The Mad Dash!

We have put some serious miles on our vehicles or on trains or on airplanes … whether it be to discover the wonders of Northern California (Go Eureka!), or numerous doctor’s appointments—near and far—we have traveled … this however, was to Los Angeles, its own little paradise to get to and maneuver around.

Of all the FUN things that can go with a day in LA…..a doctor’s visit about scheduling cryo-ablation was not the top winner of the prize.  That however, is the reason behind our trip 100 miles north — and the mad dash to San Diego for another appointment about scheduling a biopsy, as soon as possible … like yesterday — all in the same day! Anyone living in Southern California knows that you CANNOT schedule a specific time that it will take to get from point A to point B … LA traffic is crazy — so to make a trip from LA to San Diego with fixed time limits in one day is sorta kinda crazy in its own right. But that is how we roll … cryo ablation consultation at 2:00 pm in LA (Hollywood), leave the appointment at 3pm, and biopsy at 6:00 pm in San Diego.  The mad dash!

We meet with Dr. Der, the interventional radiologist, who would be performing the cryo ablation for pain management … this is not a procedure to treat mesothelioma, but a possible way to the pain that comes along with it. I have always felt that I have a pretty strong threshold for pain—but this has turned into a whole different ball of wax. I have nothing to compare it with … labor pain, broken bones and the like, do not come near to the ever present, beyond my control pain that I am now dealing with 24/7.

With the cryo ablation we have hopes that it will be a manageable solution to my pain without taking a ridiculous amount of more opioids. The good news is that he absolutely can perform the procedure, the bad news is that the soonest it can be done is sometime in July. We get on the surgery schedule … and Yay … the first appointment available … July 3 … bright and early @ 6:30am!! I am hoping for a great hotel—near the hospital—just so that includes accommodations in case an overnight stay is in our forecast.

We did it!!! WE made the MAD DASH from LA to San Diego (with 10 minutes to spare) … met with the surgeon … and we got the biopsy scheduled for the following day … bright and early (of course) … to harvest cancer cells from a lesion on my back to see if immunotherapy is an option for me to battle these damn cancer cells.

For some reason … I thought this whole procedure would be a walk through the park. Let me tell you, it was not—here I am on Monday, finally feeling close to halfway normal again … we are talking my normal now … which as you may know is not normal at all. I now have an additional battle scar—a lovely 3 ½” beauty on my mid-back area … not too big, just enough to make it uncomfortable to sleep, sit and move around with ease … sorry, that sounded a bit too whiny, even for me.

I will let you know if the cryo-ablation works for my pain … and we are waiting once again for results to find out whether immunotherapy drugs might kick some of these cancer cells to the curb.   Hopefully, we hear something in the next few days … because as you all know I am not a very patient person!