Today was my oncology appointment.

For the other few times that I went to see my oncologist, I did not have to see a fellow.  I have to say…I was slightly disappointed when a fellow walked in.  I’m sorry, I know that hands on experience is the best experience.  However, when you have a chronic illness like me, and you see and talk to a million doctors like me, and you get asked the same exact questions time and time again…like me..it gets exhausting.

Anyhow, I spoke with the fellow who asked me the usual questions and did the usual checking of blood pressure, pulse, heart rate, etc.  He told me that my numbers were stable and I did not need any treatment.  That’s always good news.

When my doctor came in, I asked her about the prospect of transplant. She explained to me again the fear of people getting transplant when they have cancer or cancer-like diseases.  Our immune systems help us fight off cancer, and if one receives a transplant, the autoimmune drugs taken obviously lower our immune systems.  So, theoretically, if I get a transplant and am on autoimmune drugs, that can lessen my ability to potentially fight off the cancer.

As I opened my mouth to retort, she then said “however, one could argue that you are already on autoimmune drugs and are doing fine…”

EXACTTTLY!  I’m already on prednisone, plaquenil (hydroxychloroquine), MMF..I’m totally on a lot of autoimmune drugs already.  My oncologist also went on to tell me that she has treated people with cancer-like illnesses who have had transplants (like liver, heart, etc.) and they did just fine. She also stated that if things should progress with me on the cancer front, she didn’t think that the medication she would use to treat the cancer would conflict with the transplant.  At the end of the day, she’s going to have to have a meeting with my nephrologist to see what the next step is.  Hopefully I’ll be able to blog about a transplant soon…and hopefully the joy and anticipation won’t be taken away from me again.

P.S.- today is one of the hottest days that I can remember…and I love every second of it. Don’t worry, I covered up and wore sunscreen 😉