Bobby Visits the Doctor

OK -- wasn't that the name of a Little Golden Book? There are several of you who say "Huh?" but they were great literature for forming young minds.

First visit this week with the kidney cancer specialist. He is the director in this process, where the surgeon himself was the actor. The surgeon did his part just fine, so we are checking in on the overall progress with the kidney oncologist. Dr. is pleased with how things turned out. As far as Bob is concerned, they are still turning out.

After reviewing what a fine job he is doing, (the doctor), Bob asked how this will show up in writing on the reports, Doc said, "Oh, the prognosis is the same--terminal cancer. Whether you are terminal in 2 months or 10 years, that hasn't changed. You have Stage IV cancer. Once you are Stage IV, that status doesn't change. How active the cancer is, that may vary."

Because Bob's not on any anti-cancer meds right now, they will monitor him with CT scans at 2-month intervals rather than 3 or 6 months for a while. Interesting sidelight, they had to use a different injectable substance with his CT scan last week, as he has only one kidney left to process the iodine out of his system. The Dr. said to be very careful and not get dehydrated, as the risk increases with just one kidney. So I let him have water whenever he wants....