In prep for my 20 month lymphoma check, Cass takes me to the Royal Jubilee Hospital outpatient lab at 7am to get my blood taken. Afterward we go to Pure Vanilla for coffee and scones and now I’m back to work for the day. The appointment with Dr. Sheila, my oncologist, will be this Friday morning so I’ll post my results at that time. Let the pre-test anxiety begin.
I’m talking about anxiety in the previous paragraph but I have to admit that there are now days and even weeks when I “forget” that I had HL. The human brain is a wonderful thing. For a year my thoughts were completely occupied with cancer… my treatment, my prognosis, its affects on my loved ones and my professional career, etc. The changes in attitude towards my life and what it means remain with me… but the worry about the cancer… rightly or wrongly… is largely diminished and often absent.
I am “expecting” to be NED (no evidence of disease) this Friday morning. This is a good thing I suppose… but it will also be a huge disappointment if Dr. Sheila comes in and says, “Tom, there are a few of your blood test results that concern me. There’s nothing to worry about at this point but we’ll need to do some further tests to make sure that everything is still going well.” Ech. But… like I said… I’m not expecting that.
So, at least until Friday, we will return to the life that was previously scheduled for this time slot.
I appreciate your way of sharing your experiences in fighting that terrible disease, I am glad that I am still able to read your previous experiences. Keep it always available and fresh!