Clean -- 3 for 3

We had an appointment last Wednesday with the third doctor of the "team" looking after me -- the chemo doc. We hadn't seen him since the PET/CT scan report came out.

He had just received the scan report (showing that no visible evidence of cancer had shown up). He was smiling as he went over the details with us. He also informed us that tests had shown that my kidney functions were at 100% (which was very good news -- it seems the kidneys can take quite a beating during chemotherapy), and that my heart and lungs seemed perfectly normal. My white blood cell count is still low, but it seems that was to be expected. He summarized the reports as being "as good as they could possibly be."

Like the radiation doc during out last visit with him, the chemo doc reminded us that, back at the beginning of treatment, he had concurred with our decision to forgo additional surgery on the parotid gland so that chemo and radiation treatments could begin as quickly as possible. And that decision seems to have been justified by the test results. I imagine it was as gratifying and (maybe/almost) as much of a relief to both of them as it has been for Deb and me.

He also saved us from what might have been a major problem and/or disappointment:

He asked us if we had scheduled the removal of the PEG food tube, and we said yes, we had, and that it was scheduled for a week from that day -- Wednesday, October 28th. Then he asked us if we had informed the surgeon who would do the procedure that I was on blood thinners. And we said no, we hadn't -- and that the surgeon's scheduling person hadn't asked. He suggested we inform the surgeon as soon as possible -- that he might want me off the blood thinner medication for three days or so prior to the procedure. Just in case.

So we made the call as soon as we got home, and it turns out that the surgeon wanted me to be off the blood thinning medication for five days -- not just three. So without the chemo doc asking that simple question, I might have either been turned down for the procedure next Wednesday or risked a complication if the procedure went ahead and I was still on the blood thinner medication.

So the two lessons from the meeting with the doc were:

Lesson #1: I'm about as healthy right now as could possibly be expected.

Lesson #2: Sometimes, necessary questions don't get asked in a timely fashion and important issues get skipped over. While you need to trust your medical support team, you owe it to yourself to remain as actively engaged in your own treatment regimens as you can.

More about food tubes and blood clots soon.