Wednesday 6 August 2014

Hardly any waiting....... my latest Consultants appointment!

Guess what?


Yes, you're right ........ I've just had an appointment at RD&E ........


You're going to be disappointed though ....... apart from me hanging on to the door handle squawking at times, we weren't our usual predictable selves!


We didn't leave ridiculously early!


How come I hear you ask.


Well I had a shopping  list ..... my trainers circa 1985 have been hanging on despite bits dropping off the bottom over the last six weeks. Trip to a trainer shop needed!


Having kept up and increased my running for three and a half months I still haven't got a sports bra. Trip to M&S bra department needed!
(especially as yesterday at the end of my run I had a sore and bleeding nipple on the cancer boob ....... more of that later)


Oh and the bathroom scales packed up a couple of weeks ago. Trip to John Lewis needed!


So we left after I'd finished the day job and washed the cow shit out of my hair, at around 10.15am!


Now I had a brain wave about parking ...... normally for our rare shopping trips in Exeter we use the Quay car park, however as I trundled off to work this morning I realised that after we'd shopped we would have to move the car and then do a big loop in a lot of traffic to get back to RD&E. The chances of a space at the hospital would be non existent so I had a cunning plan .......... we'd park in the Triangle car park and pay for a days parking, then walk into the city and then walk to RD&E.


So we did!


On our walk we passed Real Food Exeter, a community owned shop and cafĂ© which I follow on Twitter and have always wondered where they were situated. Now I know. After a coffee there we bought the things on the shopping list and then it was time for lunch. We popped back for a sandwich and glass of wine ......... it was conveniently on the route to RD&E.


Despite all this careful planning, we got to RD&E way too early, so had a coffee and then went down to the clinic.
My appointment was 3.15pm so going on all previous clinics which have run one and a half to two hours late I expected to be called in at aound 4.45pm!


No! by 3.35pm I was sitting in a consulting room with one of the fetching gowns on waiting for Mr. Ferguson.


Actually it wasn't the man himself but a lovely Doctor from his team Dr. Mackenzie and a fellow lady Doctor whose name I've forgotten!


What a nice man, he had such a good bedside manner and definitely made up for the brusque Oncology Doctor on my last appointment!


Now over the last 17 months I've been prodded and poked and always been asked if its ok for this to be done, however this guy is the first to say 'if whilst I'm doing it, It hurts please tell me to stop'.


Brownie points!!


He and Lady Doctor also got Brownie points as during the discussion about Tamoxifen I mentioned that different brands had different side effects. They both said they'd heard this before and that I should ask the pharmacist to try and get my preferred brand every time, and it should be possible due to them having different suppliers!


Ah yes the sore and bleeding nipple .......


Now I'm sure that this is down to pre menstrual tenderness (yes! I'm still having periods!!) and being chafed by my bra, but of course with my history it could be a sign of breast cancer so I mentioned it to him.


After he'd examined me he said everything felt fine and he couldn't see any changes in my skin but if the bleeding continued to get in touch although he thought it was just the chafing responsible for it and that my new sports bra would sort it out!


By 3.50pm we were on our way back to the car!























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