We had a busy afternoon today and I felt a little nauseous almost the whole time. I was surprised I didn't throw up at all. First we went to see the radiation oncologist in a different building then Littman and my chemo treatments. Actually, I think it was the building where the Bar Association library is. The resident radiation oncologist Harriet Eldridge was not only very nice but the prettiest doctor I've ever had. We spoke to her for a while and then the regular oncologist Voichita Bar-Ad joined us. Bar-Ad called my sore upper thigh a "referred" sore but I told her I didn't recall any referrals on this. It seemed pretty clear that the lesion on my pelvic bone is cancerous and I will have two weeks (Monday to Friday) of radiation beginning this Monday.
Tomorrow I go in to get a type of CT Scan in which they mark the location of the lesion and where they will shoot the radiation. It's not supposed to be too bad. It doesn't necessarily eliminate the lesion but should at least control it and keep it from growing.
We asked them about an appointment with a dermatologist because of some scars and other things on my head and they found out the dermatologist was available right then (2:30). I already had an appointment at the chemo place for an introvenous drug called Zoletta that is to strengthen bones; so Eldridge informed them we'd be late.
We then hurried over to another building where dermatology was. A resident checked me out first and then the regular doctor Keller examined me. They treated my head like my former dermatologist did. They took a piece of the worst for a biopsy and froze away many other things on my head, not a fun process but no pain after they were done. Keller was very nice, but I preferred the dermatologist Stanley (head of the dept. at HUP) whom I saw last August; and although he saw some minor things, said this guy (me) is going through enough so lets leave him alone.
Next, we went to the regular Chemo place where I received Zoletta for bone strengthening and Ativan for my nausea. I also got the monthly Octreotide shot for diarrhea. I tried talking Eleanor out of the shot saying I didn't have diarrhea anymore but she claimed Octreotide was the reason. The shot wasn't nearly as bad as many in the past. This was by far the best timing we've had at Jeff as our whole day touring was only about 3 1/2 hours.
Then we walked over to Chinatown for some carry out and cabbed it home. I was actually able to eat a fair amount of Chinese without getting nauseous. Linda is concentrating on my drinking more which Eleanor said was important for my kidneys based on the latest lab tests.
All in all it was a wonderful day, like a day in the park.
Elkan - Wednesday night
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