Hi friends. I came down with a cold at the end of last week, and it went into a sinus infection. I went to my dr. yesterday to see if he could do anything for it. I saw my general practitioner, not the oncology dr., as Kaiser wants you to see your family dr. for general stuff that's not cancer related. But because I'm going thru chemo currently, my family dr. then lets my oncologist know of any meds he prescribes for me so she can see if there's any concerns with anything he's prescribed.
My visit went well, he prescribed some stuff for the sinus infection, and I'm feeling better already, though it will be a few more days before it's completely kicked. I hadn't seen this particular dr. since Sept. when I went to see him with my first symptoms that led to my cancer diagnosis. Dr. Streat has been my family Dr. for nearly 20 years (as long as we've had Kaiser insurance) and he's a great dr. We had a nice conversation yesterday about my cancer journey and his part in the original diagnosis. He's the doc that ordered all the tests when I first went in with complaints in Sept. He ordered every test imaginable to find out what was wrong--he told me yesterday he was suspicious of cancer even that 1st day I went in, but was hoping it wasn't. He said that there was something about the way I looked and something that I said when describing my symptoms that made him order tests for finding cancer. He said my health history (basically very healthy) didn't match up with what I was describing as my symptoms, and that concerned him immediately. And then when he saw the results of the CT scan that showed the tumor and how big and complicated it was, he said he didn't believe that surgery would be successful and that I wouldn't have long to live--at all. He hadn't told me this at the time, and he admitted he didn't tell me all this at the time because he needed me to fight--and he needed me to believe I had a reason to fight, rather than giving up. He then said he was so glad that I went to Sacramento to the specialist, because his opinion is that the very best gynocological specialists that Kaiser has is the Sacramento team, and that's where I needed to be because Fresno just wasn't specialized enough to handle my surgery. (My Sac. surgeon has also told me that the surgery would probably not have been successful had we not gone to Sac.)
When I told him that the final pathology report after surgery showed that the cancer had not spread to my lymph nodes, and that my cancer was labeled only a stage 2, he was so happy and so pleasantly surprised! He of course reiterated what my surgeon had also said--that no cancer in my lymph nodes is HUGE! (I consider it a miracle and a direct answer to prayer:). It was a great conversation, and of course, made me even more thankful for my life and the blessing of each new day. It was so interesting to hear him go into so much detail of the things that transpired before surgery--all the testing and decision making--first to attempt to do surgery in Fresno, and then, as they kept finding things out, the decision to send me to Sac. for surgery--I am SOOO thankful for my drs.--who were so diligent in making sure that I was going to get the best possible shot at survival. Dr. Streat told me straight up yesterday just how bad my situation was--he said they (the Fresno drs) all thought I would not survive very long past surgery. Although I had basically known this all along from things that my other drs. along the journey had said to me and Chuck, Dr. Streat was the 1st Dr. to take the time yesterday to put the whole story together for me (and I was just there to get treated for a sinus infection:)!
I thanked Dr. Streat for his part in saving my life and left the office with a bounce in my step and a heart full of gratefulness. Once again I thank the Lord for putting me in such good medical hands, and I cannot say enough about how thankful I am for good health insurance. God is so good, and evidently He's going to leave me here a bit longer! Take care, friends, and remember to thank the Lord for the blessing of each day!
Love, Stacey
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3 comments:
mag-gie-mayHi Stacey - I'm sitting here in a heap crying my eyes out after reading your update of yesterday. These tears are happy tears. You are one lucky girl. Now I know you're going to be fine. See what prayers and good doctors can do. Not to mention your fabulous attitude. Keep up the good work. You're going to be here for a long, long time. BTW, give your mom a big hug for me. I've loved her since the first time your dad brought her to be with the old Zumwalt family. Love ya much, Margaret
Stacey - what a story..had to read it twice. I can't imagine being one of the doctors on your case and having that sinking feeling that "this really doesn't look good". But it is people like you (& Chuck) that give them the courage to do what they do. Your fight inspires us all.
On another note, Jeff's colon got to smile for the doctor last week. He said it was beautiful and gave us pictures to frame :-)
See, your journey through this has made us more aware of how important it is take charge of our health!
Take care and get lots of rest.
***Karen
Hi Stacey,
I, too, am looking at a very blurry screen thru the JOYFUL tears in my eyes. What a blessing that you ended up in Sacramento. Your openness with your students is also amazing. Besides the lift that you are getting from them, I'm sure they are learning so much from you about not being afraid of those with sickness or disabilities. Yes, I think JD likes being back at school. I'm afraid that wondering what he will to do after graduation is daunting for him. I hope Aaron is over his flu by now. It is hard being away from them when they're down. JD has been very healthy thru his college years too, but right at the beginning of school in his junior year, he really got hit with the flu too -- and lost 10 pounds in 3 days right at the beginning of football season! Poor guy...but he recovered :) You're all in my prayers. Keep up that wonderful, inspiring attitude! Love, Shari
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