Hello again! I know it seems like forever since I have checked in, but it has been summer here in New York, and for me at least, the brief summers here are meant for gardening and other outside pursuits, not for sitting inside at a computer. It has also been a summer of lots of side effects of my meds to deal with, not to mention decreasing vision in my right eye due to the rapid growth of a cataract exacerbated by my retinal surgery in April. But here I am again.

It seems like forever since my last MRI, but 3 months have flown by and it is that time again. I also have my annual neck-to-pelvis CT scan the same day. Unlike last time, I have no concerns about anything being wrong although there is the usual scanxiety that I always get to some extent. What is different this time is that I have a new oncologist.

My oncologist of 6 years, Dr. John Fiore, retired this summer. I had been expecting it as I knew he was not a young man, but I can’t say I was happy about it (though I was happy for him). I think Dr. Fiore was a rare doctor, at least these days, in that he was so empathetic and caring. I am sure that I am not his only patient that felt this way about him. Even the staff at the hospital agreed that Dr. Fiore was “one of the best”. He got me through a lot of bad times – he always understood the way I felt, but also always had a plan. He always called me with my scan results within a day and never made me sweat it out with not knowing. I truly miss talking to him.

In any event, I will be seeing someone new next week. This doctor is not a full timer at MSK Commack, but is coming out from the city one day a week. I find it hard to believe that he possibly could be as responsive as Dr Fiore was, but I will withhold judgment. I rather suspect that Dr. Fiore knew that also because he also has me seeing a Neuro-oncologist as well, so I now have 2 doctors, and 2 doctor appointments (sigh), covering me. (He did think that I should be seeing one because of my LMD, but I think a big part of it was that I would not have a full time oncologist like he was). You don’t realize how dependent you are on your oncologist for your sanity and peace of mind until you have lost him…

I will let you know what happens next week. Wish me luck on my scans!