Babbling

Spring Fever is really starting to set in. It is nice and warm outside but I’m not supposed to sit in the sun. When it is cold and nasty out, it is much easier to follow directions to rest and stay out of the sun. Yesterday I was able to spend time outside walking and running, and now I’m writing on our back patio trying to warm up in the sun from being in a freezing cold doctor’s office this morning. This morning I had to go see Dr. Mills for an exam before I start F.E.C., it was really nice to see a familiar doctor. Even though it was a pelvic exam, I wish all of my doctor appointments went so smoothly. I was finally able to reschedule my MRI at a decent hour, 3:30 in the afternoon, so I can have my port accessed before the test. But I did have to fight with the scheduler to get a time that was within reasonable business hours, meaning not late at night or early in the morning. I am frustrated with the lack of overall understanding that occurs between patients and the non-medical staff at the hospital. I understand that they talk to and see very sick people everyday, but give them some kind of training or something. The hospital is a micro society and there are some people who are good at their jobs, enjoy them (or at least pretend), and there are those who are terrible at their jobs and hate what they do. I once heard two secretaries in the bathroom talking about how much they hated the “smelly patients.” Now I’m not sure if they were referring to specific patients or if they think all patients are smelly and deserve ridicule; but they did hurt my feelings. I don’t want to be a smelly patient, or a difficult, pain in the ass patient but I will be in order to get my needs met. The funny thing is that I’ve heard worse stories about the private cancer hospitals in the area, than MD Anderson. The stories I’ve heard are all absurd. As patients we tend to get cranky at everyone and everything, and if our schedule gets messed up then look out. At least we only have three more weeks that we have to be at the hospital every Monday – YEAH!! I am almost shocked that my twelve weeks of taxol and the infamous study drug RAD001 are coming to an end. I only have two more treatments. It certainly does not feel like I have been taking chemo for ten weeks; except for the lost hair, rash, acne, and chemo pause. The chemo pause symptoms get worse each week, and are probably the most annoying of all the side effects; because I know that in another fifteen or twenty years I’ll have the same symptoms again, for real. Now I’m focused on getting ready for the next group of drugs, fun, and training for the triathlon on April 11th. I know that this is not a great place to talk about training, but I may turn it into a gardening/working out blog with cancer stuff on the side. Let me know what you think.