I Am Not A Good Patient

I can honestly say I am not a good patient. Philip is so much stronger then I am.
I thought I was doing good until I pulled in and had to tell the Valet parker I was there for a appt at the Cancer Center. I even hated saying the words, and hated sitting there.
The waiting room was filled with people . I could not help but think about each of them as I looked around. I wondered if they ever thought they would be sick and sitting in a Cancer Center. Then I realised...wow I am sitting here also. BUt in my mind...I am only visiting ..not going to be a patient there.
So I neet with a really nice DR. He was very kind and took a lot of time with me. I loved how he listened to what I had to say. He seemed really intrested in how I was feeling and thinking...vs just the lab work.
We had a long talk about the blood work. We talked about the worry with the levels being off. And we talked about the next steps.
I am now thrown into the new world of testing for cancer.
I have to have a stat Mamogram tomorrow morning. Never had one. I am sure all will be fine.
Tomorrow I will have get info on a test they are scheduling for me..It is a test where they give you a shot and then watch to see if anything lights up. I hope it stays dark.
He was very concerned about the mass. My appt got moved up. So I see the suregon this week to get it removed and tested.
I have a list of blood work to be done stat tomorrow.
GFR measured, Creatinine generation, Creatinine secretion. I will also need to see a urolgist.
Beta-2-microglobulin (MY-kroh-GLOB-yoo-lin)

A small protein normally found on the surface of many cells, including
lymphocytes, and in small amounts in the blood and urine. An increased
amount in the blood or urine may be a sign of certain diseases, including
some types of cancer, such as multiple myeloma or lymphoma.

CA 27-29: A tumor marker similar to the CA 15-3 that is found in the blood
of most breast cancer patients. CA 27-29 levels may be used in conjunction
with other procedures (such as mammograms and measurements of other tumor
marker levels) to check for recurrence in women previously treated for stage
II and stage III breast cancer.
CA 27-29 levels can also be elevated by cancers of the colon, stomach,
kidney, lung, ovary, pancreas, uterus, and liver

CA 125
It is not possible to interpret the meaning of an abnormally high CA 125
without additional information about the particular patient being evaluated.
The reason is that this protein can be increased in many different benign
and malignant conditions. The two most frequent situations in which CA 125
is used is to monitor patients with a known cancer (malignancy) or as one of
several tests in the workup of a patient suspected of having a tumor.
The most common use of the test is the monitoring of women with known cancer
of the ovary (ovarian cancer). In the patient who is known to have a
malignancy, such as ovarian cancer, the CA 125 level can be monitored
periodically. A decreasing level generally indicates that therapy, including
chemotherapy, has been effective, while an increasing level indicates tumor
recurrence.

Sedimentation rate : A blood test that detects and monitors inflammation in
the body. It measures the rate at which red blood cells (RBCs) in a test
tube separate from blood serum over time, becoming sediment in the bottom of
the test tube. The sedimentation rate increases with more inflammation. Also
called the erythrocyte sedimentation rate.


So while that was a lot of info to take in...I took it in and will try hard to be patient while it takes a while to get all these test results back. You all need to remind me of this as the days go by.

I will be intrested in what the suergon says about the mass...It seems to be taking forever to get to appt day.

I need to say I felt the prayers today.