Yesterday was my 6 month post treatment appointment with my oncologist. Six months of not living in three week cycles but not six months of normalcy. An oncology visit in the age of a global pandemic is daunting, different and lonely. No more valet parking and a mask is mandatory BECAUSE THEY WORK. Nurses were in the lobby screening and checking temperatures. Once up in the oncology center, every other seat was marked for social distancing and there were definintely less people around. Masks everywhere. I'm grateful for that.
This was a survivorship visit of sorts. My body is rebuilding itself after the long battle of chemotherapy, targeted therapy and surgeries. My scars look the way they should, no abnormalities and no new lumpy bumps anywhere. I am healing, slowly.
Cancer patients who have completed treatment are not done, maybe never. I get to be monitored every few months by someone on my team and now all of the timetables are a bit off, thanks to Covid-19. I get to see my medical oncologist, plastic surgeon and breast surgeon each every six months and my primary care physician once a year. I had it spaced out every 3 months so that I'd see someone. Surveilance is key to my sanity. Physical examinations willl check for abnormalities even though I had a low burden of disease, meaning my risk factor for recurrence is very low. HER2 positive breast cancers are aggressive but modern medicine knows how to beat back. There are strong chemo protocols as well as targeted therapies and several more promising treatments in the works. However, it's a sneaky one. I will need to continue to monitor my health for any weird changes. HER2 used to be the worst you can get. That's no longer the case in breast cancer, we do get a long treatment plan but hopefully a long life afterwards. My future looks good and I don't take it for granted and am grateful for the level of care and expertise I have received.
There was no orange juice this visit, no quick grab of coffee on my way home either. Each of us oncology patients sat alone, with our masks on, probably wanting to be anywhere but in a hospitlal during the pandemic. Once back in my car, I removed my mask and placed it in a garbage bag, sprayed myself with rubbing alcohol and bathed in hand sanitizer, while spraying the interior with lysol. I drove straight home and rushed inside and ran straight to the shower. I'm back to my bubble as I wait for life to become normal again...and I use that term loosely.
