Scattered Thoughts . . .

M y oncologist scheduled a few more appointments for me over the past couple of days.   I'm now scheduled to head up to the hospital on March 8th.  We'll head to the lab first for some bloodwork and then we head to Oncology for the bone marrow biopsy procedure.  I have some extra medications to take a couple of hours before the procedure too but that has already been discussed with a plan in place and medications already on hand.   A few weeks later, I have a video visit with my oncologist to discuss which direction to go with this.  She did point out, however, that if we find any serious incidental findings in the bone marrow biopsy then we would meet much sooner.  She actually mentioned that multiple times when we last spoke which is probably a hint that she suspects something else could be amiss.   My primary care doctor also set me up for a FITS Colon Screening test in late February.  That is so simple that it is not even worth mentioning.  The most problematic part of that

A s I mentioned in a previous blog entry, I had another appointment with my oncologist the other day.  This morning we took a trip up to the hospital to run some tests. The other day, my oncologist and I discussed my current health, obviously, as well as some new treatments that have very recently been FDA approved for my rare illness.  These are the first two approved treatments specifically for my rare illness.  I spent some time over the past two days researching these treatments and discussing them with Sheila. First, let me start by saying that I'm fairly confident that my health is not  at a point where I think either of these drugs should be necessary.  My oncologist is simply trying to help improve my daily life.  She also wants to ensure that we aren't putting my health on the back burner instead of quickly jumping on treating something that is treatable but could quickly become life-threatening if left untreated.   One of the newly approved drugs to treat my rare illn

I had an appointment with my doctor again this morning. I had planned to go to this appointment alone (Sheila and I usually attend appointments together but this appointment seemed like it would be uneventful... ie, no life threatening decisions to be made or discussed... so I was going it alone today) but my car is frozen in the mud so Sheila had to leave work to drive me there. Other than giving up some blood, the appointment was rather painless. Sheila and I saw the same doctor last week for Sheila's lingering cold. While we were there for Sheila, my doctor said she wanted to see me for a full exam and to adjust my medications. That appointment was this morning. This appointment was not a moment too soon since my health has been rather miserable lately. I've been having significantly worsened breathing issues since June of 2015... which is a long time and something which should have sent me to the doctor long ago. That was a priority today because it seems to be worseni