I saw my oncologist today. It turns out that my tumour markers have gone down, to 41.3 from 46.2. So they've done this: 57.8 (August, 2006) -> 48.0 (October, 2006) -> 39.6 -> 41.4 -> 46.2 -> 41.3 (October, 2007). We think it's safe to say that my tumour markers are oscillating between 39 and 48, and that's just what is normal for me right now. This is really good news; normal for this particular marker is 38, and I'm just about normal. Well, in this sense, anyways :)
What this also means is that we can continue to look at this tumour marker, and if it starts heading out of this normal range we know that there's something going on.
I also talked to my oncologist about the fact that I still feel that I can't relate to her and have asked for a referral to another oncologist at this cancer centre. She had no problem with it at all and will go ahead and refer me to someone else. Whew!!!! I talked to the nurse afterwards (not the usual nurse as she is on vacation) and she said that switching doctors there is not at all uncommon. I had been quite worried about how this would go - I didn't want to burn my bridges, as it were/ I think I handled it very well and professionally and I was quite impressed with me :) I should have an appointment with a new doctor in four to six weeks.
I've been uncomfortable with my oncologist and nurse since the beginning. I've tried hard to change this and to be comfortable with this oncologist/nurse pair, but in the end I just couldn't do it. During my recent liver mets scare, I realized that there was no way that I would put myself in the hands of my current oncologist - if I couldn't have seen another oncologist right away I would have gone back to my old oncologist in Credit Valley.
These feelings were so strong that I knew that I had to ask for the referral now while things are quiet. It's very important that I be completely at ease with my doctors because I have to trust them with my life. Hopefully I won't get a doctor that I'm LESS comfortable with :)
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