The problem with Vice

[mellicious]

I'm trying to remember to post a little bit here & there, but I am totally sleep-deprived again and so I hope this comes out making sense. (I got like four hours of sleep yesterday.) I've already had one try at going to sleep earlier and I sat and read instead (now on Expanse book 3, which is called Abaddon's Gate, I believe? not sure of their spelling of that but I'm fairly sure that's the name. SPOILER (although fairly minor, I guess): there's a giant alien stargate (?) thing - or maybe it's not a gate, just a Ringworld - lurking around so that makes sense for the name at this point in the overarching plot.)

We have a plan for the weekend which does not include a movie for me. Rob is going to see Vice, finally (no new horror movies this week), and I will stay home and we will go out to eat on Sunday. I'm still saying the same thing I was saying a couple of weeks ago, which is that I was not amused by the Bush administration the first time around and I have no desire to re-live it. Rob has been wanting to go see Glass when it comes out next weekend, but the reviews aren't good. On the other hand, it's his birthday weekend so I may end up going anyway. Movie-wise, I'm just marking time til the things I actually want to see (like Captain Marvel) start coming out.

Also I had a mammo last week and I have to have a followup because they saw a shadow of some kind. I got phone messages about it and looked online, and I get the impression that the nurses who were trying to call me were all set to have to calm me down, and I'm like, no problem, been there done that (every few years since I turned 40, basically) and I'm not going to get excited til I'm sure there's actually a problem.

Comments

[bunny42]

Followups are a nuisance, but the technology has improved so much, at least they're not as uncomfortable. Used to involve a smaller plate that zeroed in on the suspect area and compressed the hell out of your poor abused boob. Nowadays, with 3-D mammos and ultrasound, it's not as bruising. I've had about six stereo-tactic biopsies, which are uncomfortable, to say the least. All negative, always the same side. You're right not to be overly concerned. And even if they did find something that needs to be addressed, you're in the right location, aren't ya. M D Anderson is only the best in the world. I have been going to Cleveland Clinic Florida for many, many years, also right up there among the very best. Nothing like peace of mind.

[mellicious]

Truer than you know - about MD Anderson, I mean. We work for UTMB (UT Medical Branch) and MD Anderson is not only another UT facility, but MDA and UTMB have recently gone into business together, and I'm having my needle biopsy literally right down the hall from the new MDAnderson building that's just been completed. I believe they've said that if you are a UTMB employee and you need cancer services, you can take your pick of whichever of the two you want to provide your care. Hopefully it won't come to that right now!

[bunny42]

Wow, that is very cool! I've always thought if it ever comes to that, I'll go to one of the best. We have Moffitt in Tampa, which is nationally recognized. I wouldn't hesitate to come to Anderson if need be. With any luck at all, we'll both avoid the necessity of that. I think needle biopsy is what I had, all those times. They called it stereotactic, because it's done in 3D, so they zero in on exactly the right spot. I'm not good about lying on my stomach for any length of time, especially with my head turned. Not my favorite procedure. At the same time, I have to be grateful that the technology exists. Tough, being a girl, innit? Good luck with the biopsy!

[mellicious]

I've had the one where you lie on your stomach, too. It's no fun. The radiologist said, "Well, if you've had one, then you'll be glad to hear we don't do those any more!" (Instead, you just lie with your arm up, which is fine as long as it doesn't take too long!)

I've heard people who work for us say that as long as you have some more "common" kind of cancer, like breast cancer, you'll probably get about the same quality of treatment at UTMB as at MDA. But if you have something more exotic, you're absolutely better off at MDA because they get all the fancy new drug trials and the cutting-edge stuff. I don't know how true that is, statistically, but it sounds pretty reasonable.

[bunny42]

Sounds right, and you have the additional advantage of all that expertise just a few steps away, should you need it. That's how I feel about Cleveland Clinic. They'll be just fine until such time as I need a second opinion or some more involved procedure. Then I would probably go to Moffitt to see what's what. I had one ductal hyperplasia in situ, which was removed with an incisional biopsy. I was told it would not have "become" malignant, but could be a risk factor, so I was monitored every six months, for a while. Eventually, I was back on yearly exams, and so far everything has been fine. I always wear my lucky shirt to all my exams, (belonged to my late husband) and it hasn't let me down yet. (Nineteen years. I like to think he's watching over me. Whatever works, right?) That, and there's no cancer anywhere in my family, always encouraging. Good genes are a definite plus.