Friday morning, we left my in laws early in the morning for my port placement surgery. I had to get an IV placed and for the first time in my life the nurse had a hard time entering my vein. Being poked once in bad enough, but being poked multiple times is downright miserable. I was kind of glad this happened, because at that point I was pretty sure I'd never regret my decision to have a port.
They gave me a dose of antibiotic, and then we went into surgery where they gave me some drugs which broke my "give a care". I technically wasn't put under, but I did have a good nap. I do remember bits and pieces of the procedure, but nothing too traumatic or painful. Basically, I remember them cleaning the surgery site (right below my right collar bone), injecting the numbing agent, some painless pressure and them stitching me back up.
I do have some pretty serious bruising, and feel pretty tender, but Tylenol does relieve most of the pain. I have to leave the bandages on for three days, and have the stitches removed in 10-14 days, and then it sounds like the port is pretty maintenance free, on my part.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Ear Infection
On our trip from home to my in laws (where we will stay during our GF doctor appointments) Thursday morning, our youngest cried most of the first part of the trip. We finally stopped an hour into our trip and dosed her with Motrin, as she had been grabbing her ear and screaming "OWIEEEE". This was the first indication I'd seen she may be fighting an ear infection and of course it happened right as we were leaving town for two days and right before the weekend as well.... Murphy's Law. When we got back to my in laws from our GF appointments on Thursday afternoon, she woke up from her nap and was obviously in extreme pain again. So I called the local hospital and found out they offered Urgent Care, so I took her in to be checked.
We waited quit awhile to have the doctor look at her for about 1.5 minutes (I didn't expect much more from Urgent Care), and yes, indeed, she is fighting an ear infection. The doc said he'd write a prescription for antibiotics and he told me to pick up an over the counter cold medicine for her and left the room. After he left, I started thinking, do they even make over the counter cold medicines for toddlers anymore? I didn't think so, but decided I'd ask the nurse when she brought in the prescription. I waited and waited and waited (how long does it take to write a prescription?). I'm guessing it was 30 minutes or more and finally the nurse said they were waiting on a dose of Tylenol with Codeine in it from the hospital pharmacy for my daughter (15 months old) that the doctor had already ordered (without asking me, might I add). I looked at the nurse like she was crazy, and opened my mouth to say "Don't you think that is a bit overkill?", but then I stopped myself. I brought my baby to Urgent Care to have the doctor take care of her. He obviously saw a reason why my baby needed such a strong pain killer (probably the fact she was screaming for most of the hour and a half we were there), so I decided to let the doctor take care of her as he should know what medications are beneficial and safe. I did ask the nurse about the cold medicine and she told me to ask the pharmacy. So my daughter took her Tylenol with Codeine and we got her prescription for an antibiotic and we headed for the pharmacy.
I asked the person working the pharmacy about cold medicine for a 15 month old, and he looked at me like I obviously was a clueless first time mom (I only had my youngest with me). No, they don't manufacture cold medicine for that age group, as it is not safe for them to take. Exactly as I thought. I told him the doc told me to get some for her and he said "Oh, did you have doctor Q...?" And of course I said yes. He proceeded to tell me that that doctor didn't know and was kind of clueless.
Why didn't I trust my motherly instinct and tell them to keep their Tylenol with Codeine? That my baby would be just fine on over the counter Tylenol and Motrin? In reality she was just fine having taken it and was pain free for quit some time afterwards, but I felt like a horrible Mom for letting them give my child a medicine I wasn't comfortable with and not going with my instincts. Thankfully, there was no harm done, lesson learned, and life goes on.
We waited quit awhile to have the doctor look at her for about 1.5 minutes (I didn't expect much more from Urgent Care), and yes, indeed, she is fighting an ear infection. The doc said he'd write a prescription for antibiotics and he told me to pick up an over the counter cold medicine for her and left the room. After he left, I started thinking, do they even make over the counter cold medicines for toddlers anymore? I didn't think so, but decided I'd ask the nurse when she brought in the prescription. I waited and waited and waited (how long does it take to write a prescription?). I'm guessing it was 30 minutes or more and finally the nurse said they were waiting on a dose of Tylenol with Codeine in it from the hospital pharmacy for my daughter (15 months old) that the doctor had already ordered (without asking me, might I add). I looked at the nurse like she was crazy, and opened my mouth to say "Don't you think that is a bit overkill?", but then I stopped myself. I brought my baby to Urgent Care to have the doctor take care of her. He obviously saw a reason why my baby needed such a strong pain killer (probably the fact she was screaming for most of the hour and a half we were there), so I decided to let the doctor take care of her as he should know what medications are beneficial and safe. I did ask the nurse about the cold medicine and she told me to ask the pharmacy. So my daughter took her Tylenol with Codeine and we got her prescription for an antibiotic and we headed for the pharmacy.
I asked the person working the pharmacy about cold medicine for a 15 month old, and he looked at me like I obviously was a clueless first time mom (I only had my youngest with me). No, they don't manufacture cold medicine for that age group, as it is not safe for them to take. Exactly as I thought. I told him the doc told me to get some for her and he said "Oh, did you have doctor Q...?" And of course I said yes. He proceeded to tell me that that doctor didn't know and was kind of clueless.
Why didn't I trust my motherly instinct and tell them to keep their Tylenol with Codeine? That my baby would be just fine on over the counter Tylenol and Motrin? In reality she was just fine having taken it and was pain free for quit some time afterwards, but I felt like a horrible Mom for letting them give my child a medicine I wasn't comfortable with and not going with my instincts. Thankfully, there was no harm done, lesson learned, and life goes on.
Axillary Ultrasound and Consultation
When I showed up for my Ultrasound, the tech actually asked me what she was supposed to be ultrasounding. I was relieved, because I was still wondering if I was going to have to convince her to ultrasound my axilla and NOT my nonexistent breast. She didn't seemed too surprised to be ultrasounding my axilla, but after taking a few pictures of my swollen area, she did leave to go talk to the doctor. This kind of freaked me out (and she was gone a long time), because part of me was convinced that was bad news. It was just hard not to think that after my last ultrasound of a lump turned out to be picturing my breast cancer. In reality, I really think the tech was planning to ultrasound my breast and when I told her axilla, she probably didn't know exactly what kind of shots the doctor was looking for, so she was just doing a thorough job and verifying she was getting the doctor what he needed.
The ultrasound pictures showed my swollen area as this huge black void with nothing inside. The edges were very smooth and defined, which we later were told is an excellent indication of a benign (noncancerous) situation.
We then went to meet with the General Surgeon. He was very nice and informative. He even asked details about my breast cancer, and told me he knows Mayo did a fine job, but he would have handled my situation just a little more cautiously. He said he would have removed more lymph nodes (on the right side, where my cancer was noninvasive, and Mayo didn't take out any lymph nodes) and he would have taken out just a tiny bit more of the breast tissue. My surgeon at Mayo had gone thru with me why he was choosing to do things the way he did, and I was (still am) comfortable with how he did the surgery. The minuscule increase in risk of breast cancer recurrence was not enough to offset the other risks taken by removing extra lymph nodes and tissue. I think this surgeon in GF may have been a little more risk adverse in a breast cancer situation, since his wife has battled breast cancer twice in the last 9 years.
We reviewed our ultrasound images with the General Surgeon in GF and he was very relieved to see the images looked very convincing we are dealing with a fluid filled pocket which is residual from my mastectomy surgery and lymph node dissection. He actually left the room for a few minutes to go consult with a Radiologist to get his/her opinion on my situation. The Radiologist's opinion was watchful waiting for three months, but the Surgeon just wasn't that comfortable with that idea. He said he would like to aspirate the pocket and send it to pathology just to verify. He said the procedure is so simple and riskless that it would be foolish to not do (considering I had breast cancer) the verification that we are not dealing with a spread of my breast cancer.
So we go back to GF on Monday to do the axillary aspiration of the fluid filled pocket. It should be a very simple procedure lasting less then fifteen minutes.
The ultrasound pictures showed my swollen area as this huge black void with nothing inside. The edges were very smooth and defined, which we later were told is an excellent indication of a benign (noncancerous) situation.
We then went to meet with the General Surgeon. He was very nice and informative. He even asked details about my breast cancer, and told me he knows Mayo did a fine job, but he would have handled my situation just a little more cautiously. He said he would have removed more lymph nodes (on the right side, where my cancer was noninvasive, and Mayo didn't take out any lymph nodes) and he would have taken out just a tiny bit more of the breast tissue. My surgeon at Mayo had gone thru with me why he was choosing to do things the way he did, and I was (still am) comfortable with how he did the surgery. The minuscule increase in risk of breast cancer recurrence was not enough to offset the other risks taken by removing extra lymph nodes and tissue. I think this surgeon in GF may have been a little more risk adverse in a breast cancer situation, since his wife has battled breast cancer twice in the last 9 years.
We reviewed our ultrasound images with the General Surgeon in GF and he was very relieved to see the images looked very convincing we are dealing with a fluid filled pocket which is residual from my mastectomy surgery and lymph node dissection. He actually left the room for a few minutes to go consult with a Radiologist to get his/her opinion on my situation. The Radiologist's opinion was watchful waiting for three months, but the Surgeon just wasn't that comfortable with that idea. He said he would like to aspirate the pocket and send it to pathology just to verify. He said the procedure is so simple and riskless that it would be foolish to not do (considering I had breast cancer) the verification that we are not dealing with a spread of my breast cancer.
So we go back to GF on Monday to do the axillary aspiration of the fluid filled pocket. It should be a very simple procedure lasting less then fifteen minutes.
The Circus Has Left Town
Boy, I don't know what went down between our first visit to GF and this Thursday, but one thing is for sure, it was a TOTALLY different experience. I honestly showed up feeling a tiny bit concerned for my safety after what went down last week. Seriously, it appeared to be a whole new operation. I think we came into what created the perfect storm last time (new computer system, rushed doctor, poor handwriting, back-up scheduling nurse, and a complicated situation). I did give someone at our local clinic a call, who I'd been told is excellent at advocating for local patients with GF and asked her to verify that I was indeed showing up for the correct appointments at the right times (every time I talked to GF I had different times and types of appointments told to me). So Barb E. took care of that (she had said it was still messed up when she called) and things went so smoothly after that. Thanks Barb E.!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Seriously?!?!
Ever since walking thru the door of Altru in GF last Thursday, I feel like I have entered the "twilight zone" of the medical world. Absolutely every dealing I've had with them has left me dumbfounded. I'm hoping I've dealt with the last of such antics, but I have a feeling that is not the case.
They called this morning asking me to forward my Mammogram and Ultrasound films from Mayo to them. Sure, no problem... I contacted Mayo and had it taken care of in a matter of minutes. Then later, I started thinking, "Why do they need my breast mammograms and ultrasounds, if they are doing an axillary (arm pit) lymph node ultrasound and biopsy?". Oh well, no worries... they will have the films and that is what they wanted. Fast forward about 3 hours and I get another call from yet another department at Altru asking me to get them my mammogram and ultrasound films from Mayo. After explaining to them that I had already received a phone call requesting those films (they had no clue I'd already been contacted) and had already taken care of it, I proceeded to ask why they needed them. They said they wanted them for doing my left BREAST ultrasound and biopsy. Seriously?!?!
Ok, I wouldn't expect just everyone I talk to to know that I received a double mastectomy, but I do expect a medical facility that has had my medical records forwarded to them concerning my breast cancer treatment and that is taking over my medical care for breast cancer to know that I had a double mastectomy. So I proceeded to explain the fact to the caller that I was supposed to be getting an AXILLARY ultrasound and possible biopsy, and that I had just gotten a double mastectomy. They had no clue!
I have a feeling I know how this misunderstanding started. It started with our Oncologist's poor handwriting. He wrote down the orders for the axillary ultrasound and biopsy and then handed them off to a nurse to schedule. While we were standing there waiting for the nurse to schedule the appointments we overheard her setting up an appointment for a breast ultrasound and biopsy. We corrected her and said it was Axillary. She kind of gave us a funny look, stared at the docs handwriting and said "huh, is that what that says?" and continued on making our appointments. So apparently either, A) she didn't believe us (and didn't take the time to verify), or B) she didn't care enough to go back and change the mistake she had made.
So I have a feeling that when I show up for my Ultrasound on Thursday they will be expecting to ultrasound my nonexistent breast.
They called this morning asking me to forward my Mammogram and Ultrasound films from Mayo to them. Sure, no problem... I contacted Mayo and had it taken care of in a matter of minutes. Then later, I started thinking, "Why do they need my breast mammograms and ultrasounds, if they are doing an axillary (arm pit) lymph node ultrasound and biopsy?". Oh well, no worries... they will have the films and that is what they wanted. Fast forward about 3 hours and I get another call from yet another department at Altru asking me to get them my mammogram and ultrasound films from Mayo. After explaining to them that I had already received a phone call requesting those films (they had no clue I'd already been contacted) and had already taken care of it, I proceeded to ask why they needed them. They said they wanted them for doing my left BREAST ultrasound and biopsy. Seriously?!?!
Ok, I wouldn't expect just everyone I talk to to know that I received a double mastectomy, but I do expect a medical facility that has had my medical records forwarded to them concerning my breast cancer treatment and that is taking over my medical care for breast cancer to know that I had a double mastectomy. So I proceeded to explain the fact to the caller that I was supposed to be getting an AXILLARY ultrasound and possible biopsy, and that I had just gotten a double mastectomy. They had no clue!
I have a feeling I know how this misunderstanding started. It started with our Oncologist's poor handwriting. He wrote down the orders for the axillary ultrasound and biopsy and then handed them off to a nurse to schedule. While we were standing there waiting for the nurse to schedule the appointments we overheard her setting up an appointment for a breast ultrasound and biopsy. We corrected her and said it was Axillary. She kind of gave us a funny look, stared at the docs handwriting and said "huh, is that what that says?" and continued on making our appointments. So apparently either, A) she didn't believe us (and didn't take the time to verify), or B) she didn't care enough to go back and change the mistake she had made.
So I have a feeling that when I show up for my Ultrasound on Thursday they will be expecting to ultrasound my nonexistent breast.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Miscommunication
Well, GF called today, and apparently between doctor, nurse, and scheduling there was some sort of miscommunication. We are scheduled for both Thursday and Friday appointments. The ultrasound and biopsy are scheduled for Thursday with port surgery and Oncology on Friday.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Discouraged
Well, today we met the Oncologist who will be overseeing my Chemotherapy. To be honest, I was not impressed. He was very late, and seemed rushed and disjointed. I don't know if this is how he normally is or if we just caught him on a bad day. (Or maybe Mayo just spoiled us rotten :-) ) Or maybe he was just truly baffled by what he found while he examined me and that threw him off, but I honestly left the appointment feeling very confused. You see, he examined my surgery site, and while examining me he felt in my arm pits and discovered a rather large lump (that I had already noticed a couple of days ago) on the side I had the invasive cancer which he thinks is a lymph node. This seemed to concern him, even though he said it would be very strange that it would actually be cancerous, being that the sentinel nodes were removed and found to contain no cancer. He said he had never seen anything like this post surgery and needed to look into it further.
So as it stands now, I go in to our local hospital for a MUGA scan to get a baseline test of my heart function before I start Chemo, since one of the possible side effects of chemo is damage to the heart. Then on Thursday, I go back to GF to have an ultrasound taken of my swollen lymph node and if they deem it necessary, a biopsy as well. Then I have a port for chemotherapy surgically placed and then I meet with the Oncologist again. Hopefully, at this point we will have a better idea of a chemo start date.
So as it stands now, I go in to our local hospital for a MUGA scan to get a baseline test of my heart function before I start Chemo, since one of the possible side effects of chemo is damage to the heart. Then on Thursday, I go back to GF to have an ultrasound taken of my swollen lymph node and if they deem it necessary, a biopsy as well. Then I have a port for chemotherapy surgically placed and then I meet with the Oncologist again. Hopefully, at this point we will have a better idea of a chemo start date.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)