December 22, 2010

Wow, it is hard for me to believe that it has been over a month since my last post. I had good intentions to write what happened at my last doctor's appointment soon after my appointment. In this case it can certainly be said that 'no news is good news'.

My chest xray and abdominal ultrasound came back clean. That is great news. I was expecting good news because I was feeling fine but I was feeling fine when I was diagnosed so 'feeling fine' isn't a good indicator. Dr. Kaplan seemed pleased with everything and since he is the expert I am satisfied with his take on things. My blood work is also looking good.

I did get to see some internal squabbling at work at Swedish Hospital. Everyone has a different take on his/her own specialty. When I went to Seattle Ultasound for my first appointment the technician who did the scan seemed confused about why exactly I was there. She said that since I was just coming off of my treatments that the ultrasound machine probably would not pick up anything significant since it would not pick up one or two swollen lymph nodes but only a large mass of them (the chemo treatments would have killed any large masses). She gave me a full abdominal scan while wondering out loud why I was having an ultrasound and not a CT scan. When the radiologist came in to read the results she told me the same thing. The radiologist said, " I have talked to Dr. Kaplan about this before. I will mention something again in the summary notes that I send to him." I liked both the technician and the radiologist. Both women were very polite and professional but I was feeling confused about why I was there by the end of the appointment. A few days later when I saw Dr. Kaplan I said to him that the technician and the radiologist were confused about why I was there. That set him off on a three minute speech about why he sent me there. I had to laugh (to myself) when he said, 'I have talked to them before about this!" Two different perspectives on the same test. It was interesting to hear both sides. I am supposed to have an ultrasound every 16 weeks but I am thinking every six months may be more appropriate. I will talk to Kaplan about this when I next see him.

So, I am feeling good.

thanks for reading,