"Though the Mountains Divide, and the Oceans are Wide..."

Yes, indeed: It's a SMALL WORLD after all!

After my appointment Thursday with Dr. Chui it started to dawn on me that I felt like we had nearly crossed paths with him before, and my suspicions were confirmed: he and his wife are friends with the people who run Thunder Ranch, the shooting school that Greg & I have gone to and they had talked about wanting to introduce us to the Chuis last time we were there.  In fact, Dr. Chui has helped out one of their family members in her own battle with BC so I've even had the pleasure of hearing from her via e-mail about her experiences.

Then we learned (on this very blog!) another friend--who grew up across the street from Greg's Dad down in the Bay Area--also knows Dr. Chui through his wife.

All this makes me feel like we're in great hands moving forward...yet there is still the lingering voice in the back of my head wondering if we shouldn't go talk to at least one other set of doctors.  On the one hand, if I'm treating at OHSU where Greg works, he will have to spend less time away from his brand new job because he can pop in on me during the work day and remain on campus should issues arise.  Add to that these personal connections to my oncologist, and it seems pretty tough to beat.  On the other hand, isn't it just good sense to see what else is out there?  Shouldn't we know for sure that--for example--the recommendation for "chemo first" is truly my best option?  Even the medical professionals at OHSU seem to think it's a good idea.

I confess my hesitancy is at least partially motivated by laziness: I simply do not want to hear the same speech(es) about my choice(s) again!  I just want people to say: "Here's what I'd do if I were you / married to you..." and be done with it.  I realize at the end of the day I'm the one who has to decide my course of treatment based on the information given to me, but I'd like the speeches to be a bit more focused I guess.

In other news, Friday afternoon at 3:30 I got an email from the fertility clinic asking me to come in and pick up some shots.  I had to cancel some plans to catch up with an old friend (boo!!!) to accomplish this, but I guess I should get used to the idea of being available to medical professionals at the drop of a hat for the time being.  Since that day I've been giving myself Ganirelix shots which (if I understand these things correctly) is tricking my body into PMS (so I'm extra emotional, yay!) to start my body off down the path of the egg harvest. 

Saturday night was Greg's SURPRISE going away party since he left the DA's office and I'm proud to tell you that we pulled it off and he was totally shocked (and slightly dismayed, since he had not wanted a "fuss").  Sunday his Mom came to town for an already planned visit, but what great timing.  She will be in town working with a client this week and has been able to adjust her schedule to stay with in town through next weekend to spend more time with us. 

This week I believe I have more appointments at the fertility doctor to look forward to, and probably the clinical trial screening, scans....and second opinions....Will post more when I know more!