The Merits of the Case

Last week I had a three-month post-treatment check up with my oncologist. I can’t believe it’s been three months since my last treatment. Sometimes it feels like it was just a couple of weeks ago, but most of the time it feels like it was a long, long time ago.

I was really nervous about the appointment, and my arrival in the office parking lot didn’t help. I couldn’t help thinking about all the time I spent traversing that same lot last year. It has many bad associations for me…of pain and nausea and fear and discomfort. As I sat in the waiting room before my appointment, I thought about all the women who are just now finding out that they have breast cancer—200,000 women this year…1 every 3 minutes. I thought about the fear of hearing those words and about the uncertainty of those first weeks and months after a breast cancer diagnosis. It is scary to think about going through it all again and as I sat there and waited to be called in for my appointment I fervently hoped that I would never have to.

My appointment went well, however, and I had nothing to worry about. The doctor asked how I was doing, performed a quick check up, and pronounced me “healthy.” I sat in a green vinyl chair in the treatment room, but only for a few moments as Patty flushed my port while I caught up with her and the other nurses in the office.

I have to go back again in six weeks to have my port flushed (which I have to have done every six weeks as long as I have it to prevent infection) and then again in three months for another check up. So far, so good.