Meeting With the Oncologist (a.k.a. the Devil)

June 13, 2013

If you read my earlier post about choosing an oncologist, I decided to see an oncologist whom I had heard was very good, even though one of his patients thought he was evil (compared him to the devil.) Unfortunately, I think she really was just feeling overwhelmed by her fight with cancer, the evil, invisible foe that she had to battle on an uneven battlefield, and her feelings were transferred to the doctor who oversaw her care.  On Thursday, June 13th, I met with this doctor.  It was a pretty standard checkup.  I began by filling out another set of new patient forms.  The nurse called me back and recorded height and weight.  She then checked my vital signs—blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, and oxygen saturation.  Then the doctor came in (he didn't evenly remotely resemble the devil) and asked me in person most of the same questions that I had answered on the new patient forms.  I guess he didn't have time to read them before he came in.  He gave me copies of my pathology reports from the biopsies and surgery.  He reiterated that he saw no need for me to have chemotherapy or radiation, which was welcome news.  He said there is a slight chance that some women may develop the same cancer on the other side in the future, perhaps 10%.  He explained the option of taking oral medication (called chemoprevention medications) for five years that could reduce the probability to about 5%.  There are some side effects, however, which could include higher risk for blood clots, stroke, and uterine cancer. I elected not to take the medicine, and he was okay with that.  I will just use watchful care.

I asked the doctor about having a letter of medical clearance signed so that I can go on my mission.  He said he thought by the time I got my bags packed I would be healed enough that my surgeon would  give me clearance.  I told him that the surgeon told me I would most likely get clearance from the oncologist.  Which one was going to give the final word so I could go?  He said, well, if you have the form I can sign it right now.  Of course I did not, and I wasn't even sure what the procedure was.  So I went home and called the Senior Missionary Department and asked them.  I was told that the doctor just had to sign a letter stating I was healthy and fax it to their office.  One office or the other will fax a letter by Monday or Tuesday, the 17th or 18th, and then the Mission Department representative will contact the Mission President and find out if and when they are ready for me.  At first, this made me a little anxious.  I hope that they didn't decide that I would need an office mission or to sit on a chair and greet people at the temple or visitor's center for two years.  I really hope I can have my original assignment.  After thinking more about it, I will just wait and see what they decide.  I am sure that whatever they want me to do, it will be a wonderful experience.

I don't have any regrets about my decision to skip reconstructive surgery, but the harsh reality is that it is kind of hard to look in the mirror every morning and every night now, and I have not been too keen on going out in public either.  So Friday morning, Teresa and I went to a post-mastectomy specialty store in Salt Lake City.  It only took one hour and $400 to provide a new look that makes me feel almost normal.  The English language has a lot of interesting sayings, but from here on out you probably don't want to tell me that you need to "get something off your chest."  I am not certain how I would respond, but one or the other or both of us could end up being embarrassed.  At the very least, we will have a good laugh.

On the way home from Salt Lake, we stopped at the Outlets at Traverse Mountain and purchased a few more items for my mission.  Just a few blouses, some slacks, and some shoes left to buy and I am almost ready to go.  I finished out the weekend doing a lot of running around and hanging out with family.  Friday afternoon I babysat for Ammon and Abby so they could go to the temple.  As soon as they got home, I drove two hours to Richfield to attend the Miss Teen Sevier pageant that Kadance was in.  By the way, although she was one of the youngest girls in the pageant, she did an excellent job.  I was so proud of her.  We stayed up until 1:00 a.m. talking and then I went to bed for a few hours.  After my morning walk (about 2 1/2 miles) I ate breakfast, visited a while and then drove back to American Fork to get ready to go to Tycen's wedding reception in Stansbury Park (about one hour away).  Teresa went with me also.  I enjoyed her company this weekend.  It was fun to see Jim and Marilyn and all of their children and grandchildren as well as Danny and Joan and their boys.  We visited about 1 1/2 hours and then drove back to Teresa's and picked up her boys and I took them to dinner to celebrate Teresa's birthday (which is actually Sunday).  Sunday morning I volunteered to sit with Teresa's boys while she and Brian went to church.  They both enjoyed being able to attend their meetings without the rowdy boys.  After I attended my meetings in my home ward in the afternoon, I went back to Teresa's and ate a Father's Day/birthday dinner with her family, complete with "birthday pie" and ice cream.  What a busy, fun, fun, fun weekend.  I feel almost normal again.