Week 2 Monday

My new obsession with Ear nose and throat had me at back to see Dr Battacharyya with Patrick since he is having nosebleeds from his acne meds.  He got the all clear and I wouldn’t be surprised if any other Newmans get checked out there too.  While in the medical area I made a quick call to Jess and we got a quick bite to eat at the Laughing Monk. It was chilly but did wonders for my head. Felt good to be doing something so normal.   

While at Dr Bs office I was able to stop and thank the front desk staff with a big bag of candy.  I often think the administrative staff in offices don’t get enough credit for all they do to make sure these brilliant physicians are able to do what they do. As over the moon appreciative I am to Dr B for diagnosing me so quickly and setting up an amazing team, his administrative staff were the ones to get me my first appointment in 2 days with complaints of sinus pressure.  They also scheduled all of my cat scans, MRI, PET, Biopsies. Ginette, an office manager covering for a scheduler fought with insurance to make sure they would expedite the testing.When I gave them the candy I told them their actions made all the difference in the world and probably saved my life.  Just putting my appointment out four weeks would have made the tumor grow further into the skull base, muscle and nerves. 

I looked at the pretty young girl who checked me in and hoped that she will call her parents and tell her how much being there can make a difference. I remember how proud my dad would be when I showed him a raving evaluation or told him about my job.  And he always knew how important the people in the background were to the success of the geniuses of Harvard. 

Then to Mass General.  Thinking I had appointments at 1230 I showed up a few hours early but got the lab results.  Everything looks good. No anemia. White cells are good but do have some signs of mild kidney damage from the chemo.  Creatinine was 1.53 and EGFR 40.  K 3.0.   Met with Dr Clark the covering Head and Neck oncologist and looked at the numbers. He made suggestions on helping to be better prepared for the next round.  He said most people do better the second round because they know what they need to get through it.  He is mildly concerned about the kidneys but thinks in ten days they should rebound.  He said he would use a different drug if the EGFR is still below 40. It is slightly less renal toxic but also not quite as effective so hoping to rebound the kidneys this week. 

Then upstairs for some IV fluids with Hillary who recommended ended trying soups besides chicken soup. She said lots of people have trouble with chicken.  Maybe try broccoli cheddar. So I did.  And it was pretty good.  Can add that to the list! Sweets aren’t interesting at all which may be good for the long term (like quitting cigarettes- getting off sugar isn’t easy) but the Pad See Ew from Laughing Monk was pretty impressive too. So maybe it’s that I’m finding foods appealing or maybe I’m rounding the chemo Hump and getting my appetite back. Either way- I’ll take it.