The view is very different on the second floor, which I think of as testing central.
Dexa scan today, to check for bone density. Bone loss occurs when taking an estrogen blocker daily (treatment for estrogen+ cancer; that is, cancer that grows more rapidly in the presence of estrogen).
Given that I had a Zometa treatment in November (the last one, to stimulate bone growth), I hope it’s still looking good.
Next year, though …
Because the second floor is testing central, and you’re allowed one care giver, it was a zoo. No way to sit together and honor spacing.
We got in the elevator from the garage with a couple who seemed to be on their first visit (they thought they could get to 2nd from that elevator). They were clueless about physical spacing (limit of four in elevator, they made five). And sitting next to one another on 2nd floor meant they encroached on the buffer of someone already seated.
I felt bad for them, remembering my first set of visits. Hard enough without covid hanging over everything. He was the patient, slightly older than me (we checked in at the same time).
I sat next to (distanced) an older woman who struck up conversation after I’d finished my paperwork. Her 38 year old son was getting a stem cell transplant. Fourth visit this week. Suggests leukemia, myeloma, or lymphoma.
She commented about how busy/crowded it seemed. I explained that it wasn’t my normal floor (PT is 4th), and that I think of it as crowded because sometimes caregivers can’t accompany the patient. As she couldn’t.
In hindsight, I left abruptly when I was called. The scrabble for clipboard, purse, shawl, figure-out-where-Mike-moved-to zoomed to the front of my mind. I regret that oversight very much.
Update:
- Lumbar spine (L1-L4) Z-score: 2.7 (132% age-matched normal values)
- Left total hip Z-score: 1.6 (123% age-matched normal values)
- Right total hip Z-score: 1.5 (122% of age-matched normal values)