Meeting My Oncologist for the First Time

My husband and I stood in line at the receptionist's desk to let her know we were here for our appointment. I looked at Bob and said, "We're not really here. This isn't really happening, is it?"

"No," he said as we both glanced at the ceiling. I'm OK with denial. It's a comfortable place to be ... most of the time. We sat and waited.

The sound of the nurse's voice calling my name to come back to meet the doctor resonated throughout my body. What a reality check. No more denial allowed. I had to step up to the plate and face this cancer. Cancer is scary word.

We met the doctor in a conference room instead of an exam room; this was a first. Hummm ... . He entered the room with my records in his hands then proceeded to introduce himself. He reviewed my medical records with us then started talking about treatment options.

Since the tumor had been removed, there would be no need for more surgeries. But the carcinoid cells had traveled to my liver where the other doctors found more then seven spots. Now we have to deal with those.

My oncologist took the time to describe the various options and which route would be best for me. Thankfully carcinoid cancer is an extremely slow growing cancer so we're going to 'watch it' for now. I'll go in for a CAT scan and other tests in three months before returning to his office. That way, we'll have more information on how my little intruder is acting.

My plan of attack is to re-evaluate the foods we eat. Several foods have cancer-fighting properties, we'll definitely be eating those. As well as eliminating as many processed foods as possible. Being typical Americans, I've fallen into the rut of preparing many packaged meals because we're busy. Those must fall to the way side.

You know, all of a sudden, I'm NOT that busy because my longevity and the quality of my family's life depends on it. It's my job to slow down the growth of these carcinoid cells. Or, better yet, stop their growth all together.

As I discover food tips, I'll include them here. So please check back from time to time to find out how you too could improve your health.

I'll also ad the links where I find value. Like the one below.

Here's the first link I visited:

http://www.thenetalliance.com/index.jsp

More later, Pat