The First Oncology Appointment

Mike and I went to meet with the oncologist for the first time on January 21st.  They said they would use the video remote interpreting (VRI) machine rather than getting a live sign language interpreter.  I had used the VRI machine at the medical center for a different appointment.  It worked okay.  Sadly, the machine crashed that day.  There was no interpreter.

Dr. Diaz-Montes has a Spanish accent.  It was HARD to try to read her lips.  Mike is usually a better lip reader than I am but he had difficulty as well.  Dr. Diaz-Montes decided to talk to her nurse, Jill, who talked to Mike who signed for me.  As a result of this communication breakdown, I felt disconnected from Dr. Diaz-Montes.

Her first question was, "Do you know you have cancer?"

"Yes.  That's all we know.  Endometrial cancer."

"That's all I know too.  We need to do surgery- a full hysterectomy."

I stopped her right there and wanted to know what the other options were.  I wanted to know if it is an option to get pregnant.  I felt the appointment was very clinical and cold.  Not having an interpreter certainly did NOT help either.  The information was very fragmented.  I also wished she took the time to explain what this cancer is... how it behaves and progresses, before discussing treatment options.  She jumped right to the surgery. 

We all agreed to get me started on hormone therapy to fight the cancer.  A few days later, I got on megestrol which is synthetic progesterone.  Endometrial cancer emerges because the estrogen exceeds the progesterone in the body.  The megestrol supposedly helps put my body in balance with both estrogen and progesterone and hopefully will make the cancer cells slough away.  She also wanted to do a CT scan to see if the cancer metastasized. 

The hormone therapy is a way to buy me some time as I figure out all my options and what I want to do next.  I was not ready to do the surgery.  I typically prefer to prepare well for major changes in my life.  

I left still feeling in the dark with many many more questions.  And I was not ready to trust my oncologist.