Hard to get to sleep; meeting Dr. Nik tomorrow at 8:00 to hear results of scans & treatment options. The waiting to know exactly what’s going on in my body has been something; the night before turns it up a notch.
I wrote this last Saturday, the 18th, the day after PET and MRI.
Thanks to Elliott for watching the dog.
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The Thursday after the 4th of July, before I had any idea I was sick, I went to the beach with three of my former Ultimate teammates and their wives. Charlie, Lisa and I had a great trip down – “look at the rust on that one” – and met up with our hosts John and Lisa, and Drew, Silpa and their daughter. This weekend was the first time I’d spent any time with Silpa. The next day I spent hours playing in the water with Drew and Silpa’s daughter while the couples spent time catching up under the shade.
Today, I called John and Lisa to share my news and asked them to pass it along to Drew, which they did. That’s when I learned Silpa is an oncologist, well versed (a specialist?) in lung cancer. I knew she was a doctor but never asked what type – it was vacation!
Silpa and I talked today and she told me to send all reports via email and she’d be glad to offer a second opinion. She also offered encouraging news about immunotherapy for this type of cancer. (She also told me that she had just mentioned to a friend how nice it was to be able to catch up with old friends w/out having to worry/watch over her child for a few hours at the beach)
To have a well known/respected oncologist married to a long-time friend in Atlanta, accessible via email and phone, as a source of a second opinion is HUGE. Coupled with having my dear friend Lisa, a pathologist in Seattle who’s been advising me since day one, it’s great to have second opinion(s) at the ready. Lisa has also mentioned promising advances in immunotherapy.
The one piece of advice I’m taking to heart is to get a second opinion. To have two on call takes a lot off my mind.
Hope that makes y’all smile 1/2 as big as it has for me.
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Every person you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.
Be kind.