Part One: My check up with the Medical Oncologist
My doctor came into the room and said, "Your blood work is absolutely perfect, in fact, it's better than mine!" Wow! You don't hear that too often. The tumor markers are normal; that's the one I care about the most when I'm there. She looked me over and said I was fine. The only wrinkle that she added to the mix was about my bone density scan back at the end of February. Apparently they scanned three areas. Each of them went down a little, but the left hip showed a 10% loss of bone since the scan two years ago. Dr. Vijay freely admitted that she wasn't sure how to interpret the results and that she had sent them over to the primary care doctor. She recommended that I consult with the PCP about possibly taking osteoporosis medication to prevent further loss. I also walked out with a copy of the results.
When I got home, I googled my results. That was a blessing because I'm no longer worried about them and don't plan to see the PCP or take any additional meds for it. My numbers from two years ago showed that I was way above average. Yes, I lost 10%, but that brought me down to the low end of normal. The good news is that the effects of the breast cancer drug, Arimidex, which I take and which causes bone loss, tapers off after the first two years on it. I have now been on it a few months over two years. I bet there will be very little, if any, additional bone loss in the next three years. I'm just not worried. I will see the PCP in the fall and discuss it with her then. I suspect she already saw those results and was not concerned since they are still in the normal range. At least, I hope that is the case because I was already IN her office for my check up with her in March. She should have already seen those results but did not mention it to me. Hm...
Part Two: My hair appointment
After the oncology appointment, I had an appointment to have my hair cut and colored. I should have had several hours in between when I expected to go home for lunch, but while I was still in the office, the salon called and moved me up. I went straight from one appointment to the other with just a half hour in between for a quick lunch. I made a bad choice about what to eat, but that's another story! My hair appointment was a lot of fun. I enjoy seeing the gray disappear; I like talking to my stylist, Angel, and the other people in the salon; I like the cut, which wasn't as short as last time. It was all good!
Part Three: Dinner out with Denise, my sister-in-law
The best part of the day was the last part. Denise had flown down to Tampa for work, but she had last night free. We met at the Plant City Outback, where Mark and I go for our monthly NARFE meetings, because it was almost exactly halfway between us. We each drove just a few minutes over an hour to get there. It was so much fun hanging out with her for about two hours. We had not seen her since last Fourth of July when we were at her house for a party. She is so much fun to be around, so it was great to catch up on everything.
I ate very well there. I followed the plan I outlined yesterday (no bread, no Wallaby Darned, no Bloomin' Onion), but I did have a Crown Royal on the rocks and three very small bites of cheesecake for dessert. Mark and I both had a salad, grilled tilapia, and broccoli, an excellent dinner. We also had a $50 gift card, so we used that. We are so good that our bill came to $50.06. What a hoot! I think Pat and Phil S. gave us the gift card for Hanukkah. If I'm right, thanks Pat and Phil!
This morning I am up two and a half pounds, but I'm attributing it to the ridiculously bad choice I made at lunch, which included way too much sodium. I am eating all three meals at home today, so I think it will be gone tomorrow.
I am working on making a turkey soup out of the Passover turkey carcass this morning while Mark does the week's grocery shopping. Then we will spend a few hours in the afternoon with friends Tom and Cathy K, checking out their time share near WDW. In the evening we are going to the Solivita movie. Tonight it is Flight with Denzel Washington, and I'm very excited to see it.
Here's a couple of pictures of us with Denise last night. Everyone looks great except me. This really shows how the weight has crept back on. I can no longer pretend that I've lost any weight at all. I look as bad as I ever did at my highest weight. The only difference being that at my highest weight of 322, I could not fit into the booths at Outback and always asked for a table. I did fit into the booth, but barely. Maybe looking at this picture will motivate me to get back on track. I went ahead and included a picture of me at my highest weight at a restaurant in Annapolis from seven or so years ago. Not much difference really. Sigh... I also included one of me at my lowest at the train station in Chicago in March of 2010. I weighed 208. Maybe that will be motivating, too.
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