Doctor, Doctor, Gimme the News!

 

So many doctors
So many doctors, and more to come


So far, I have an oncologist, a gastroenterologist, and two surgeons on my medical care team. Soon to be added are a case manager, a counselor, possibly a third surgeon, maybe a second oncologist, and I think a nutritionist has been mentioned, we'll see.

Apparently, cancer care is a complicated business. With good reason, especially with one as rare and aggressive as this one is supposed to be.

So far, I like everyone on my team - except one surgeon. He just rubbed me the wrong way at our consultation. I like the second surgeon a lot more, but he and the first are actually colleagues, so he might step in occasionally, we'll see.

The first surgeon recommended a Whipple procedure (I am NOT going to link it, but if you want to look it up, go ahead - I do NOT recommend it. It's terrifying.), chemo, and radiation, which scared the shit out of me. The second surgeon said that a Whipple might be needed, but from my scans and tests so far, he doesn't think so. He also said that if the margins (the edges of the removed tissue) and the lymph nodes are clear, he doesn't think I'll need chemo or radiation.

I like the second surgeon. He didn't discount what the first surgeon said, but he didn't immediately go to the worst-case scenario, either. I like that in a doctor.

There are a couple of things holding us up, for now. One, I'm going to try to talk with some doctors who specialize in this specific type of cancer,  but all of them in the immediate area are at a different hospital, so I have to get a referral to see them. Luckily, both my primary care provider and this second surgeon are working on that.

The second is, I might have a blood clot in one of the major veins near the liver and pancreas. When I was hospitalized in June 2024 to replace the plastic stent with a metal one, the CT scan showed a possible clot. They immediately started treating me as if I actually had one, which totally makes sense, but the surgeons are not sure if there is actually a clot there. So, I'm having another CT scan, this one focusing exclusively on this area, to see if it's actually a clot. something else, or if it's gone. If it's a clot, I will keep taking blood thinners until it's gone, but have chemotherapy to keep the cancer from growing, then have surgery. If it's gone, I'll stop the blood thinners and have surgery pretty soon. 

This shit is complicated.

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