On top of the excitement of starting something new, my sister was in town to take me to the appointment! She has never been able to see the office before, and it was nice to be able to have time to catch up, one-on-one.
My appointment with Dr. Cole went really well. Before I saw her, I went through the nurse check-up, then met with the office's new PA. Her resume was ridiculously great, very impressive! She was kind and very thorough. Then, Dr. Cole's fellow came in. He is an Aggie, so I knew I would be in good hands. Then, his entire background and educational history blew my mind. He came in the office and introduced himself, and met me and my twin baby sister. (Even though we are 11 years apart in age, we are often called The Twins, since we are so alike.). The Fellow asked if we really are twins, and we all laughed a bit at the moment. (I was surprised that after all I've been through that I could still be here and be able to look well enough that I could stand with my baby sister and still be compared as "twins!"
Next, The Fellow got to know me and my history a bit. The minute all the questions started, I could see the wheels turning in his brain. He called me "a unique patient," and that he could learn so much from me. Then, he went off to research a few questions he had about the new chemo and some of my past uniqueness. I think he was checking to see if Brachydactyly is actually my true diagnosis or if my genetic hand condition is actually something else, something that would not react well with Kadcyla.
Dr. Cole met with me next and explained the new chemo, the possible side effects, and signed off for me to begin today. (The Fellow discovered that his hand hypothesis was incorrect. I think he just needed to check from an Aggie's point of view, as my diagnosis was made in Lubbock, TX, at a school which might have given him some concern on accuracy.)
Once that quandary was answered, my sister and I were off to the infusion room. I was thinking that the chemo process would go by pretty quickly. Instead, there was lots and lots of waiting. My nurse explained that they have a new pharmacist who had to check out all of my history before she would release my chemo, even though DR. COLE HAD ALREADY SIGNED OFF ON IT!!! She needed to know about my most recent ECHO. Apparently two months ago wasn't recent enough? After waiting and waiting, I was FINALLY able to start, as long as I agreed to set up another ECHO before the next appointment.
In addition to all the wait time to receive the actual drug, I had to wait another hour after infusion to make sure there were no reactions.
I did fine, and was FINALLY able to leave and get some lunch!
I'm glad to know that I am on the next part of my journey and looking forward to the next appointment not lasting six hours!
We are continuing to BTHO of cancer!
Cancer has been kicked to the curb and keeps trying to come back, but I will never stop kicking!
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