I am so delighted not to be doing chemo today. I hope never to have to go through that again. At some point, I'll write my chemo lessons learned, but not today.
We're quickly pivoting to the next round of events. I am scheduled to have my CT scan on Wednesday and my MRI on Thursday. The insurance company is still balking at paying for the PET scan, even though it approved and paid for one in December, knowing it would be the baseline against which the post-chemo scan would be compared. Insert rant against insurance companies here. My employer and insurance brokers and doctors all are pushing back, so we'll wait and see what happens.
The Hopkins scheduler finally called and told me that Dr. Schoenberg could do an outpatient cytoscope on Thursday, April 19. Before that is done, I need a complete pre-op physical, including blood work and EKG, done by my primary care physician. My PCP is leaving on vacation in two days, so he's going to squeeze me in tomorrow.
Assuming that the scans are negative (cross your fingers and say your prayers), and that the cytoscope and everything else checks out, Hopkins will move forward with the radical cystoprostatectomy (RCP) with pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND). Dr. Schoenberg is a busy doctor, and according to his scheduler, the first available date that he had was May 21. Hopkins is holding that date, but they are checking to see if there is anything sooner. I probably won't know until April 19 whether the RCP and PLND is going to happen. Stay tuned.
Wow! It's a good thing that you are so on top of it all. I think many people wouldn't be so thorough. I look everyday to see if you have written. It is interesting to me to know so much about what it happening. Take Care!
ReplyDeleteYou are in our prayers.
Love
Jamie and family