About 30% of people diagnosed with breast cancer at any stage will develop distal metastasis. I am one.
After speaking with my oncologist, my GP called me back this evening. The onco asked for more tests: CT scans of my chest, abdomen and pelvis. The referrals were faxed to me this evening – they’re marked “urgent”. The oncologist said that after the CTs are read she may ask...
I’m not a pretty picture at the moment. Today is Friday. On Tuesday morning I’ll have the bone scan to verify the extent of the new mets (metastasis), and the results from that should probably come in a few days later. I am stressed and anxious and my mood is...
My neurologist (Dr. K) called a few minutes ago. Although I have not yet received the results of the head CT, she has. My brain is clear of tumors, thank God, but there is a finding that looks like new metastasis in my skull. Next step is a bone scan,...
Well, this is strange. In the weeks and days leading up to my recent CT, I was a quivering mess of anxiety and drama. I divided my time between obsessively cleaning my house and taking advantage of the kind and patient emotional support of my long-suffering friends. (You know who...
…I’ll blather if I want to. I had the head CT today. It went well, considering how anxious I am. The doctor was older than me (and still working!), very kind. He smiled and calmed me and smiled and even made me laugh. He was also a champ at starting...
I don’t often use this blog to talk in detail about my health issues, but today I’ll make an exception. For the past several weeks or couple of months I’ve been experiencing disturbing symptoms that may be caused by any one of a number of different things, from the dire...
I remember… All telephones being big and black and having dials Televisions housed in beautiful wooden cabinets as a matter of course. They were black and white, of course. The transistor radio section at the department store. Six transistor radios were groovy. Feltboards in school. Slide rules. (Listed under “Obsolete...
Full disclosure. I live with cancer. I hate that I live with cancer. Cancer and I may have reached a delicately balanced modus vivendi, but cancer still scares me. I have mets (metastasis, secondary tumors) in my bones, but the last chemo series greatly reduced them and I am pretty comfortable...
Jerusalem is a multicultural city, and I have friends and contacts of different languages, religons, ethnicities and cultural traditions. People who live in more homogeneous settings sometimes find it confusing to move among cultures. I was discussing this with a friend recently. Being a person who writes (and talks) to figure out...