So today I had an appointment with my oncologist Dr B. This is a routine call just to check that everything is okay, that I am feeling okay, and for them to make me aware of anything moving forward. Sometimes these will be face to face, and sometimes they will be on the phone. This one strangely was booked in for Bournemouth Hospital @ 1 pm, which was strange, because I live 5 minutes away from Poole! Anyway, I made my way to Bournemouth, checked in at outpatients, and they sat me in the waiting area.
Now I know that hospitals can be busy but by 1.45 pm I was slightly confused that I hadn’t been called up or told that my Dr was running late – so I asked one of the staff. The receptionist looked incredibly confused and said she would come back to me. After 10 minutes, she came back and apologised. They had sat me in the wrong waiting area so when my name was called, again and again, they assumed that I hadn’t arrived (which doesn’t make sense as they had ticked me off the list at reception). Unfortunately, my Dr only did half days in Bournemouth, and the rest of the day was full of meetings, etc, so she wasn’t going to be able to see me. So, after 1.5 hours of waiting, I went home.
Luckily – my Dr is lovely, so she called me that evening to catch up with me.
She asked me how I was doing, and I just explained insomnia, body aches, heartburn, and feet thing, and she was happy with how I was getting on. She only mentioned that my previous blood test showed that my liver function was down slightly, but then the next one was back up. She asked if I had any alcohol, but I hadn’t. She advised just to make sure I am drinking enough water each day and keep eating healthy foods – but general she was happy with me.
While on the phone with the Dr, I also asked about having a CT scan. Now we are focusing on breast cancer, but how do I know if it had spread? I don’t? In 2 months, time, I was about to put a £1200 deposit down on our wedding venue, which would be non-refundable. Now I know money isn’t the be-all and end-all, but I didn’t want to put £1200 down if I knew that by April next year I could still be going through therapy or surgery, etc.
The Dr explained that my ultrasound came back clear for any spread (which I had not realized) so they wouldn’t normally do the scan, but because I have requested it, they would. She is amazing. It was so nice to have a doctor who listened to your concerns, no matter how odd they may be, and make you feel better, and that she will actively do something about it. She explained that I will receive a call in a few weeks to book the CT scan.
So the good news from this call, was my original ultrasound showed now spread, YES!, and that she was happy with the way I was progressing. She was happy to keep me on the sleeping tablets as they were working and happy to continue with the chemo. Winning!