Whoa! A new bump?!

6 February 2004
I went to see Kim, our family medical doctor, because I had a cold, but I wanted to make sure it was just a cold.

3 March 2004
During my annual physical check up, Kim confirmed what I had found just a day or so before...a lump in my shoulder (under the left clavicle). Not cool.

9 March 2004
During my regular three month check-up, I brought the bump to Dr. Sturgeon’s attention. He noted my concern, and agreed it was the right thing to do to flag it, but felt strongly that there was no way it was a “RETURN” of the cancer. He didn’t take any chances, however, and ordered a few tests: a needle biopsy (no surgery) to determine the bump’s make-up and a CT (cat) scan to see if there were any others.

11 March 2004
Went to see Dr. Geddie (a head and neck specialist at PMH) and he checked out the lump.

He stuck a needle into the soft lump and extracted some cell samples. Didn’t take more than a few minutes if not seconds. He did a quick analysis and made a confident preliminary diagnosis that it was just a bunch of fat cells (hanging out together to form the lump). He says this is very normal to have and it just so happened to be in the area where we had found some cancer cells before. But not wanting to take any chances, he of course, conducted a full microscopic analysis. I would get the results from Dr. Sturgeon on the 23 March.

19 March 2004
I went in for a CAT scan (get it?!). No special diet the night before and no dyes or anything like that. Walk in and walk out. It went very quickly.


TEST RESULTS
The ritual begins. I always wear the same outfit for my visits to PMH.
I was dropped off so I could get my bloodwork done. Since I had such a wait, I decided to visit some friends downstairs.

I popped my head in to Suite 8 and all of a sudden, Cynthia popped into view like a magic trick. She had just returned from visiting her sister Down Under. Nice tan. And nice chat to catch up. Decided better get back upstairs for my place in line!

I returned to the blood clinic but they were only at "03"! Finally my turn came. They don’t use number 13 so it seemed faster. HA! With the deed done, I called Julie for my pick-up.

EN ROUTE
We squeezed in another appointment while waiting for the blood lab to get their work done, to see the chiropractor. En route to our chiropractor, uptown, I stopped off to pick up some second hand magazines and a coffee. At our appointment, our chiropractor donated to our book project. She inspired us to walk down to see our dentist, just a block south of her ... and our dentist contributed, too!

On our way back from the chiro and to the oncologist, we stopped in for some lunch at a Chinese restaurant near the hospital.

When entering into the hospital, off University Avenue, I saw Mr. Knight, the father of my friend, Trish who is also going through treatment with Dr. Sturgeon. He was in line getting some coffee at Tim Hortons. Down the hall, is the blood lab, where I was this morning, alongside the phone booth where I rang Julie to fetch me. We took the elevator across from the pay phones to the 2nd floor to my “clinic”. During SARS you could only enter through the main entrance and they screened you here. Volunteers were not allowed on site during SARS which made things very hard for the regular staff.

IN THE WAITING ROOM
My clinic is at the Hematology West area...same floor as the Head and Neck clinic where I saw Dr. Geddie two weeks prior. This is the same floor as the Chemo Day Care Unit. There is a ritual here, too: First I check in with Barbara at reception, after a short wait, I then get weighed. That’s why I wear the same outfit all the time -- to keep my measure consistent.

Saw Trish there having a snack. Her dad brought coffees up shortly after we sat down. Her dad also works for Coca-Cola. They have a long drive everytime they come to the city but they always smile and have upbeat stories and adventures to tell. We often see Trish and her dad when we see Dr. Sturgoen.

Luckily, I brought a rough draft of the Benefit Comic book I am working on and was able to show Trish and a few others who were also waiting to see Dr. Sturgeon.

It was a good visit but an exceptionally long wait for us to see him today. Glad we had lots to talk about and to “show and tell".

FINALLY...
Finally, after a lengthy wait, we were seen by Dr. Sturgeon and his intern. We were all relieved to hear that Dr. Geddie’s preliminary diagnosis was, in fact, correct and the tests confirmed that the lump was a bunch of fat cells bandied together.

The CT scan was also showed a “regular” scan for someone in my shoes. I was told by all doctors that PMH will continue to monitor me closely. I will continue to see the PMH doctors every quarter; then eventually I wil see them twice a year; and then, annually for the next five or so years, to ensure that the cancer is kept at bay if not erraticated.

Dr. Sturgoen is taking a sabbatical for 2 and a half months so having the results completed before his departure was very good. We all felt as if we had neatly tied up loose ends. Although we were the very last people to leave the clinic for the day, it was a great visit.

We sneaked downstairs to the radiation area to make a quick visit to Cynthia and Michelle and the gang. We were lucky to catch Cynthia just finishing up her paper work and she went to find Michelle for a quick chat...


Ta-ta for now!