and worth every mile

I visited the new onc today. It was 40 miles of white knuckle driving…each way. But so worth every mile. : )

He was the kindest man. And he listened to me. And agreed with the things I’ve been saying. He has some views that are similar to mine, I feel. He seems to be a bit of a rebel and I like that. No, I need that. I needed somebody to step outside the box with me and help me find the best care. And he did. And he didn’t even have to have that open a mind to find a better treatment for me than what was offered at my old onc. I remember saying she never said that at the other office several times.

He is in agreement with all the things I am currently doing…even saying they are excellent things to do. The same things my other onc wouldn’t even acknowledge, much less actually discuss. He told me not to lose any more weight. Not sure about that one, since I have a belly pooch that really needs to go. But he suggested I do resistance training, which I have done in the past. He wants me to gain muscle mass..it is helpful for me chemically for where I am right now. He recommended a book to me by Vonda Wright…Fitness After 40. He told me the title over and over again and I couldn’t figure out what he was saying. I kept hearing Feet…Feet After 40. He is from Columbia and has a pretty heavy accent. He talked about a lot of things that made sense to me. Some things were very shocking…going on bc pills before 20 triples your chances for breast cancer. I’ve never heard that from anybody. Not even a gyn I took my daughter to see and discuss going on the pill. I am ever so thankful we didn’t do it. His comment to me was DON’T DO IT. Trust me, I won’t. He has been around long enough that he’s seen a lot of things and he’s got a wealth of knowledge and not just knowledge, wisdom. I have no doubt that my old onc has a lot of knowledge in her…but not a lot of wisdom…or people smarts. She was so hard to talk to..impossible to have a conversation with about my care. She was like a blank wall. Not so with Dr. O.

I walked in and signed in…one girl at one desk. I filled out my papers and sat down. In one waiting room. At the old clinic, I’d sign in and sit down..in the first waiting room. And then they’d hand me a folder and I’d have to go through another waiting room and stand in line at a window to give her my red folder for her take one piece of paper out and put it in an orange folder to be send to a third waiting room to wait to be called. No joke. And then they took me to an exam room that looked like it was going to be in a storage closet…I stayed so turned around in there that I couldn’t even find the bathroom by myself. The old office just wasn’t very user friendly on many levels…and that’s putting it mildly. Today I stopped at the nurse’s station right outside the exam room and met one of his nurses…who was very warm and friendly..and then followed one sign to the appointment desk to made my next appointment and left. It was so easy compared to the other office that was a tangled mess of red tape from walking in the door to walking out. It seems as though it will be well worth the drive for me. So thankful to have found him.

I got in the van to come home and called the hubs to let him know how the appointment went…and ended up almost in tears because I was so pleased. Thankful to be in tears for a different reason after an appointment. : )