Oncology, pathology and a bunch of other stuff.

August 31
My first post op checkup with Dr. President.   Wait, no, let me say that again.  My first post op checkup with Dr. President at his office.  Y'all don't know how good I got it- my surgeon makes house calls.  All kidding aside that wonderful, brilliant, kind hearted, busier than anyone I know, guy stopped by my house to check on me once or twice during those first few days after surgery.  To say I'm blessed really is an understatement.
Anyhow, the afternoon of the 31st found me and Doug sitting in one of Dr. President's exam rooms.  Doug in a chair, me on the exam table waiting anxiously for Dr. President. He has a way of bursting into the room.  His entrances  remind me a bit of the opening of the Dick Van Dyke show.  Do you remember that?  Dick would come through the door, a huge smile on his face, filling the room with cheer. Well that's how Dr. President enters. He doesn't trip though, for the audience. I wonder if he could work that in for me at some later date. That day his smile was broad. He shook Doug's hand vigorously and announced, "The tumor was a phyllodes tumor."  This was the best bad news a person in my shoes could get.  The tumor was still cancerous, it was still a malignant sort, but it was a type of cancer that afforded me great survival odds.  What's more, the margins were clear, meaning no little sneaky cells had been left behind when he operated and, as would be expected with a phyllodes tumor, my lymph nodes were clear.  All of this great news was more than I could handle.  I burst into tears and jumped up and hugged poor Dr. President.
Following an exam of the shark bite Dr. President told us next up would be a visit to Steinburg for a PET Scan to make sure no other cancers were lurking in my body.  Just a precaution.  He also gave me some instructions to raise my arms, my left arm in particular, over my head each day to ensure proper healing.  Let me tell you this arm lifting is hard stuff.  Don't ever take for granted the amazing work Heavenly Father did creating you.  Our bodies, and their ability to function, are truly remarkable.  As I walk my fingers up the wall each day in order to stretch those muscles fully I find truly myself grateful for the body I have been given.

A few days later I met with my oncologist, Dr Thummala.  Can I just take a minute to say, I love her. Dr Thummala is a short, pretty Indian woman who speaks with a touch of a Hindi accent. Sunny was with Doug and I at this appointment and the entire time the Doctor was talking to me I can see Sunny smirking. I know it is because she is thinking my oncologist looks like Mindy Kaling, the actress who plays Kelly, on the Office.  I know she is thinking that because it is exactly what I am thinking. Of course we can't have that discussion until we are in the car so I'm up on the exam table trying to play it cool while Sunny is in the chair suppressing a giggle. Doug was none the wiser, bless his heart .   Dr. President really likes Dr. Thummala.  He said her goal in life is to stamp out every cancer cell on the planet. I believe it.  Her bedside manner is great and don't forget how spoiled I am by Dr. President. He's a tough act to follow but she did not disappoint.  She talked with us about the pathology findings and told us she was going to have another lab look at it for a second opinion.  I worried aloud, "Do you think the phyllodes diagnosis is wrong?  Could it be one of the more sinister cancers we were worried about?"  She assured me it was just good practice to get a second opinion, "It is, after all," she said, "cancer." While she examined my shark bite and then my right breast I told her that  Dr. President had ordered a PET Scan.  While we were talking it became obvious to me she had found something in my right breast that she did not like.  She continued to examine me and finished with, "Yes, go have that PET scan."  I asked her about what she found and she confirmed my suspicion.  There was something, barely there, that felt wrong to her. She didn't appear overly concerned but she also ordered an ultrasound to be sure. I left her and made a handful of appointments for the next few weeks and honestly didn't give too much thought to that little something she found on my right side. Leaving her office that day  I tried to read into every comment she made but mostly fixated on why  she want a second opinion on that pathology?  I don't remember being too worried about the little something she found on my right side. C'mon, it can't be more cancer.  Can it?