My next stop was to see my Oncologist, Dr. Illyass. Here he is with his sometimes tangential assistant, Nurse Diz. (She chose that name for herself, need I say more)
Dr. Illyass had been my oncologist for many years, due to an earlier breast cancer. I had just seen him a few months before. But at that time we had, of course, been focused on my breast. I thought about making a joke that we hadn't been paying enough attention to the OTHER side of my body. But I didn't. Dr. Illyass is a sort of serious guy. Ask him any question; he'll think about it, answer it, elaborate. That's what I really like about him. And he gave me an email address to reach him out. The ONLY doctor who ever did that....and he really answers my messages.
As for Nurse Diz, well, let's just say we spent a long time on her gluten intolerance. NO, no really guys, she's a great nurse and very attentive....maybe because she's cutting back on the caffeine...I found that out too.
Back to moi. Dr. Illyass went over the PET scan results and showed me charts outlining the course of treatment if I'm Stage one, just the tumor, or Stage 3, tumor and lymph nodes. I forgot to ask what was Stage 2, but it was not that important. Both one and three had the same course of treatment. I would be receiving Mitomycin at week one and week five of my five weeks of radiation. And I'd also be getting something called 5-FU (yes, FU 5 times!) which I would carry around in a little pack, receiving a continuous 5- day infusion, also week one and week five.
Some hair thinning, mouth sores, fatigue, diarrhea, nausea....the usual. Why oh why do I never get this symptom: poor appetite?The one time Dr. Illyass made a joke, he had said that oncologists are the only doctors who are happy when their patients gain weight. HAHAHA.
2 comments:
FU-5 times. What a descriptive name. Much better than fluorouracil.
Why is it that the docs don't like us to lose weight. I had puuuulenty of poundage to lose and didn't lose a darn ounce!
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