Dr. appts/check up thread

BethNY · January 2008

BethNY · January 2008

I thought this might be a decent thread- if you disagree we can let it die.

But, I thought we could have a check up thread here in moving beyond.

Most of us get pretty anxious around the time of our 3,6,9,12 months check-ups with our oncs, or for mammo's ultra sounds, scans etc.

I figured if we had a thread going, then people can talk about their upcoming appts, and we can all wish eachother well, and then of course follow up like we always do, and it might ease the stress of it all.

So I'll go first. I just had my 6 month checkup at the onc. I am 3.5 years from dx. Everything was great. Blood was great, markers were 18. I tried to convince her that I should graduate to the one year check-up plan, but she laughed and said I'll be seeing her seasonally (every 6 months, I call it seasonally cause I figure this time I was in gloves, hat and sweats, and next time will be tank top and flip flops) until I'm 5 years out of my last tx.

UGH! 5 years from last tx? that means twice a year till 2011.

Great.

who's next?

caaclark · January 2008

Jan 15th I will have my next check up. On the 22nd I will mark 2 years since diagnosis. My onc. does not do blood work or scans unless there are symptoms but I still get nervous. I almost did not book my appt. until Feb. since January seems to be bad luck for me. I know...crazy. I will then be moved to every 4 months. That's ok with me. I would see them weekly if they let me. Yes, also crazy.

juanita63 · January 2008

My next check-up is next Wednesday, had my blood work for it today. Next Tuesday I see a breathing specialist for a test to see what damage if any radiation did. I have a new pcp and he's doing different tests as follow-up.

Poppy · January 2008

How timely! I have a 6 mo check up a week from tomorrow. I finished chemo 10/05 and hoped to be on the once a year by now but my onc still likes to see me every six months. So far so good... getting nervous about going in but hopefully all will be fine.

xoxo to everyone who's got the jitters!
Erica

honeygirl · January 2008

BethNY , I think this is a great thread to have started. I'm still seeing my onc every three mos. My next appt. is Feb. 28th. The receptionist was gonna make it the 20th. I said , oh , thats the day I was diagnosed! She said "no way am I gonna give you that date ", and she changed it. It made me laugh , but I was glad she changed it.

Carol , my onc doesn't do any test/scans unless you have systoms. He does do blood work the day before I see him. So far , so good. Good luck to everyone.

marshakb · January 2008

Oh great thread! I passed my first year of being cancer free Dec 29 (that was my surgery date) and have an appt with the med onc AND the rad onc this month. Since I had bi-lats is this really necessary?? Two oncologist in the same month? What for? The med onc does liver, cbc and tumor marker but no scans and he hasn't actually laid a finger on my body since last spring. The rad onc (who I actually like) always gives me a good physical so I like that. Couldn't he order the blood tests? No scans unless I have a symptom. 5 years????? ECK Marsha

Barb1953 · January 2008

Hello Ladies, It's eight years since my dx, but I still see my onc every 6 months. I'm good till April. Everything has been good so far, but I still get nervous when the appts. get near. Wishing everyone BETTER health in 2008.

abbadoodles · January 2008

Great idea, Beth. I was, however, hoping to ignore the impending onc visit for next week and just wake up and do it. I am sure I will get nervous enough that day to make my BP go up. It did for my bs visit in November. The nurse frowned at me. Normally, my BP is fine. Did not want to be there, plus wanted to vent about the onc and was feeling very aggressive with adrenaline pumping.

Now, it's the onc visit. I am trying to put myself into the right frame of mind. I really am resentful about the way I was treated (or not treated) during/after chemo. My last visit was four weeks after chemo, sometime mid-June. I am going through varied mental games deciding how I want to present to the onc. Basically, I need to keep a relationship with her (she's supposed to be one of the best of the best) while not wanting to ever see her again. I'm not on any other meds, so will just try to maintain my cool, keep a pleasant attitude, keep my mouth shut and see her again in 6 months.

There, that's my story. Blah.

Tina

nosurrender · January 2008

Good luck today to everyone having appointments.

I am going to see the surgeon today about getting my port out.

I got clearance from my onc but my surgeon is hemming and hawing.

I wanted to get it out before rads start next week... don't think that will happen unless he can do it in his office!

Good luck everyone!

sherryw · January 2008

Hi Everyone

Great idea on this thread Beth, I will be going to my onc. app. on 1/11 it will be almost 3 years since dx. I see her every 3 mos. I am nervous because I have been having alot of muscle and bone pain. I think she is going to want to take me off Arimidex, I really don't want to, but then I hate feeling so uncomfortable all the time. I had left this site for awhile since I felt like I wanted to get back to my life, but the pain from the Arimidex has brought me back here looking for answers, and I see that I have missed reading all the postings and chatting. (chatter from 05, sherryw) So I am hoping my onc has a trick up her sleeve.

Thanks

Anonymous · January 2008

Moneky-face

Are you the same chatter that I talked to about 9 months to a year ago in chat using the sherry?

Ive missed talking to her and cant find her once the site changed.

Jule

Harley44 · January 2008

Beth,

This is a GREAT idea!

I was just joking, and I laughed when talking to a friend. I said, JANUARY 2008 is the FIRST month in a whole year that I don't have ONE dr. appt!!! I saw my general surgeon on Dec 28th and he wants to see me again in 3 months. It feels strange not to have a dr. appt. sometime in the month. My dh has an appt. with a new primary care dr. on Monday, Jan 7th, so, just for fun, I think I'll go along.

My next onc appt. was Feb. 4th, but I accidentally scheduled my yearly gyn exam for that day, so I called yesterday and re scheduled with my onc for Feb. 5th. For now, I am on onc visits every 3 months... even though, truth be told, my onc isn't there even HALF the time! I usually see his nurse... Even when I was getting chemo, I only saw him ONCE!, TWICE, if you count the first time, and that was just to go over my tx dx again, because he wanted to use a cheaper drug to save himself some money...

Good luck to everyone who has check ups today, or even this month.

Hugs

Harley

sherryw · January 2008

Jule

I'm not sure, was your chat name Jule, I do remember chatting with a Jule not sure when it was. The Arimidex has really done a number on me not only in the body aches, but also with my memory. How are you doing, I hope all is well.

sherry

Anonymous · January 2008

Sherry,

It was last winter when I was going through rads....my name was jpann

Im doing fine...have graduated to 6 month followups now...

Live has gotten pretty much back to normal or as normal as I think it will get now..

How are you? You were having some rough spots when we talked I think...

Jule

Member_of_the_Club · January 2008

I am about the same amount of time out as you are, beth, and I had my six month onc appointment last month. This onc does not do tumor markers, unlike my original onc, and he sits and talks with me at length, unlike my original onc. This time we talked about our sons, I learned his son has Aspergers Syndrome, just like mine.

I see my surgeon every six months as well. That and the radiologist's seem to be where all the action has been lately. I had four different breast biopsies this fall -- all b9. I'm looking forward to those visits becoming uneventful as well.

I believe that the surgeon's visits will continue as long as I have breasts, at least I hope so. I am terrible with the self-exams.

Emelee26 · January 2008

My mom just had her checkup - she'll be 5 years out in May..things are good but she's wondering if she can stop the arimidex after the 5 year mark? Any ideas? They told her it's not like tamox in terms of a 5 year plan but she didn't know if there were other options..in the spring she has MRI, mammo, chest xray, bone density..fun fun

mke · January 2008

I have a mammo and check-up coming later this month. I got quite casual about these a few years after the first round. I'm only a couple years post diagnosis this time, but I suspect it will continue to be hard to be casual. I'm having trouble with insomnia and problems with focus (more than usual).

Today I was talking to a friend, one who knows cancer, and bitched about the tests. I said the problem was that I had these tests, but I couldn't study for them, I couldn't practice for them, I just had to let them happen. Terrible situation for a control freak. We laughed which helped for a while.

Bliz · January 2008

I have appts with all the entities in February when I get back from vacation. I am dreading them all. I have not tolerated any of the Ai's. Also been so glad to be away from the hospital atmosphere.

I was diagnosed in June 2007.

Stage1/Grade1/no nodes/Er+/Her-/.9mm/lupect/5 day rads/IDC

hi5 · January 2008

Incredible! I had bilat mastectomies in May 2006 and saw med onc in Oct. for tamoxifan...he said to come back in two years!!!!

Rad onc saw me at end of rad treatments....end of August 2006 and said I didn't have to see her again.

How's that for follow-up!!!

I am brca1+ and had ooph and hyster in Sept. 2007....called onc about the tamox and he left a message saying I would stay on it another year and then switch to A.I.

What do you think?

Jenniferz · January 2008

I just had my 6 months checkup today with a new onc. She agreed with everything the old onc. said, except she wants me to take Tamoxifan instead of of Femara! I am post meno. Don't get it. The old onc. didn't do markers, but this new one does. I just hope I'm still NED. She told me to come back in 6 months, and most likely will until the 5 year mark.

So, every 6 months it will be an onc. visit, a surgeon's visit, and every 3 months, a gp visit to check blood for everything but markers. My life has certainly changed! And I get jittery before each visit.

ginger2345 · January 2008

I think the radonc is a short-termer--mostly looking for cosmesis issues with radiation SIs.

The surgeon usually likes a few appts., the first year around here.

An onc who prescribes your SERM, like tamox, ought to want to see you a minimum of yearly, probably more the first few years. After all, he/she is writing the script for the tamox.

Now , someone is ordering your mammos, etc. That doc surely wants to see you yearly, more in the early going, for a breast exam and get imaging studies and lab on a timely basis. That could be any one of your docs, including your PCP.

The timetable for Followups and imaging and lab studies seems to vary by doc, geographic location and certainly by diagnosis. The newly treated get the 3,6 month checks and then graduate to the yearly exam, after 2,3,5 years, by doc/community standard/ preference. So we see quite a variance here in followup schedules.

Fitztwins · January 2008

Well in December/November I had my surgeon bi yearly check up (looked good), mammo - good , breast MRI -good, and my oncologist - good. Next appointment is in February.

I got the MRI results a week before xmas. Great gift.

Janis

Dr. appts/check up thread

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