6 Hour Oncology Appointment! Whew!

 I am so tired .  I have had a 3 hour nap, but yesterday started at rising at 5:00 am, leaving at 6:00 am for UAB, and spending 6 hours seeing 4 oncologist while they did multiple imaging studies on my left axilla which has been very swollen for the past month.  I am an interesting case for these doctors because they have to determine what to do.  Because I have bone marrow cancer, Myelofibrosis, both rare and aggressive, something as seemingly simple as taking punch biopsies could cause me to "bleed out" and end up in emergency surgery.  Whew!  On the other hand, they need the biopsies to know what to do.  I know all you ladies, and a few men, have struggled with various types of breast cancer.  One of my beloved Sister in law's had inflammatory breast cancer six years ago, but she is a fighter and is still living, praise God.  You who know, know the difficulty of inflammatory breast cancer, and my sister is a miracle.  Every day with her in our world is a better day.  But back to me, me, me, lol!  The biggest difficulty for me yesterday is that the UAB breast cancer department doesn't allow men in the area, only for the consult much later.  I have so depended on my Jay these past years but only this past year has felt like I could "die anytime" and so this past year our normal marriage bond (we were married in 1998) has been severely tested by my pain, not by Jay's steadfast loyalty.  But there has been a lot of pain on my part and on Jay's part, and now I need him more than I ever dreamed, and he is here for me. 

I sat in the ultrasound imaging room simply in tears from the stress of Jay not being by my side.  I felt so alone .  I have never felt so alone, from UAB's well meaning policies of keeping men out of the imaging area.  When my husband was undergoing his own testing for prostate cancer, I was by his side holding his hand the whole way.  It seems odd that I was completely denied my source of strength and comfort, when surely there should be ways around that.  Oh well.  

The oncology team decided the risks were worth it, and two doctors did my biopsies, guided by a nurse practitioner holding the ultrasound machine so they could see what they, the oncologists, were doing.  I got through that with minimal discomfort and I didn't bleed out!  Yay!  But the emotional trauma was something else .  They have sent the biopsies to a specialty lab somewhere so it will be a week before I know anything on that front.  The battle continues, and it is a battle.  There is no option except to fight.  I have Jay and my sweet family to consider, and my blessed friends who have been actively praying for me since December 2024.

We got home at 7:30 pm and I have been resting.  Whew.