Well this week has had it's up and downs. On Wednesday I went for my long awaited appointment with the consultant oncologist to discover what thoughts he had about my enlarged lymph node. I got to the hospital early, as I always do, and was the only person in the waiting room. Sat down and read a magazine, the usual out of date ones! My heart sank when the same registrar I saw 3 weeks ago (the one that couldn't decide on a course of action without speaking to her boss) called me through to the consulting room. She proceeded to tell me that she'd had a word with Mr M. and it was his opinion that I should be referred back to the surgeon that carried out my groin dissection. Then she had a good feel of the lump, which is still, well, lumplike and then called Mr M through so that he could have a feel too! He's very lovely and explained to me that while the sonographer might think it's an enlarged lymph node, he still doesn't, but probably the best way to prove it is to refer me back to the surgeon for it to be biopsied. So that was the plan and a letter would be faxed to the surgeon.
My surgeon only does limited hours for the NHS, but luckily I have private healthcare through work, so I rang for an appointment on Thursday and got one for Friday! I spent about 45 minutes with him yesterday, he gave me a thorough exam, concentrated a lot on the lump, which he agrees is a bit suspect coming up so long after surgery as it has. He did a needle aspiration and arranged for me to have a CT this coming Wednesday, and I'll go back for the results on Thursday.
Things finally seem to be coming together, but I am left wondering why, when you consider the size of Merseyside Health Authority and the number of surgical sites it must have, I only seem to be able to see the one surgeon! Surely there must be more than one person that can dissect a lump!!
As ever, watch this space!
Marsha x
