Doctors

Cancer Diary

Doctors

When you’re diagnosed with a brain tumor at 8:00 a.m. and are checked into the hospital 5 hours later, it’s difficult to research your illness, get a second opinion, or choose your doctors. Things were moving quickly and I knew that was important. 

It did occur to me that I had options. I have family in Houston and New York City. Everyone knows that M.D. Anderson and Sloan Kettering are the best cancer centers in the U.S., but we felt good about the care we could get in our hometown. Being home was best for us. We discussed other options, but knew any change of hospital would cause delays. 

I wasn’t quite sure how everything was happening so quickly. I thought it was just a ‘crap shoot’ as far as the doctors I was ending up with, but later learned my PCP was making the referrals for my medical care team. I feel like I got the A-Team. My little brother vetted the neurosurgeon and told me that if I’d had the opportunity to hand-pick a doctor, this is who I would have chosen. The neurosurgeon (aka BRAIN SURGEON - OMG, seriously, a BRAIN SURGEON!) was so kind and spent lots of time answering my questions and questions from my family. It was interesting to learn that his schedule was open for me only because his wife was also scheduled for surgery and they ran into an insurance glitch that caused them to postpone her surgery. Yes, even doctors have insurance issues. 

I didn’t meet the anesthesiologist until I was in pre-op. Another precious doctor. He introduced himself and told me I was going to be his mother-in-law for the day. His actual mother-in-law was having surgery at the same time, but because of their familial relationship he wasn’t attending her, but me. He promised he would take special care of me as his stand-in mother-in-law. I was touched. When my daughters were able to join me in pre-op, they asked me to make sure he liked his mother-in-law. In the operating room I asked and he assured me that he loved his mother-in-law. That’s the last thing I remember until I woke up in recovery. 

Crazy that one can have brain surgery and wake up in no pain. How is that even possible? I awoke in recovery to a conversation between my brother and the surgeon discussing titanium. I thought they were taking about golf clubs, but soon put it together and realized they were referencing the plate in my head! I was assured I would not set off alarms at TSA. 

I am so grateful to all of my doctors, and I have a lot. Every medical professional I have encountered on this journey has been a gift. From the CNA who left me an index card with inspirational music suggestions, to the neurology nurses who sat up with me during a 2:00 a.m. meltdown, to the social worker, nurse navigator, volunteers at the cancer center, all the way up to the “big-dog” oncologist and neurologist - everyone has been over-the-top kind and caring. 

I am full of gratitude for the healthcare we have access to in our own backyard. It is 3.8 miles from my house to the cancer center. It takes us less than ten minutes to get there, and there is no traffic. I cannot imagine having to deal with Houston traffic or New York subways or cabs to get to daily treatment. Unless I qualify for a trial at a different cancer center I won’t have the stress involved with being out of town. This means a lot to me and to my family. 

I feel a little like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz when she realized that everything she wanted or needed was always right in her own backyard.