Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse...

Ok just a little recapMay 18th wake up with enlarged lymph nodes make family doctors appointment tells me doesn't think it's cancerous schedules for blood tests, chest x-rays and a needle biopsy with surgeonJune 11th was my visit to the surgeon. Expecting to have a needle biopsy it's instead a referral, looks me over touches the nodes and says' he'll do a needle biopsy but would suggest having surgery done, I suggest the needle as maybe surgery isn't necessary, he tell me "ok just to make me happy ands not think he doesn't want to try the needle" On my way out he explains he believes it's benign and should go away on his own. Has the nurse schedule for needle biopsy at local hospitalJune 22nd I thought was my appointment getting all ready to go and look at the form to see where it is, discovered the appointment isn't until July 20th, Mom calls the office explains can't understand how why we have to wait over a month, gets appointment changed to June 28th.June 28th Go to the hospital to have the needle biopsy I get called into the room where the Dr. is making jokes, (nurse had shoulder surgery, he tells her to raise her hands she does..then says grab the bottom of your top and raise your hands she giggles), lies me down and takes first sample of tissue, then attempts to take a second sample with the SAME needle, after the nurse explains you can't takes the old needle away and gives him a new one. At the end of the Needle as I am getting ready to leave he tells me now that I am looking at Hodgkin as the source of the problem. Life comes to a stop. Told to call end of the week to find out results.July 2nd call the office but closed for the Long Weekend (Glad they told me that at the hospital)July 5th Called the surgeons office, receptionist tells me they don't have the results, then says the doctors has to talk to me, I get the Surgeon on the phone and he says that" It is what we thought it was and talked about at the hospital and they need a larger sample to determine the type of chemotherapy) my moment of break down, I'm a complete mess for the next couple of days. I have an appointment for surgery on July 21st.July 7th I had an appointment with one of the family doctors we talk and he explains the situation, I discover at that point there is no definite answer as of yet what I have which means the surgeon was wrong in telling me that I had Hodgkin. I feel much betterJuly 21: Go in for my surgery somewhat nervous, first time ever been opened up, Surgeon comes up and tells me doesn't appreciate my mom bothering his receptionist and to tell her to "back off babe", go in for surgery and everything turns out well. For the next 2 weeks I call for the results I am told that they had to send out for a second opinion but can't tell me where as they don't have any idea where it is.July 30th I get a phone call from the regional Cancer care unit, I have been referred to a hematologist there. I'm under the assumption the results came back positive, no one calls me just the hematologists’ receptionist to confirm my appointment. I call my family doctor to see if any results have come in he says yes and the report says suspicious of Hodgkin, he now too believes it's Hodgkin. Tells me the Hematologist is very good. I tell him what I think of the surgeon and he tells me he's a good guy...Maybe a good guy but a lousy doctor.
August 9th Meet the Hematologist. Asks me the same questions everyone else has been asking me and no other symptoms just the nodes. Then I'm told the results from the second set of results haven't come in. I explain to her that I was told she had them. She has her assistant look into it and we discover that London has the test and still looking at them. She schedules me for blood work, chest x-rays, CT Scan and Gallium scan. I have the Blood and x-rays done right away, Gallium for august 23rd and 26th. CT September 7th.August 23rd get 3 voice mails call from the Hematologist. 1. Hematologist she and the pathologist in London talk, Hema asks if the Patho can make a call. Path explains very iffy and cannot make a definitive call. Patho asks for more tissue. 2. Hema will contact Surgeon and make another appointment for biopsy. 3. Hematologist calls Surgeon says no point in doing surgery as all tissue in that area is necrotic and nothing will be of any use, and we will just keep heading forward and get me started on treatment. Talk to a Friend of a retired Doctor and explain the whole situation explains that Surgeons have no say in the matter and to get a new one. Explain to the hematologist I would like a biopsy on the other side and with a different surgeon. I also explain with out diagnosing me I will not go through any sort of treatment. She agrees and says she will setup the appointment. Also explain will be gone for 3 weeks. I get the blood results from 3 months ago and the blood results from the recent tests...what I found is my red and white blood counts are up. Met wit the new surgeon and very nice, actually called me into his office looked me over asked me the same symptom questions and explained the dangers of doing the surgery. Oh before that I get a phone call this past Tuesday I had missed my appointment, for some unknown reason the hospital didn't call me to tell me the date so the surgeon’s office decided to talk to me directly. When I called to complain to the hospital I was told "that's unfortunate that it happened” Got my results on Thursday from the Gallium scan this scan tells of any other active lymph nodes in the system results only in my neck where we can feel them. As for the first surgeon a complaint will be filed with the CMA and the Ontario College of surgeons. I'm also considering placing in a complaint with the hospital that considered it unfortunate that they didn't inform me of my appointment. So as of now after being told and admitted to a cancer care hospital, it is not confirmed I have anything. Most people at work can't believe what I have been going through and don't understand how I've been able to handle all this; I figure I'm just more annoyed with the medical field or maybe just the healthcare system in this city. My next surgery is on September 22nd. Though after the CT results I may reconsider it after having a talk with the hematologist to say what else could it be. I think it's time to just sit back look at the physical facts we have on me and instead of trying top feed me some toxic crap for something I may not have looking at all the possible angles of what it might be. I'll keep anyone interested posted, and if anyone else has ever had a similar thing I would love to hear from you. On a side note before I end this BLOG the new surgeon did tell me on rare cases (as such in my case) it can be extremely difficult to determine Hodgkin.

Wrong Date

Tuesday came around and I couldn't remember the time I had my biopsy at. So I grabbed the sheet and read.."You have an appointment with Dr **** at St. Mary's 4th floor MOP unit at Tuesday July 20.....WHAT July 20th I thought it was June..Wait a minute today is Tuesday June 22nd...informing my mom she was not pleased with the fact that I would have to wait another month before having the biopsy done...well she was on the phone with the doctors office and with her magical wand...or maybe her words and determination was able to get me in Friday June 25th at 10am. Oh wait I forgot to mention that on Monday I called well I called on Friday the 18th to my family doctor not the surgeon and told me that my blood test proved to be negative and nothing was wrong, blood count was normal and mono was non-existant. As for my Chest X-Rays I would have had to try back on Monday...well I called Monday the 21 of June and they told me they had come back clean and nothing was unusual with them. Still I wasn't worried and sure this was nothing. As my Surgeon said I was a healthy looking young man.

June 11th Meet the Surgeon

June 11th, made a mistake last post should have been June not July 11th. My appointment was for noon, told them I wouldn't be at work on time again. they still have no idea what's going on expect my boss, but he's away for 3 weeks. Got to the office expecting to have some sort of needle placed inside of me to exctract some fluids. Finally 40 minutes after my schedulked appointment (I'm going to start getting tothe offices after my appointments not before it). I get called into the examination room. He looks at the request from my family doctor and then comes over to me and does a hand examination on them. He tells me the samething that my Family Doctor said that they are highly enlarghed on my left side and 3 small ones on my right. He told me the best way todo this was surgery....WAIT WAIT WAIT....Surgery what do you mean surgery...he says I mean cut open the side there and take a sample of the growth for analysis. But wait my Family Doctor said only a needle.....He sat there and said fine he'd do the needle but told me that the needle one would be fine if you could get the right sample but surgery might still be needed. On my way out he told me that in all honesty he thought they were benign and would go away on their own. They scheduled my appointment at the hospital for what I thought was Tuesday June 20 2004. check your calanders on that date *grin*

Dr's Appointment May 20th

May 20th: Was my doctors appointment. Not sure why they call it the waiting room...should be the pre-waiting room, sat there, my appointment was at 11:40. At 11:40 they called me in, and then I ended up sitting in the doctors room for another 20 minutes...isn't that what the waiting room is for? Anyways he asked me how I was doing and, I replied back saying that if I was well I wouldn't be here in his office :) . Anyways I told him about the nodes and he examined them I told him how tired I had been recently and he confessed as to never really seeing anything like them. Reassuring me that he didn't think it was a tumor he set me up for chest X-rays and blood tests for blood cell counts and mono. I was able to have the tests done immediately but was going to have to wait until Friday they thought for the results. He also thought I should have a biopsy done on the lump just to examine what is going on there. So they scheduled me for a biopsy on July 11th with the surgeon.

How my life changed this summer

I discovered how ones life can change with a single phone call. It all started on May 18th, I was woken up at 6:30 on my own due to a pain in my neck. when I went to tough my neck I felt extremely large size of Lymph nodes on my left hand side. I then decided to probe to see if I had anymore, yup directly on my right hand side I could feel 2 smaller ones. I got online and tsrated looking up information on enlarged Lymph nodes, at first I got scared cause all I read was cancer, cancer cancer. Then I remembered I felt the samething when I had mono. So I talked to my mom about it and she thought I should make a Doctors Appointment on it. I called them that morning hoping to get in early and was told the earlisets would be Thursday Morning. I said fine and Thursday it was.

Why can't the medical system get it right???

So I knew I had another surgery coming up for my second biopsy. I just wasn't 100% sure if it was on the 20th orthe 24th of September. I called the surgeons office on Wed (yesterday) and got their voicemail..they wree closed for the day. I left a message asking what day and time my appointment was. Well today on my way to work I get a phone call at 9am, it's the receptionist..she snaps on me telling me my surgery is today. I said impossible it was scheduled for next week...she's like no I was there when I scheduled it I should know it's today. Well we have a problem I ate breakfast this morning at 7am. She had to call the doctor to see if it would still procedd or reschedule. Well I had a chance to do soem thinking and when she got back to me she said it would be close...no food 8 hrs b4..and I was 7.5hrs. I then explained that she wasn't there when I first came in she was yes I was...getting short with me now. Then I said her fill in was there....*LIGHTBULB*...Bingo...she had scheduled me for an appointment even b4 I came in the first time. she forgot to tell her fillin about it and her fillin shceduled me for the 20 or 24th can't remember. so after about 50 apologies for yelling at me I'm off to the operating room for a second time (possible...there's a very slight chance they cancel it as the anathesiologist would decline me as I ate prior to 8hrs...I will find out when I get there). People ask me often how Ican stand the waiting process and still be so calm and composed....I'm not really sure if the waiting process is what's getting to me anymore as the lack of communication amongst the medical field seems to be overtaking the waiting processes.

Fun Long weekend

Well was in London for the weekend watching my little cuz play soccer. She's 9 years old and is an amazing little player. The won the tournamanet and must say it was a very entertaining game to watch. after wards on sunday we went out for dinner when I passed by a construction site that had been dug up. Today fatre the morning game I asked my 3 little cuz's if they wanted to go for a bumpy ride..they all yelled YES...So I took them off road. I'm not exactly sure who had more funthem or I, any how on our way off the where we were to get back on the road who do I meet up with coming directly for us is a London officer, she just looked at me and I could see the grin on her face. I'll admit my heart started to race as I wasn't sure if I was doing something illegal (guess not *GRIN*) Later that night I took them out again this time I was able to find all the great mounds and pot holes..looking in the rear view mirror all I could see where bodies bounding up and down side to side back and forth..they Loved it though and have to admit so did I. I told them we'll find another place to go next weekend.