled her nose and said, "Let me look at your veins first." Generally I'm told that I have good veins, but history shows they don't produce anything except target practice for needles. "Hmmm, they look good, but maybe they roll?" She called in for reinforcements. I noticed about a half dozen vials waiting to be filled. Help arrived and she went in on my hand. She was good, not much discomfort and the vials were filled quickly. YAY
I left Christine, but snagged a pen form her and another medical professional recorded my weight and height. I did weigh myself this morning and I was 202, but their scale lied. It read 205. And, I removed all my lead bricks from my pockets...plus my shoes. She took my blood pressure again, this time with a reading of 129/70 pulse 50. Retrograde effect? Anyway those numbers seemed correct. Gravity continues to gain ground. Seems that I'm still shrinking. A tad less than 6'3". I was escorted to an examination room to wait for Dr Mehta.
I waited for 10-15 minutes for the doctor to arrive. Just enough time to complete my SATs. We discussed my other health issues. I provided an overview of my bladder cancer travails and most recent cystoscopy/TURBT and how I'm now being treated with BGC. He indicated that BGC does have good promise for most, but (like me) was in a quandary as to why it took so long to get the treatment. He did say that I was fortunate to have it be non-muscular invasive cancer. He did add that after all the treatments and resections, if the BGC isn't effective, he has an alternative immuno-therapy treatment that has been recently approved. He said it's not chemo and it's another step that could be taken before the point of having to remove the bladder.
Dr Mehta then began to focus on my follow up. He inquired on my neuropathy. He reviewed my mammogram and performed a physical exam of my breast and lymph nodes. He said every thing looks good. He also reviewed my blood test and said everything looks normal. I had mentioned that my RBC (red blood cell count) had been below average due to my blood loss in July. He said the numbers are in the normal range. (I did get the test results in my portal and there were no red flags). He scheduled my for my next mammogram and subsequent follow-up in March 2023. He also scheduled me for genetic testing. Since 2015, he indicated that there are new gene markers to check for. So I will be receiving a call from then. More on that.
I had inquired on the results of the previous test. And, he couldn't find it it my file. He did see that there were notes that indicated both BRAC1 and 2 genes came back negative for cancer. He said the new test results will have more information.
When I got home, I checked my cellar cause I recalled that I had purchased a replacement coffee machine (on sale) some time ago. So out with the old and in with the new. The new one is really stripped down with just an on/off switch. As long as it makes good coffee, that's all I want.
More to come!
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