The Second Opinion....

Lots and lots of you have checked in with me about this whole second opinion discussion.  I confess: yesterday while I was thinking about it, and deliberating over it, I was getting really upset about it.  Finally, I decided to just make the call and do it and now--no more stress (over that, at least).  I will be meeting with Dr. Amanda Wheeler of Legacy Health Systems on Friday morning to discuss what she thinks.  She was recommended to me by my OB/GYN Dr. Flath.  When I called to make the appointment, the receptionist pulled a bit of a Mom card on me:

ME: Hi, I'd like to make an appointment with Dr. Wheeler....I was diagnosed a few weeks ago and Dr. Flath recommended I speak with her.
RECEPTIONIST: And you waited to call until NOW BECAUSE..?!?!?!

So the "gig is up" that I'm going there to get a second opinion since my husband works at OHSU...so we'll see what I think.  In the end, I guess I feel like it doesn't hurt a thing to go meet with someone else, and Greg has already said he'd support whichever decision I make for care though we both continue to recognize the convenience of OHSU will continue to be a major factor.

Today I go back to the Fertility Doc's to check my progress from the injections.  I'd like to say I'm done giving myself shots but I think the fun has just begun.  The new shots, though, have to be in my behind whereas the ones I've been doing so far were in the fat of my stomach.  (I've already secured the services of 2 willing co-workers if I need to do the shots during business hours and lack the required physical coordination.)  Just another slice of paradise!

Thursday is a big day of appointments for me with the MRI and biopsy to determine clinical trial eligibility, plus the CT and bone scans for "staging" purposes.  I know the eligibility will take a few weeks to determine and then we must decide if we want to participate.  I do NOT know how long the staging analysis will take.  This unknown question of whether or not the cancer has spread elsewhere (though unlikely) is still my greatest source of anxiety.  I will be happy to know the answer, and while I have a strong preference for one outcome, as I have found through all of this KNOWING is better than NOT, even if it's not the news you want to hear.

Barring any major unforeseen developments, I'll probably take tomorrow off from an update and then regale you all with tales of various machines and bruises on Thursday.  By the way: the question has come up--is there a way to have this blogger service send a follower an email when I've made a new post?  I don't know the answer but I think it's "no."  However, if you've discovered the secret, could you post the "how-to" in the comments section below?

Thanks again everyone for your support--I know there are some unreturned phone calls and I apologize for that but right now I have to be honest and say that email and this blog are just the best ways for me to communicate.  Talking about it makes me much more emotional and while I know it's okay to be emotional, I try to keep it SOMEWHAT under control!