<p>How can anyone read this thread and NOT believe in the strength of cybercommunities? </p>
<p>Thinking of you, and sending warm thoughts.</p>
<p>fwiw, the Weather Channel people just said that next weekend will be the best show for the cherry blossoms. Wish I could join you all!</p>
<p>my thoughts and prayers are always with you.</p>
<p>Will be taking the cherry blossom walk with you in spirit. Name the time and I will do the NYC version of the walk.</p>
<p>Hoping that calm and peace are with you today.<br>
Thinking of you, your daughter, and your support team. </p>
<p>And cherry blossomsâŠ</p>
<p>The cherry blossoms are in full bloom in Atlanta. thoughts and prayers are with you LTS. Sending visions of a warm spring day with cherry blossom petals floating in the breeze.</p>
<p>Like others in this thread, hoping that any changes you experience will only be positive and healing.</p>
<p>prayers as always</p>
<p>Well, clearly, prayers do work, because I am wondering if you can imagine that I am already back in my office, feeling fine, and, it was a very, very positive experience. </p>
<p>Yesterday and last night, I kept puzzling over what in the world had the doctor so abrasive, so angry and upset. I couldnât then or now wrap my mind around the Wake Forest comment, and as hard as I tried, putting myself in his position, etc., I just couldnât come up with any way to rationalize out his behavior. </p>
<p>I made the appointment for today anyway, in spite of many, many misgivings, thinking that I must take action and can delay this no longer. The email from the other doctor last night that verified dosage, plus this morningâs posts heralded by Epistrophyâs contribution ended forever any thoughts I had about delaying this even one more day. But as you can imagine I did NOT want to go, not at all, and was very thankful to have a blackberry full of email messages to answer on the way to the hospital. </p>
<p>I was just about to enter the waiting room for the department when my oncologist called to say my blood counts are good for chemo tomorrow (yay!! - I havenât needed intervention for counts yet, and so havenât had any chemos delayed) - and that he called to doubly verify cgy dosages as well. </p>
<p>Anyway, I get into the waiting room, and this doctorâs head nurse comes out to greet me. My lawyer friend was with me, ready to start acting like an advocate if necessary, but, it wasnât necessary. The technicians and nursing staff could not have been nicer, kinder, more supportive and compassionate. To a person they could not stop verbally reassuring me, touching me, hugging me, and two of them even kept kissing me. </p>
<p>And the doctor who was so abrasive on the phone yesterday was an even more astonishing surprise. I met him in person; heâs like 187 years old, which is consistent with his 45+ years of practice. The same abrasive personality via telephone morphs into charming and humorous in person. He could not have been nicer to me. While still VERY rough and gruff around the edges, he was very gracious, kind and supportive. Could not stop patting me on the back, on the shoulder, etc., both before and even after the procedure. Completely amazing. </p>
<p>âWeâre just so, so glad youâre here for treatmentâ his nurse had said to me. Then, I started to understand. The doctor was angry/frustrated that he new how to defeat the cancer, but he needed the patient on the table so he could aim some radiation and it and kill the stuff. He was angry/frustrated that day by day he was losing time. Unfortunately, he expressed his frustration in ways that, if this were not such a fast growing, aggressive cancer, I would have been shopping for a new radiation oncology team. But what a difference it makes to meet someone in person vs. making a decision based on a telephone exchange. </p>
<p>I have thirteen more treatments to go. I very much appreciate the prayers and kind thoughts.</p>
<p>LTS: What incredibly wonderful news. I visualize you in your office. Given what you do, I am so glad you are on the job.</p>
<p>Glad all the love and prayers rearranged the energy of the Universe to give you such a positive experience. I am sure that aids in the recovery too.</p>
<p>Will keep prayers coming.</p>
<p>Tomorrow is my birthday. I will dedicate it to your recovery.</p>
<p>exhaling⊠and saying a prayer of thanks.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for taking the time to check in with us.</p>
<p>Wonderful news LTS!</p>
<p>Good work!</p>
<p>As I said to the very bright parents of a very, very premature baby with a brain bleed who were so worried about her development and future, âwith the two of you as parents, she could be down 20 -30 IQ points and no one would ever noticeâ. That is my reaction about the concern that the radiation could lessen your mindâs abilitiesâŠnone of us would ever be able to tell, because you are so far ahead and above everyone around youâŠperhaps this is the only way to even the playing field. BTW: that baby is four now, speaks two languages fluently, and was riding a 2 wheeler with no training wheels at the age of three. I would expect no less from you. </p>
<p>I am so glad that today went smoothly and you are easier in your mind about this process. I hope and bet the venerable physician will have learned something, too.</p>
<p><em>phew</em>. Exhaling as well. And thank you so very much for taking the time to let us know that youâre doing so well. So glad you had such a positive experience! Itâs always the rough-around-the-edges, take-no-prisoners professionals that seem to really know their stuff! Glad this one turned out to be a good guy, too.</p>
<p>Continuing prayers and good wishesâŠ!</p>
<p>Tears âŠwhat can I say âŠjust tears.</p>
<p><em>So</em> glad it went well and that you feel good about this course of treatment!</p>
<p>Would like to echo Loreleiâs comments â LTS is so beyond me in cognitive ability and the ability to persevere in the face of such adversity that any reduction in brain function due to WBR would be undetectable to most of us, Iâm guessing. (Well, maybe not Epistrophy!)</p>
<p>So glad that everything went well today, LTS. And Iâm relieved that you went ahead with treatment feeling that you were making the best choice, rather than waiting and giving those lousy tumors a chance to grow larger and more numerous. Iâm visualizing the radiation acting like numerous pac-men, running around in your brain gobbling up anything even remotely trying to compromise your health and well-being, and obliterating them on the spot.</p>
<p>You are in my thoughts constantly.</p>
<p>What wonderful, wonderful news! I was shocked to see you posting so soon, LTS. It occurs to me that doctors who go into high-tech specialties, rather than primary-care specialties, do so in part because they are not good at dealing with people. Besides your cognitive abilities that are so apparent, it is also clear that you are high on the âemotional intelligenceâ scale, as well. I suppose that both contribute to your success in your profession. You are brilliant to figure out what underlies the physicianâs shocking behavior yesterday.</p>
<p>I, also, had the thought that if a few brain cells bite the dust, who better to spare them than LTS?</p>
<p>What a wonderful day this has turned out to be!</p>
<p>I can only echo what others have said and express my gratitude that it went so well. And I am so glad you had a positive experience with that doc. Once again, you show yourself to be amazingly adept at placing yourself in the âshoesâ of others. Not a talent that many share, I believe.</p>
<p>Extraordinary!!</p>
<p>Good images, martharap. I am envisioning LTSâs strong healthy brain cells, protected by the shield of all of LTSâs posse, standing firm while the icky tumors wilt, melt away and dissapear under the assault of the radiation. </p>
<p>Glad it went so well, LTS. Sounds like your doctor is a good guy, in the same way that Dave Barry describes <em>guys</em> â (I just read his book "Guide to Guys) â he doesnât want to spend time talking about the cancer, he wants to waste it with his ray gun. According to Barry, thatâs what itâs all about for guys, even the high powered smart guys with their high powered tools. They like to shoot things, blow things up, etc.</p>
<p>Echo mafoolâs prayer of gratitude.</p>
<p>Thank you, LTS, for letting us all know how it went- your image of having a mask over your face and being bolted down with it caused such a visceral reaction, as I pictured you trying to protest the first treatment attempt; it must have been a struggle to turn yourself over to that procedure- weâve all been praying and holding our breath and thinking of you all morning. It is great to hear things are going well. Prayers for continued positive experiences for the remainder of the treatments!</p>