April 30, 2009 early a.m.

I spent yesterday, Wednesday, at Marin General Hospital for a complete bone scan which includes another injection of radioactive dye. I was given the x-rays in miniature size, I have no idea how the surgeons I am seeing today will be able to read them. The report was excellent, it does not seem the cancer has metastisied into my my bones. The x-rays do show a crooked spine and other consequences of my degenerative arthritis on my skeleton, something I already knew.

When I returned home, I received a call from Dr. Dubrbis's nurse, asking me to bring the mammogram films to my surgeon appointment this morning at the Stanford Cancer Center. After a lot of searching, I realized we (Anne, Rigdon & I) had left the large envelope at the lunch table while we were at Stanford last Friday in between appointments. Sinking feeling in my stomach while Rigdon called the restaurant, the  Stanford Center Security, and any place else he could think of where they might have ended up. When I left last night to come to Anne and Chris's in Palo Alto, the mammograms were still awol. 

While I was preparing to leave and Rigdon was calling, I heard him say at one point to someone, "I don't know why we even need them, they never showed the tumors!" I don't think a security person really cares about that aspect of the lost large manila envelope, but it reflected our frustration. If I had realized I had lost them, I could have had them redone for me at the imaging center, but it was 5 p.m. and too late to get anything done. As my friend Peggy always says, "Oh well."

This a.m. off to the Stanford surgeon with Anne. Alexis has advised me to always have someone go to the appointments with me so nothing gets misinterpreted. Then I pick Prudence up who is coming from State College, PA and we meet Rigdon at the office of the Marin surgeon, Dr. Cheryl Ewing. 

Stanford has already made an appointment for me to see a plastic surgeon. The two centers (Stanford and UCSF, but in Marin) have a little rivalry going on. I would prefer to have my surgery in Marin, because it would be easier for my family and also for Anne so my whole group doesn't descend on her house while I am hospitalized. It seems the hospitalization will be about three days.

When we return from Stanford, Anne is sending me off  with pot of homemade vegetable soup with chicken. It looks delicious. Georgina (my older sister) sent Anne some beautiful tulips as a thank you for being my companion and support in the last month. Actually, it is a month today that I had my sonogram that revealed the tumor on the right breast, and I have been running around to doctors, laboratories, and clinics for this month. Tomorrow, Friday, I will have a CT scan with contrast, different from the CT/PET scan of last week. No wonder our health costs are so high. There are folks inventing new ways to screen and it seems imperative to the physicians to try them all.

I haven't had time to speak to many people, perhaps next week will give me more time. I enjoy the cards and the good wishes from everyone. I have to go, another appointment!