Monday, July 27, 2009

7/27/2009

matt and i did the STP (seattle to portland) again this year - as a fundraiser for bcrf. my goal was $5,000.00 this time, not anticipating getting any matches. i'm still waiting for checks so i still have no idea how much i actually raised. - most of the story will be under the sports blog, but i'll post something here with the total tally once i have it.

finally met my ob. i had to find a new one when i got a male gp and was dragging my heals. went in the spring 2006 but saw her np. then i was diagnosed and well, not much she can do so i didn't worry about seeing her again until after all this was over. she's nice. younger than i was expecting. then again, she's probably in her 40s and just looks young. good news about those pap smears - as i have no uterus or cervix there's no need to have a pap! yay! but she does still need to check the ovaries. she said we should do the blood draw and or the internal ultrasound every year until i have them out. even if i'm at a lower risk rate than i was initially, it's the smart thing to do. she didn't get the reasoning to wait until after i go through menopause, but she couldn't argue convincingly either. so i have to get a blood draw and they'll check my cbc, thyroid, ca125 (i think that's the name - it's the one that checks the ovarian cancer) and a few others. i'm going to ask if i can bring it back and have my vitamin-d level included. i probalby didn't blog the next mention as it was B.D. (before diagnosis) - but when i went to see her in '06 i had blood drawn at their lab. the tech was terrible! i was almost screaming, tears were rolling down my cheeks uncontrollably. no way i'll let her do it again. i stopped into my onco's office and asked the nurse if i could bring the paperwork there and have their lab do the draw and she said yes. whew! i'm so happy! so now i just have to get off my butt and do it. but i want to wait until it cools a little since it's going to stress me out anyway.

and then last thurs i went in for my yearly mammo. tech didn't even try to do the right side, so i'll be the one last year heard about it. i questioned her at the time but she didn't listen. had she squished hard enough to pop it she'd have a nice $$ bill on her hands! anyway, 2 from each angle and they looked good. forget the comparison between analog and digital imaging, just the difference in the tissue in the last 2 years has changed! i waited for dr. watts who came in with a big smile saying everything looked great. and gave me a big hug. then she asked about the STP and all. i thought that was real nice. i had sent an email to her but didn't know if it'd actually get there as i guessed at the address. then she said she wanted to make sure i knew - she's needing a break and is thinking of moving. to new zealand! she went last spring and fell in love with the place. she doesn't know if she'll really move or not, or if she'll just take a sabatical kind of thing or maybe just needs a change of scenery as far as work goes (like go to another hospital) but wanted to make sure i knew. she said she'd let me know where she was going to be so we could have a disc of my films sent to her still so she can keep up with me. i let her know i knew someone in group who just graduated with reading films and was interested in a part-time or job-share type of position for mammos, and dr. watts said to get her in touch. well, i emailed the gal but i don't know if she's gotten it yet or not. for my sake i hope dr watts stays. i was really sad the rest of the day and teary-eyed, too. it really got me down thinking about her not being there anymore. she's the one that read my 1st mammo way back when, and she's been there every step with me. geez, look at that, i'm crying again thinking about it! :-( it's way too hot to be doing that, so i'll cut this post short.