More Admin Stuff!!!

And I was thinking that this would be a quiet week! Big mistake!!!

I had to fax a homemade release form to Oncologist #2. I got a call today from the office of Oncologist #3. Oncologist #2 office just sent the pathology slides back to the medical group of my regular OB/GYN. Apparently, it needs them for their tumor board meeting on Thursday (???? Why???? I don't have any follow up appointments with them) These slides are real stars...Every tumor board is trying to get hold of them. Even I need to fit my schedule around their meetings.

I called that medical group Pathology Lab. They will have the slides ready for me to pick up on Friday at noon (Friday morning, I have my follow up appointment with Oncologist #2, in exactly the opposite direction, 30 miles away). I will then drive a few blocks down to bring them to Oncologist #3 so that she can discuss them with her team prior to her weekly tumor board (scheduled for Tuesday, my next appointment with her is right after that meeting).

I am sure that all these people are very good at medicine. I can see where I could contribute a few workflow/process improvement hints though...

My brother called earlier today - apparently, one of my mom's friends is suffering from cervical cancer. It wasn't treated properly apparently and now she's in a pretty bad condition. My mom was understandably quite upset about that.

Obviously, my situation is very different.

a) I am starting a treatment
b) It is very early stage
c) I have a team of world-class specialists taking care of me
d) I have made a specialty of beating the odds

However, I have a feeling that telling my mom that I have uterine cancer at this time may not be the smartest thing to do...

And some useful info!
Treatment Options for Uterine Sarcoma:
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/cri/content/cri_2_4_4x_how_is_uterine_sarcoma_treated_63.asp?sitearea=cri

What is uterine sarcoma (my type isn't exactly listed there):
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/cri/content/cri_2_4_1x_what_is_uterine_sarcoma_63.asp?sitearea=cri

Sexuality after cancer treatment (Mayo Clinic):
buh...better stock up now!!!
http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/cancer-treatment/SA00071/METHOD=print

Why uterine sarcomas are hard to detect (and why I am so lucky):
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/cri/content/cri_2_4_3x_can_uterine_sarcoma_be_found_early_63.asp?sitearea=cri

General info:
http://search.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/query?FUNCTION=search&PARAMETER=uterine+sarcoma&DISAMBIGUATION=true&SERVER1=server1&SERVER2=server2&START=0&END=25&MAX=500&ASPECT=0

What is uterine sarcoma (and why adenosarcoma is the rarest of the rarest...):
http://www.wcn.org/interior.cfm?pagetype=detail&diseaseid=15&contentid=10600&featureid=1&ContentTypeID=1

Uterine Sarcoma spread in all sort of ways that doctors do not understand:
http://www.wcn.org/interior.cfm?pagetype=detail&diseaseid=15&contentid=10607&featureid=1&ContentTypeID=1

Staging (I am assumed to have the beginning of a stage II cancer right now):
"Stage II. The cancer has spread from the uterus to the cervix. The cervix is the lower end of the uterus that connects to the vagina."
Except that in my case, it started in the cervix, even rarer :)

Various treatment info:
Chemo not generally used, hormonal treatment often only ok temporarily
http://www.wcn.org/interior.cfm?diseaseid=15&featureid=1

So long!