Robert went for a physical yesterday. He saw the doctor who first discovered my cancer, Dr. Donna Casey. I went along, partly because i wanted to hear what was said about his health and partly because I wanted to see Dr Casey again. The last time i had seen her, i had just been told i needed to get into a clinical trial because traditional treatments were not working any longer. That was in July 2013.
I worried a bit about whether she would remember me or not. It had been over a year and a half since i had seen her. I count her my angel doctor, but she sees many, many patients every week. There was not as much incentive for her to remember me as for me to remember her. I will never forget her! And will forever be in her debt!
Dr. Casey walked into the room, spoke to Robert, and then turned to introduce herself to me. When she saw who was sitting there, she broke into such a big smile. She was so excited. "I know YOU," she exclaimed.
She started asking a volley of questions and then remembered that Robert was the patient this time, not me. She asked him if he cares if she spent just a few minutes catching up with me before getting to business with him.
While we discussed my treatments and how well they were going, she had to reach for a tissue. She was so overwhelmed with joy that big alligator tears had formed in her eyes. She kept assuring us that she was crying happy tears. Of that, there was no doubt.
I have always requested for her to receive copies of my CT scans, which happen every six weeks. I often wondered if she (or her office staff) considered them irrelevant. it is a lot of paperwork to keep up with for a patient you rarely see. I was shocked and humbled when she said she reads every report. From her conversation, it was apparent that she does!
All of this might not be so hard to believe if Dr. Casey had treated me for years prior to her discovering the knot on my collarbone that set the whole fight against stage IV cancer in motion. But, that isn't the case at all. She discovered that knot on my very first visit.
Immediately, she scheduled me for CT scans ... that day. I heard from her just a few days later, with the information that there could be a problem and that her office was going to work with my insurance company to verify that they would pay for a PET scan.
I felt great. I went to see Dr. Casey at the very end of October 2012 primarily because i hadn't been to the doctor for about 10 years for a physical. The main thing that drove me was weight gain. I kept packing on pounds and couldn't lose them after going through menopause and quitting smoking at about the same time. I assumed i had thyroid issues. I never, ever dreamt that i had cancer issues!
I had never heard of a PET scan so i immediately got on Google to see exactly what kind of scan it was. That was my first hint that i might have some kind of cancer. PET scans are used to diagnose cancer cell activity, heart disease, and dementia. I was confident i didn't have problems with the latter two.
Dr. Casey's office made the appointment for the PET scan as soon as approval for the test was received. She is amazing in her ability to get things done, so we didn't have to wait long for the appointment.
By now, i surmised i had some kind of cancer. Since i had watched my dad die very quickly from lung cancer, i was praying it was any kind but lung cancer.
The only time we ever had to wait for what seemed like a lot of time to get a response from Dr. Casey was to hear what the results of the PET scan were. It took a week or so before we got the call that I had cancer ... lung cancer. It was a call she hated to make, but she had already done everything for me. We had an appointment with an oncologist the very next morning.
Dr. Casey asked us to come by her office to report after the visit to the oncologist, Dr. Lalan Wilfong. He reported that the cancer was extensive. Because of its location, it was inoperable and radiation wasn't an option either. Chemo was my only hope. He ordered a biopsy so we would know exactly what kind of lung cancer we were fighting.
By this point in time, we were nearing the Thanksgiving holidays. The date for the biopsy was set for after the holidays. Dr. Casey asked usmif we couldn't have the biopsy done that day, rather than waiting. "Well, sure, but can we get in to have it done?" It was already nearing noon and, if memory serves me, it was Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
The amazing Dr. Casey pulled her magic strings and in just a few minutes, we were headed to Presbyterian Hospital to get a biopsy. There was never a moment to sit and worry. She was about action and we were so grateful.
Because she made things happen so quickly, it was only barely over a month between the time i had my first appointment with Dr. Casey and when i was in the chemo room getting my first chemo treatment on December 5, 2012.
By May or June 2013, i had reached the end of the road for traditional chemo. The tumors responded as long as the poison was infused into my veins. But, as soon as treatments ended, the tumors took off again. Dr. Wilfong told us that there was another chemo drug we could try , but he wasn't optimistic about it. It didn't work as well and it made patients sicker than the previous drugs i had received. The idea didn't appeal to me at all.
He recommended that i consider getting into a clinical trial at the Mary Crowley Center. I had never heard of that organization, but was willing to see what it offered. However, i was really hoping to go to UTSW. I had heard good things about them.
When Mary Crowley was not at all responsive, we went back to see my angel doctor, Dr. Casey. We told her what was going on (or not) with Mary Crowley and asked what she thought about us going to UTSW. In minutes, she had called Dr. David Gerber and set us up an appointment.
The rest is history. I signed up to participate in an immunotherapy trial. My first treatment was in July 2013. The results have been awesome. I am the only patient still on the trial, at least at UTSW, but it is working great for me. My tumors have sat stable since i started the trial. Sometimes, the radiologist classifies them as scars, though Dr Gerber scoffs at that. He said there's no way to tell from a CT scan.
As long as they sit dormant, i am okay with them being there. I wish they would go away entirely, but this is the next best thing!
And, for all of this, i owe Dr. Donna Casey. She is my angel, if ever there was one!
