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Today I gave my oncologist a gift

today I gave my oncologist a gift

“When I was first diagnosed DeNovo stage IV, I asked my oncologist what my prognosis was. He said he couldn’t tell me because he isn’t a fortune teller. But he shared the statistical average, which in 2016 was 18-36 months.

I replied, “Well that’s not going to work for me. My youngest is in the 8th grade. I have to live until he graduates high school otherwise he’ll end up with his dad who is incapable of taking care of himself much less a child who will be grieving the loss of his mother. I need 5 years.”

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COVID-19 💉 vaccination (second shot)

vaccines do not give you coronavirus

My second BioNTech-Pfizer shot was scheduled for Saturday 13 February, but snowmageddon nixed that! Seattle Cancer Care Alliance called on Monday and rescheduled me for Thursday.

There were far fewer people in the queue this time. I arrived 30 minutes early, which was the magic maximum I could enter early. Again, paperwork prepared at home. In about five minutes, I was in the shot line.

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2021 cancer visits begin with bone density check

SCCA

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.

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COVID-19 💉 vaccination (first shot)

Covid waiting area

Got the call from Seattle Cancer Care Alliance on Wednesday. BioNTech-Pfizer shot set for Friday morning! This is the first time that cancer has had benefits.

But vaccination ahead of my 86 year old, veteran father-in-law is wrong.

Fred Hutchinson and SCCA have put together an amazing mass vaccination process. (And yes, jabs in arms, as quickly as possible.)

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