Tag Archives: hospitals

go figure…

20 Wednesday Feb 2013

Posted by in cancer, hospitals, tapas tours, work

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stethoscopeYou may recall back in 2008 when I was told by my then oncologist that I had maybe a year to live… and it turned out she hadn’t even checked my latest biopsy results! Well, it wasn’t long after that incident that I switched oncs and, thanks to Ricardo, started seeing Dr Ana, who happens to be deputy director of the oncology department at the hospital. Which was certainly a step up, and I felt in much better hands, but I still felt Dr Ana was a bit cold and so I kept our conversations as short as possible and talked to Ricardo about anything that I was really concerned about. Though Ana did ask me after awhile if I was back to work, which is how she came to find out about my tapas tours, but I thought this was just professional interest in my general well-being.

And so imagine my surprise when, during today’s appointment to organise my next PET scan, she turned to the trainee doctor sitting in and said… “You wouldn’t believe how incredible this woman is. First she was out of work after during and after her treatment and desperate about what to do next, but she picked herself up and started her own business, and now look at how successful she is! I am so proud of her!”

Huh? I mean, I was stunned. Guess it just goes to show that you never really know what people think of you. Though it took having a ‘third party’ in the room for Dr Ana to say this, but I got the feeling she was also saying it to me, and I  know that from now on I’m going to feel much more at ease talking to her. Cool, innit?

the best laid plans…

29 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by in cancer, hospitals

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blood testsWell, I thought it was kinda brilliant. Last week I realised that I had to get my chemo port flushed out soon and that I also had to get blood work done for my upcoming oncology appointment in February. So hey, why not get it all done at once? Especially because when I go to my neighbourhood clinic for the blood test they huff and puff and simply cannot find my veins. At leat at the hospital they can usually find veins and anyhow, they can just use the chemo port! I mean, that is in part what it’s good for.

So last week I got in touch with Dr. Ana and told her about my cunning plan. She said “no problem!” and that she would be there on Tuesday morning so I could pick up the blood test form. Of course one small glitch in the plan was that they only do chemo port cleaning between 12.00 – 1.00 pm, so I’d have to go all morning without eating or drinking (though the hardest bit for me was having NO COFFEE). No matter, it was worth saving a trip to the hospital and I planned to meet up with my friend Fourat for a nice tapas lunch after the whole ordeal.

So I was there at Oncology just before noon, foolishly thinking my blood test form would be there ready to be picked up. HA! Of course it wasn’t. I had to speak to three different nurses who got in touch with Dr. Ana, who then said I’d have to wait for her to squeeze me in between appointments. Huh? Well, after a fretful 45 minute wait I got in to see Dr. Ana, got my form, raced over to The Lab and said I was there to get my port cleaned and blood drawn for these tests. The receptionist told me I couldn’t get blood work done without a special appointment. I told her it was fine, that I’d had it all cleared over in Oncology (lies, lies…). Then when I showed the port-cleaning nurse my blood test form she said “I can’t do that now, it’s too late!” while she started taking out the vials needed to store my blood. You see, the bureaucracy here works in mysterious ways. Sometimes “you can’t do that” means that the person who can make it happen simply can’t be bothered, and other times it means that you just need to be gently chastised but of course it’s going to get done.

bacalaoTurned out the lunch was more of an ordeal than the whole hospital visit. Both Fourat and I were appalled by the rude service, mediocre food and crazy high prices. Afterwards she had to go home as she’s fighting an infection, so I popped over to Bodeguita Romero to see if Peter was still there with his walking tour couple. And they were. So I had a proper glass of wine there and a fabulous tapa of grilled bacalao, which was a wonderful antidote to all the gastrobar bullshit. And later the icing on today’s cake was that I met with my landlords and they were willing to renegotiate my contract – so it looks like I may not have to move after all!

I honestly hadn’t expected so much to happen today. Really love it when days turn out like that. How was your Tuesday?

girdling my loins

05 Wednesday Dec 2012

Posted by in health & happiness, hospitals

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4200 playtexSo remember my hernia? Well, I finally got to see the surgeon this morning and, after a bit of poking and prodding, I was told that after so many surgeries it wasn’t unusual for me to have a hernia and, all things considered, it wasn’t a very big one. As such, the doctor said he wouldn’t recommend that I have any more surgery at this point.

To alleviate the chronic discomfort I was told that I should “lose a little weight” and use a “faja” (girdle or corset). Meh.

I still have the faja I was given at the hospital after my last operation (and to be honest I didn’t wear it as much as I should have during recovery), which is basically a length of spongy stretchy material with a strip of velcro on one end to hold it closed after wrapping it tightly around my belly. But it’s very bulky and tends to ride up. When I mentioned this to the doctor he said it would be just as useful to go to a lingerie shop and find something there…

Well imagine my surprise when I popped into one on the way home and found all manner of elasticated shape-shifting undergarments on offer. Most seemed to be made for already thin women wanting to look thinner, promising that slipping into a lycra-laced item would help them look two sizes smaller! Others promised to lift and show off their butts. I was at a loss. So I finally asked a salesclerk for assistance, explaining that I had a hernia and had to wear something for support. She very helpfully showed me half a dozen options and sent me off to try them. Holy crap! I honestly thought I wouldn’t get any of them on, but after a major heave-ho managed to pull them up and… yes! There was definite support going on. I finally opted for this simple Playtex model – which was also the cheapest at 20€ (some of them went up to 85€!). I would have preferred it in black, but this awful liverish colour was all they had in stock. Well, who the hell is going to see it anyhow?

So I reckon I’ll wear the wrap-around hospital faja at home and try out this one for when I’m out and about. The doctor promised me I’d feel much more comfortable after doing this for a couple of weeks. I hope he’s right. I was all set to hear the worst – that I’d need yet another operation. But it turns out I’ll only have to girdle my loins… oh, and “lose a little weight”.

strong thoughts

10 Monday Sep 2012

Posted by in cancer, friends, health & happiness, hope, hospitals

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That’s what Pat would say to me… she’d say “strong thoughts”. And I would feel comforted. One of Pat’s avatars – the black-eyed susan.

The black-eyed susans in my avatar represent two things: every-day beauty in spite of adversity, and sheer persistence. At home I have a 4×12 foot border of black-eyed susans around my front patio. Those flowers are the offshoots of a single 4-inch pot I found wilting on the reduced-for-clearance rack at the garden center in 1998. Now even the daylilies have to argue with them for water, sun and space. The black-eyed susans never lose and never quit; they are a simple, beautiful symbol of what my life with cancer survivorship has become: life out loud, no matter what the circumstances or adversities.

This morning I’m going for my umpteenth PET scan (I can’t be bothered counting them right now). But basically I’ve been having them every six months since May 2008. Since September 2009 I have been NED (no evidence of disease). But everytime I go for a PET scan I am terrified. I mean, this time last year Pat never thought it was going to be her last September. With stage IV cancer you just never know what’s going to happen next.

So in a few hours I’m going to find out whether I get yet another “stay of execution” or if I have to start thinking about chemo and other awful possibilities. Been having quite a lot of abdominal pain of late, so of course I’m scared this means the cancer has come back. Scared out of my wits, actually.

Wish me luck!

between cancer and cats…

05 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by in animals & pets, cancer, cats, friends, home, hope, hospitals

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. . . and cats with cancer, it’s been quite an exhausting week.

Since Azar’s tumour explosion last Friday he seems to be slowly on the mend, though he gets “moments” when I can see he is in distress and probably in serious pain, and I don’t know what to do other than stroke him and talk a mile a minute in my softest lovey-dovey voice… he really does like to hear me talk. Anyhow, he and I are just taking things one day at a time (as if there were any other way).

You may recall that last Friday was, along with the exploding tumour incident, also the day for my monthly chemo port cleaning, which I almost put off until today (when I had an oncology appointment) so I didn’t have to make two hospital taxi trips in one week. But I decided not to leave things to chance (would be ironic for me to die of a blood clot after all this) and did a record there-and-back-again in less than an hour, basically taking taxis from door-to-door, so I wouldn’t have to leave Azar for long. I usually walk up to the main road and save myself a couple of euros in each direction. But I digress…

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