Oops, sorry :-)

I guess I forgot to follow up on Thursday's appointment at Dr. Marble's (thanks Bea!!!)

I went in for 9:30 a.m. and was greeted by a Nurse Practitioner (how horrible is it that her name completely escapes me right now???). Along with her was Sue LaFlamme, Dr. Marble's Medical Assistant. Shortly after, arrived Dr. Marble.

Now, Sue and Dr. Marble are like long time friends to me. They hug me when they see me, they ask me about how I'm doing and how my life is going....they don't just care about "Doris the Patient"...they care about "Doris....the human being." And I think it's fair to say that is exactly how all the staff at Exeter Hospital has treated me.

Anyway, the four of us began talking and the next thing I know I'm pulling my shirt up over my head for them to check out my scars, etc., and my head scarf came off with it....and I was embarassed for a brief moment. But the three of them told me that I looked great and that I shouldn't even bother wearing the scarves anymore. Sue specifically was very complementary. But I said "Sue...I look sick. I don't want people to see me like this and say 'That woman is sick' or...'that woman must have cancer." Sue just gave me a look...she didn't say anything...just gave me a look of "Oh puh-lease girlfriend!"

Anyway, they had a little trouble locating the spot where they insert the needle to draw out the fluid (of course...I mean....it couldn't have gone smoothly could it??!) So although the Nurse Practitioner was supposed to do the procedure, Dr. Marble ended up doing it. It went pretty quickly and was painless, as I have no feeling or sensation on my left side whatsoever.

I told them that Dr. Hammond wants to remove my ovaries and that it will most likely be done laporscopicly. Dr. Marble said that I can have the tissue expander in the left breast switched out for the permanent implant at the same time that I am under anesthesia for the ovary removal.

Let's see....where did the discussion go from there....oh yes - Dr. Marble said I would need to have a consult with a Ob/Gyn Surgeon in order to get my ovaries removed at Exeter Hospital. I am looking in to seeing Dr. Ober.

Today I ended up back at the Oncology office. I met with Judy - a Nurse Practitioner at Dr. Hammond's office. It essentially became more of a therapy session then anything and I left feeling a bit better. You see, I had called the office Sunday night in tears to tell them that I just wasn’t feeling well and I wanted to have someone call me back on Monday. My symptoms/complaints:
1. Loss of feeling in many of my toes;
2. Extreme neck and head pain (muscular);
3. Hot flashes;
4. Dizzy spells;
5. Poor quality sleep/lethargic.

I think there’s more, but it escapes me right now.

Anyway, Judy suggested that I get moving – literally. Start walking, join Weight Watchers (I had been toying with the idea but had been procrastinating), start taking Vitamin D, Calcium Citrate and another supplement which I’ll have to get the name of. She said my test results showed I’m slightly anemic as well and she encouraged me to see my Chiropractor for the head and neck pain which I did right after I left her office.

Fast fact --- losing excess body weight reduces your chances of breast cancer by 26%.

So….tomorrow I’ll go grocery shopping and work on a better lifestyle.

There was something Judy said today that really hit me hard……as she sat there with me listening to my every word, she put her hand on my knee and said “You see….since January we have been taking care of your health for you Doris. Now it’s time for you to start taking care of yourself. I know that we women have a hard time doing that because we put everyone else first….but it’s time for you to put yourself first.”

Well, I’ve written enough for tonight. I’ll proofread this tomorrow.

Thanks for checking in.
Doris