More Tests, Always

I went to the oncologist last week, Dr. Jeffrey Stern in Berkeley. Everywhere along the way each person told me that he was the best. I kinda wonder how they would know unless they've been under his knife before. And I doubt that. But it does tell me that Dr. Stern has a great reputation.

Dr. Stern recommended two additional tests, a blood test and an MRI. Each will not tell them definitively if I have cancer in places they haven't biopsied, but they are additional tools to tell them what to expect once they open me up during surgery. As Dr. Poddatoori explained, the biopsies told them pretty much what to expect INSIDE the uterus, but nothing has told them about the outside.

If both tests are negative, I can reasonably expect a small incision during the hysterectomy. And I will go home from the hospital the next morning. If the tests are positive, or when they open me they find cancer, or that it's spread, I can expect a larger incision, more things like lymph nodes taken out, a longer recovery time, and possible side effects later on (like problems with my legs, for example, from the removal of lymph nodes). It's hard to think about that possibility, so for now I'll just do the tests.

I did the blood test the next day. Once that was taken care of, they would schedule the MRI. Only, it turns out, they don't schedule it, I do. I got a phone call from Dr. Stern's office this morning, telling me to schedule the MRI with the imaging center on Telegraph, a place I've practically dated over my many mammograms. After two phone calls, I got someone who told me they hadn't received the fax. So, again, scheduling problems. I'll have to wait a little and try again.