Skip to main content

The missing gyno appointment

Episode CIV - don't you forget about me

*** Really should be Episode CII 1/2 ***

I was so busy with my many doctor's I completely forgot to include my doctor's appointment on Monday. I have been so crammed packed with doctor's I forgot I went to the Gyno the day before I went to the Neurologist. I do not even think I know what I have done for the fact that I have done so much.

Who am I? Where I am? When is it? Will my craziness end???

So it seems a few days ago, basically the day before my Neurologist appointment, I spent another day at the doctors...


picture proof I was up and ready...


It was time to go for my annual gyn appointment. Come on... December Doctor Madness would not be complete unless I was poked and prodded in almost every way!


While I like my Gyno, her office is always packed! The wait time there will be one of my longest this month. Eventually I will make my way back... somewhere between the numerous pregnant women about to pop and the young girls seeking birth control. Seriously... how many pregnant women are there in my town?!?!?

I guess I should be happy that there are comfy seating options in the waiting room. There are at least six couches and numerous chairs. You know they are aware of the long waiting problem if they offer you multiple cushy options to sit on. Good setting and two television programming options. At least the one was running a home improvement show. I guess I should just sit back and watch. I might even get to watch it to the end of the show!




After my name was finally called I followed the nurse down the maze-like hallways until I was put in an examination room. They have different arrows all over the floor. I am only aware of what two of the colors mean. One is to direct me to the exam rooms. The other is to direct me out of the office. The place is so confusing they need colored directions on the floor. I think I follow the yellow arrows, or maybe it is the blue... maybe I should just keep up with the nurse!

First the nurse and I chatted and talked about my recent test results and noted that I seemed pretty "normal"... ha... ha... someone called me "normal"!!!

When she left I got completely undressed and hopped up on the table. The paper sheet they gave me was seriously pathetic. It was so thin and sheer that I might as well have just laid up there naked. It was like I had a giant pinkish one-ply napkin thrown across my body. Who makes these things? I mean the material is sheer and tears easily. Plus, the Gyno is only minutes away from examining more of me than I want... why even bother with the sheer napkin that is covering my body?




My Gyno is great. She is funny. She is smart. She is usually fast. (Ironic since the wait to get back to her is exceptionally long.) Today, she was no different. She zoomed through my breast exam. She zoomed through my pap smear. She was in and out and done in record time.

Like the last appointment we briefly talked about my symptoms and general issues. And she reiterated my possible need for a hysterectomy. Since my internal lady parts have been shut down with the Tamoxifen they are basically just useless organs. With no purpose or need, they are just lingering around with the potential to get cancer.




She has a great point. I really don't need them. They are just taking up space in my body. However, I hope I will be able to put off having the surgery until at least mid-to-late next year. I need a financial and physical break from the past two years.

Having the hysterectomy would also free me up to try new hormone therapy medicines. I would not be stuck with just Tamoxifen. I could still take it, but I would open up my selection to the post menopausal aromatase inhibitors (AI) meds. However, all of them stink and have some sort of side effect. None of them are perfect. But... I would have options!!!


In my head...


There is no way I can decide anything now as I have been to so many doctors and still have more to go this month. At least the Gyno is supportive and always tells me she will remove all my baby-making parts at any point. She can have me scheduled a month after I tell her I want one. Instant spaying!!!

I think I spent half the day in her office to only see her for a few minutes. I was there almost the entire time my kids were at school. Wow!!! I am tired, hungry, and my kids are about to walk through the door. I need food and a break... but wait I already went to the Neurologist the following day and posted about it in my blog... so I did not get a break. HA!

Sadly, I was so busy trying to catch up with my blog - I forgot about this appointment. I have probably forgotten so many things this month. Disclaimer Alert: I cannot be held accountable for my incompetence... or at least that is my excuse. My forgetfulness is another reminder of why I called this month December Doctor Madness!!!


It isn’t so astonishing,
the number of things that I can remember,
as the number of things I can remember that aren’t so.
– Mark Twain


Episode Reference: Don't You (forget about me), Simple Minds song

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

giving your 16 year old scissors

New Traditions Losing my hair - it's going to happen. When I did this in 2013, I waited to cut my hair once I was further in treatment. I didn't want to do that again. I didn't want to do it while I felt sore and bad. This time, I wanted to get rid of my hair before treatment.  Since I will have now done this more than once, it can be considered a tradition: cancer haircuts by my kids . Last time I did this, the kids were 6 and 13. So, this time around my son (23) opted not to cut, but watched some.   However, my 16 year old daughter leapt at the opportunity to cut my hair. Even though 10 years have gone by, she had to adhere to a few basic rules. Basic Rules: 1. Do not cut my ears. 2. Do not cut your own hair. 3. Do not cut anyone else's hair. These rules still hold up and are the general agreement we make before I put scissors in my kid's hands to chop on my hair!  And the tradition isn't the same without going outside (weather permitting) and listening to our

happy birthday to me... almost

  Let's rewind a bit and start a few days before my birthday... I had my first cancer treatment day on October 3rd - check it out if you haven't read that blog post yet. Let's just think of it as an early birthday gift since my birthday is October 7th. Great gift, right?!? If I have to hear "Happy Early" or "Late Birthday" from another medical person, I might have to smack someone. Especially, since I have spent most of the weeks leading up to and after my birthday at a medical appointment regarding cancer. Not really loving my birthday this year. Let's just say, on my birthday, I woke up with a special chemo-side-effect-surprise at 2am. That fun surprise I will share later... Rewind a Few Days... Update But first, let's go to October 4th, the day after my grueling 8 hours of immunotherapy and two chemotherapies on the 3rd. I woke up swollen, red faced, and fevering, as well as feeling pretty crummy. I didn't have time to dwell on it since I

More biopsies... where? down there?

Cancer survivors are always wondering and waiting to see if something is going to happen, so it is only natural to worry when something is "off". Then when something turns out to be abnormal more testing and follow-ups are needed. It seems like a continual wave of worries. Sometimes our worries turn out to be issues. Sometimes our worries turn out to be nothing. Either way, we are going to worry... it's just an issue of determining how much and when we should really worry. Finding out my endometrium lining was so thick meant I needed to get a biopsy. What's an Endometrial Biopsy? An endometrial biopsy is a medical procedure in which a small piece of tissue from the lining of the uterus (the endometrium) is removed for examination under a microscope. The removed tissue is examined for cancer or any other cell abnormalities.  Lucky me. Right?  Now I get to go back the GYN only a few days after my initial exa