4 June 2024
It was a day full of surprises. I’ll start with the medical. I had a 10:15 am appointment with Dr. Velez, my oncologist. After being taken back to the exam room his nurse eventually came in and asked me about the cancellation for the Herceptin treatment. I told her I didn’t think it was cancelled, just scheduled after my visit with Dr. Velez. She then went through her computer wondering why Velez cancelled the Herceptin.
It then dawned on me she wasn’t knowledgeable about the echocardiogram showing I had reduced left ventricular flow. When I pointed that out to her, she said, yes, that must be the reason. They always cancelled Herceptin if there was any problem with the heart, she said.
That told me two things: Velez actually reads the charts way before he walks in the door and he was taking the echocardiogram report seriously.
Danielle kept trying to tell me it was transitory and that as soon as the heart showed a better flow rate I’d be back on Herceptin. She tried to put me at ease and asked me questions about how I’m doing but was totally uninterested as she typed away on her computer. She did look up on occasion to seem interested in what I was saying.
Dr. Velez was running late but after he came in, he started immediately with asking how I’ve been, any swelling of the ankles, shortness of breath, palpitations – all signs of heart failure. He examined my ankles, checked my lungs and heart with his stethoscope, and did some kind of exam of my shoulders.
The long and short of it is I am to undergo a MUGA scan again – that’s where they inject you with the radioactive isotope and trace the blood flow through the heart. I was given a CD of both previous echocardiograms to give to my cardiologist, Dr. Tepper on Friday. Herceptin will be stopped until my heart shows improvement. That means, when it does start showing improvement, I’ll start the treatment again. I have four more to do. This pushes my calendar back yet again.
He had blood drawn for a Signatera test to see if breast cancer cells are in the blood stream, and to check my blood chemistry. The last two have come back negative.
The second part of the day wasn’t a surprise. Reyes Landscaping showed up early this morning. I wasn’t expecting them until the afternoon but apparently they had several jobs in my neighborhood. I asked him the price since I was heading to Holy Cross and he said the same as last year.
When I pulled into the drive, the yard looked amazing. I took some before and after photos.
Not only did they clean out all the heliconias which I haven’t had the energy to do, they cleaned the pool of debris from all the sawing! The price was $600 and I gave the two workers of his $100 to share. It was worth every penny. I no longer have coconut canon balls for hurricane season.
What was a surprise was the city picked up bulk trash today even though it wasn’t supposed to be collected until tomorrow. I don’t know what would have happened it the tree crew didn’t get here this morning.
And since I know you are not tired of looking at plant photos, this was in a friend’s yard on my walk.
It’s called spinach tree for a reason. You can eat the leaves. There is a related species of the genus Cnidoscolus that I wouldn’t recommend you eat, C. stimulosus or bull nettle. It injects you with a toxin that causes an intense burning sensation. Both belong to the family Euphorbiaceae (think poinsettias). The flowers of bull nettle and spinach tree look very similar.
So, there were a few surprises, a few set backs, some progress made.
Stay tuned!