Skip to main content

almost news, with hidden Her2 results

So, I was still waiting on my Her2 results. And on a trip visiting colleges with my daughter. Yesterday, I had a not so awesome conversation with my Oncologist (which was really a sucky conversation). While I set it aside, I realized my Her2 results were really essential in my diagnosis. So, I was ready to find out what type of cancer I had.

With no news, all I could do was go on with our trip and spend time with my daughter. Of course, we both were hoping I would get a phone call during the day to let us know the results, but that didn't happen. However, we did not let it bother us. We had multiple schools to see and lots of fun to have.

 

From the the beautiful shores of Connecticut to the busy streets of New York City, my daughter and I had a blast! We drove and visited Yale, UConn, NYU, Columbia, Rutgers, and Princeton. Only a few of those colleges were really on her list, but we tried to drive by the others just to see what they were like since we were nearby. Plus, it was a great distraction.

Each stop gave me a break and time to check my medical patient portal, looking to see if anything has been updated. I kept thinking it will be up soon, but each time I looked - I kept seeing the same cancer diagnosis. Each glance left without any clarification on if I am Her2+ or Her2-. It was stressful, and there was nothing I could do.

After a busy day, we arrived at the hotel and got settled in. I happened to look at my medical patient port website for like the billionth time. I saw there was an addendum on my Pathology report. I clicked it. I waited.

My results were up - but I couldn't see them. While my portal lets me access my records, the Pathology section has been giving Error messages for weeks. I had sent the hospital a complaint - asking for it to be fixed - but I am anxiously realizing it is still not working.

Time for the Answer

I realize it is now 4:50 pm in Alabama, so I have to call now! It was so close to the doctor's office closing, I knew I would be lucky to get the results now. In a panic - I started calling my doctors. I even had my daughter trying to get through to the doctors and the hospital where I had the biopsy done.

1st Up 

I called my Onc... guess what? My Onc was out of town and her nurses had already left for the day! It was almost comical... but it was also not funny. I have had such a bad overall experience with this Onc - it was just adding to the frustration.  I left a detailed message... and realized it took too much time.

2nd Up

I called my Primary... guess what? The nurses were already gone for the day too because it is now 4:58 pm. So, I left a detailed message. Ugh!

So, I will have to wait until tomorrow to find out what my results are... even though the answer is hidden behind a giant Error message. With nothing left to do, my daughter and I decided we would go get dinner and enjoy the beauty that Princeton, NJ had to offer. 

Sometimes You have to Let it Go from Frozen!

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

here i go again... on my own

  It's Time for Chemo #1 Today ended up being the longest day I've ever had in treatment... ever. I started at 8am and finished around 4-4:30pm. LONG day.  I fully support getting your port ready about 30 minutes before treatment (ignore the 5-15 min suggestion on the Lidocaine box - give yourself 30 minutes to allow for more time and more numbing). So, for me, I apply the Lidocaine over my port and put a small square of Saran Wrap over it right before leaving to go to treatment. It takes me about 30 mins to get to my treatment center, so it gives it time to work. The Lidocaine helps numb the area so the needle will not hurt as much when poked and the Saran Wrap keeps the Lidocaine on your skin and not on your clothes. When I arrive to the treatment center on chemo days, it starts with a bit of bloodwork in the lab. They have to make sure your bloodwork is good before giving you chemo. I have a port, so they just hook me up with the right type of IV needle, take my blood sample