Yesterday

Yesterday was a good day (except for Erica's bad news in the morning).

First of all Monday I called Dr. L's office to set up our appointment time for Friday and see if I could get my surgery on the schedule. I wanted to get things scheduled so my parents could decide when to make arrangements to come out. Her assistant had said we couldn't do the surgery on Monday (10/3), but we could on Wednesday (10/5). I asked if I would be able to travel by Friday, since I have a GWO scheduled in Chicago (and boy do I need some time with my girls). She said no, and since I already have made the plans, she decided to schedule me for Wednesday, October 12. Her assistant said she'd put me down for 10/12 and if Dr. L wanted to move it up, she would.

Anyway, before lunch Dr. L called. She said she saw I had scheduled surgery for the 12th. I asked if that was ok, because I certainly don't want to jepordize my health for a weekend with friends. She said it would workout perfectly, because in the meantime she wants to keep me busy with more tests. She wants me to have a CAT Scan to check my lungs and belly and a Bone Scan. These will be to rule out any activity and to give them a baseline reading in case something develops down the road. She also wants to schedule me for my initial consultation with the Medical Oncologist (chemo doctor). All of this before my surgery on October 12th.

She also told me that she had the results of the Hormone Receptors and they were negative. She said it was good and bad news. Bad news that she can't put me on Tomoxiphen. (I think she wants to hit me with everything she's got and this is one drug that can't help me.) Good news is that the window for having kids can get moved up. She said if everything still looks good at 2 years we can discuss it. Yeah!

At 1 p.m. I went for the mammogram. It really wasn't painful. It was awkward and uncomfortable, but the technician was very gentle (especially on the side my incision is on). The radiologist reviewed it while I waited and told me it was clear. They'll send the films to Dr. L, so I think we will review on Friday.

After I got back from my mammogram, I had a conference call with my boss and HR (I gave my boss permission to be present for the call). We confirmed that I can take intermittant leave as needed and it will count as short-term disability. Also, I only have 4 weeks of FMLA left (due to my maternity leave earlier this year), but they told me not to worry about my job or getting paid. I have 12 weeks of STD at 100% pay and 12 weeks at 80% pay before long-term disability would kick in at 60%. Considering I can take days as needed, I should be in good shape.

After the call my boss and I had a good talk. She brought up my work load and suggested that they temporarily reassign most of my client duties. Only leaving me on accounts that don't have much regular activity. Then I can work on the Professional Standards duties and policy checks. Activities that are important and need to be done, but not necessarily tied to strict deadlines. Her goal is for me to add value when I am in the office, but not be a negative when I'm not there. This should be a tremendous stress reliever, as I won't have to worry about things needing to get done if I don't feel up to coming in.

It felt like a good day. Today I got information in the mail from the Chemo doc (Dr. Y), my appointment is Monday, October 3 at 2:30 p.m.

Now I just need to think of questions for Friday and Monday (I've already got my list started.) My Mom is flying in for the weekend tomorrow afternoon. I'm looking forward to seeing her as we haven't seen each other since 4th of July. It's not the circumstances we wanted, but it's still going to be nice to see her.