Sherri picked me up and went with me to the appointment. As with some of the appointments last year, I wanted someone with a clear head to be there, taking notes and reminding me of what questions I ought to be asking. About the only question I could hold in my head was, "How bad is this?"
I need to set the scene. For the last year Dr. K and his group were in two office locations, one semi-permanent and one clearly temporary, while they built a new office building. My appointment was on the very first day they occupied the new building. I figured there would be some missteps and some things that didn't work quite as planned. Boy oh boy, was I ever right. Dr. K was the only physician on site, and their internet and phones were down. The receptionist couldn't access the appointment book or accept my copay. The nurse warned me that the doctor wouldn't be able to access my records or the results of my recent PET scan and blood work. And for reasons unknown but not related to the other system failures, the nurse couldn't take my temperature with the electronic thermometer. Unfortunately, the blood pressure monitor was working and I clocked in at an alarming 159/101. I was trying to maintain my air of positivity but was heartsick at the idea that I might have to come back later, that I wouldn't learn anything about what was going on with me.
When Dr. K came into the exam room the very first thing I said was that I was really worried. "Why are you worried?" he asked. I mumbled out something about knowing that such a rapid recurrence couldn't be good news. "But your cancer hasn't returned!" he responded.
Never mind
It's true. My cancer hasn't returned. Back at the beginning of this process a year ago, the first PET scan showed "activity" in my upper chest wall and I had to go in for more biopsies. Those biopsies showed no cancer, I simply have a general inflammation in that area. By comparing the recent PET scan with the two scans I had last year, they were able to conclude that there's no change. The CT scan was merely showing something in the same area, but the PET scan shows it's nothing new. Furthermore, my chemo markers actually went down between the two blood draws in late November and late December. While it's still a bit of a mystery why I'm showing any markers at all, Dr. K said that if I had an active tumor the markers certainly would not have gone down.He had reviewed my test results before my appointment, so knew the news. While we were talking the internet came back on and he was able to show me the write-up from the scan, as well as a cool graph of the history of the chemo markers. They've bounced around since last summer, never getting very high but never quite to zero.
Sherri and I were laughing and high-fiving and generally acting silly, which was exquisitely appropriate.
Dr. K will follow me closely for a while, seeing me monthly, and I'll have another PET scan in a few months. But for now all is well, which is a perfect place to leave things for now.
