Thankful For My Doctors

I love my doctors. I love how they work so seamlessly together. I saw this first when I asked my oncologist for a referral to a naturopath. My naturopath, Dr. Martin, knows what supplements I can and can't take while undergoing cancer treatments. She keeps my oncologist appraised of what she has me take. Dr. Hunter, my radiation oncologist, oversaw the pathology reports and MRIs, and spoke highly of my surgeon,  Dr. Clinch. My surgeon referred me to Dr. Kohn, my oncologist, and they consulted with each other when my first surgery didn't get a large enough rim of healthy tissue around the cancer site. Dr. Kohn knows my endocrinologist and referred me to the ophthalmologist who corrected the problem I was having with my tear ducts.

No detail has fallen through the cracks between any of my doctors, including all the diagnostic tests and the timing when I started chemo or radiation. Every one of them gives me as much time as I need to ask my questions and learn about options and things I can do to stay healthy. I am thankful for all my doctors.

Yesterday I met with Dr. Kohn and received my Herceptin.  Because the cancer center moved to a new location in the hospital and operates under new procedures, I now meet my doctor in an examining room and not in the room where I receive my infusions. Yesterday's meeting reminded me of when Walt and I first met her, sitting in a similar examining room. At first, I wasn't very impressed. All my other doctors are very personable, and while Dr. Kohn is very nice, the conversation didn't flow as easily. She was interrupted several times and needed to leave to handle "emergencies."  I was tempted to look for another oncologist, but I'm so glad that Walt was there and gave me his perspective. He thought she was very smart and knew what she was talking about.  I am glad we decided to go with her. No detail, large or small, escapes her attention. She was the one who caught my tear duct scarring before it became permanent. The nurses all speak highly of Dr. Kohn. At every meeting I have with her, she has a list of questions that she hand writes specific to my situation. She's a great doctor.

Yesterday, she told me the results of my latest echo which indicated no change with my heart. That, of course, is good and means I can continue with the Herceptin. She followed up on all the the things we discussed last time. She even took time to ask what I was doing for Thanksgiving, how Walt and I met, and where I was from originally. My symptoms are disappearing and nothing new has come up, so we had a fun, easy meeting.

I mentioned earlier that my cancer center moved to another wing of the hospital. I pass by the new offices on my way to radiation every day. Because the center is now part of Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (connected now with Fred Hutchinson and the UW), I needed to stop first at Central Registration to update my information with them, even though I will be seeing the same doctor and nurses as I've always seen. After updating all my information,  I was then directed back down the hall to my doctor's office. In the old place, everything was taken care of in one location.  I'd  go to the front and check in, receive my brown folder and go to the back of the office and sit in the brown chairs. From here a nurse would show me to a chair get my vitals. Then an infusion nurse would hook up my port for the infusion, and my doctor would come back to see me. Now I go to separate places to get all the things I used to get done at once. Because everyone is still learning the ropes, the waiting between the different locations was long. The nurses have to get medications double checked by another nurse now and take time to log everything into the computer. What would have taken at most 90 minutes in the old location took over three hours yesterday. I barely made it to my radiation appointment by the time I was done with oncology.

The good thing about the changes is the infusion area is spacious and each person has a nice private area, some with flat screen TVs. They also  have a nutrition center that, in addition to the juices and water they offered in the old place, they now offer healthy snacks as well. Walt would have had a better time here during our long chemo days, which I hope we never have to do again, though. Because my infusions are ordinarily pretty quick, I'll be in and out before I get to appreciate this new space. Access to this space is really easy from the parking lot. Putting oncology and radiation close together makes sense and will be more convenient for patients who need both services.

Speaking of radiation, I found this video of Dr. Hunter, and it gives you a good idea of  what the radiation machine looks like, along with one of the techs I've had. I don't wear one of those masks on my face since I have radiation in a different area, my head fits into a mold with my hands above my head, and there are sheets on the table that they use to pull me into the exact spot needed, but other than that, it's pretty indicative of what I do every day.