Oncologist Appointment

I had an oncologist appointment yesterday. Good news -- everything still looks good.

This was my second appointment with Dr. H, my fifth oncologist. Three of my oncologists have been generalists -- they deal with patients with many different kinds of cancer. Dr. H is my second oncologist who is a specialist -- blood cancers are his thing.

Dealing with a specialist means going to the research hospital nearby. Not a big deal; it's only about 20 minutes away from where I live.

But there are some downsides to going to the hospital for my appointments.

For instance, the hospital is full of sick people. That might sound funny-- of course the hospital is full of sick people. But when I went to my oncologist appointments at the satellite cancer centers, the other patients I usually saw were people who were like me, going for follow-up visits.

The patients at the hospital are sick. They wear masks. They look weak. The blood cancer ward is next to the children's cancer ward. There are kids in wheelchairs, walking with IVs, carried by their parents. Honestly, it brings back some bad memories.

And it makes me remember how lucky I am. My Follicular Lymphoma has taken an indolent course.  It has stayed slow-growing for 11+ years. My treatment with Rituxan was successful, and the short-and long-term side effects were manageable. I know that's not the case for everyone. I'm reminded of that every time I go to a hospital. And I'm glad I've been able to do small things to help those people.

Going to the hospital for my appointments also has another downside -- it's big and sort of impersonal, and there are hundreds of other patients there all the time. The staff is very nice. But there probably isn't much they can do to make the whole process easier. I had an appointment at 9:00am today. I arrived at 8:50. I finally saw the doctor at 10:20. I got bloodwork right after I saw him. I left the hospital at 11:00. That's 130 minutes at the hospital. I spent 110 of them waiting. Not fun.

When I did get to see Dr. H, everything was great. I know he presented at ASCO last weekend, and I had planned to ask him about the conference. But After all that waiting, I just wanted to go home. And I thought about those other cancer patients who have it rougher than me. No need to make them wait any longer than they already had been waiting.

It had been six months since I had seen him, so he looked over my file quickly. He was impressed with progress -- 6 rounds of Rituxan, 9 years ago. He said, "That's really instructive. I think we over-treat a lot of Follicular Lymphoma patients. We're thrilled if we give someone chemo and get 7 years before we need to treat again. But you're showing that maybe we don't need chemo. Maybe Rituxan will do the job. That's worth exploring more."

It's kind of cool to hear a researcher think through something like that. I don't know how representative I am of a pool of patients, but I'm all for less treatment if it isn't necessary.

He also said that, if and when I need treatment again, he'd probably just try Rituxan and see how it goes. (I'm open to all kinds of options. we'll deal with that when the time comes.)

We also talked a lot about good/bad food -- food that tastes good, but isn't necessarily good for you. Hot dogs, barbecue, ice cream, donuts -- we traded ideas for the best places to find them nearby. Certainly not something that should be eaten all the time, but I also see lots of patients online who try to be extremely struct about diet -- only certain vegetables, avoiding certain foods. There's no evidence that diet cures FL, or even slows it. Dr. H agreed that a hot dog or a glass of wine every now and then is good for your mental health, if it makes you feel good. Just don't overdo it.

After I was finished with the doctor, I went to separate part of the hospital to get my bloodwork done. A few hours later, the doctor's assistant called with the results: "Dr. H said it looked great. He never says 'great' about someone's blood work!"

I said, "Well, I told him I was a Super Patient. I'm glad he was listening."

So there it is. A good visit all around. I go back in 6 months for another visit.

I hope all of you are staying healthy, too. (And enjoying a little ice cream or a hot dog or a glass of wine, every now and then.)