Hope you are continuing to use caution and social distancing during the pandemic – it’s still amongst us, so don’t forget that some people are more vulnerable to the virus’ serious consequences.

One thing I am enjoying during this isolation is having doctor appointments by phone (at least for now, until physicals are required). No traffic, no searching for parking, no waiting!

My annual scan was due around June, and my surgeon called me to check in. He is working at the hospital, but we did our annual on the phone. This is what he told me…

He asked me how I was feeling and if I had concerning symptoms.

“All is status quo.”

Then he told me he felt that we should not continue having scans annually. At this point in my recovery, cancer could begin anywhere, and would not necessarily be related.

I’m not sure how I felt about not having that proof of remission – even after 16 years, but this is how I replied… “Well, the scan is for the thorax and abdomen. If something was starting in my brain or elsewhere, we wouldn’t know.” So in one way I agreed to avoid the radiation, on the other, I wonder whether my anxiety and fears will begin to escalate anew as time passes.

We exchanged pleasantries and I asked him a few questions I always forgot when I saw him at his office. For example, sometimes when I bend over to put on my shoes, I get an excruciating pain on the left side of my abdomen where my intestines are concentrated now. He told me it’s normal because they simply get scrunched together. It’s not dangerous, but you can’t imagine the agony in that 30 seconds or so until they become undone.

Even though he tells me we would continue our annual checkups (well, that’s what I thought he said) and my family doctor should be seen regularly and for important concerns (I do see an endocrinologist often for calcium deficiency that is difficult to handle), I pray this decision would not be to my detriment. Will we miss something new? Will I have more time to prove the statistics wrong? Will I be around to share in my daughter’s life for decades to come?

Have any of you been told by your doctors that they will no longer have cancer screening done? How do you feel about it? What are you doing to keep your health in check?

Looking forward to hearing your feedback…

Patricia