This afternoon I met Dr. Rebecca Orwoll, an oncologist. She is incredible. And, it turns out, she was Vera's oncologist too. She clearly loves what she does, and is really enthusiastic and interested in all of the scientific advancements that have occured over the past bunch of years. She's also working on a degree in music. Is this the doc for me, or what?
As with Dr. Johnson, I love her.
She went through a number of studies with me, finishing up with her recommendations/suggestions, which are rather different from Dr. Johnson's.
Dr. Johnson recommends a lumpectomy followed by radiation twice a day for a week. The radiation is administered through a balloon in my breast that sits where the tumor was, so it's very localized. Dr. Orwell prefers lumpectomy followed by chemotheraphy and then perhaps by radiation. Both, by the way, favor tamoxifen for 5 years--it blocks the hormones that make my tumor happy.
Based on the info Dr. O gives me (if I've got it all right), there have been some recent advances that are absolutely amazing. Basically, they can send my tumor off to this lab that will work on the DNA; they will come back in 10-14 days with very specific recommendations for chemo based on the DNA. However, usually doing radiation before chemo messses things up for the chemo. Doing the balloon in my boob radiation weeks after the surgery may or may not be feasible. Also, Dr. O isn't sure if the radiation done with the boob balloon will, in fact, mess up the chemo.
So what now? Mere mortal doctors would just leave me in this dilemma, or would wait for me to ask them to talk to each other--but not my SuperDocs. Dr. O says that she will call the radiation oncologist to see what studies have been done on the sequencing of the boob-ballon radiation and chemo, and see if we can do the radiation first, then the chemo. She also says she will call Dr. J and work through the ideas with her.
I feel like I am in the care of the smartest people on the planet, and that they really care about me. I feel incredibly lucky, too. I expect to hear from my docs in the next few days, but in the meantime I also feel very unsettled--I know the surgery is scheduled for April 28, but have no idea what we're planning after that. I'm trying to channel my inner Doris Day (what will be will be) but it's tough. I'm also feeling bad about inflicting such uncertaintly on my colleagues who are awesomely supportive, but still have their deadlines, too.
Dr. J had ordered more tests, and Dr. O does too, including a bone scan and such.
I go out to dinner with some good girlfriends, and we drink a lot of wine and get very, very loud. I love it.
As with Dr. Johnson, I love her.
She went through a number of studies with me, finishing up with her recommendations/suggestions, which are rather different from Dr. Johnson's.
Dr. Johnson recommends a lumpectomy followed by radiation twice a day for a week. The radiation is administered through a balloon in my breast that sits where the tumor was, so it's very localized. Dr. Orwell prefers lumpectomy followed by chemotheraphy and then perhaps by radiation. Both, by the way, favor tamoxifen for 5 years--it blocks the hormones that make my tumor happy.
Based on the info Dr. O gives me (if I've got it all right), there have been some recent advances that are absolutely amazing. Basically, they can send my tumor off to this lab that will work on the DNA; they will come back in 10-14 days with very specific recommendations for chemo based on the DNA. However, usually doing radiation before chemo messses things up for the chemo. Doing the balloon in my boob radiation weeks after the surgery may or may not be feasible. Also, Dr. O isn't sure if the radiation done with the boob balloon will, in fact, mess up the chemo.
So what now? Mere mortal doctors would just leave me in this dilemma, or would wait for me to ask them to talk to each other--but not my SuperDocs. Dr. O says that she will call the radiation oncologist to see what studies have been done on the sequencing of the boob-ballon radiation and chemo, and see if we can do the radiation first, then the chemo. She also says she will call Dr. J and work through the ideas with her.
I feel like I am in the care of the smartest people on the planet, and that they really care about me. I feel incredibly lucky, too. I expect to hear from my docs in the next few days, but in the meantime I also feel very unsettled--I know the surgery is scheduled for April 28, but have no idea what we're planning after that. I'm trying to channel my inner Doris Day (what will be will be) but it's tough. I'm also feeling bad about inflicting such uncertaintly on my colleagues who are awesomely supportive, but still have their deadlines, too.
Dr. J had ordered more tests, and Dr. O does too, including a bone scan and such.
I go out to dinner with some good girlfriends, and we drink a lot of wine and get very, very loud. I love it.
No comments:
Post a Comment