Oncologist appointment

I saw my oncologist this morning for my bone and CT scan results. They're all clean, as usual: my mets are still visible and they're about the same size they were before, which is good news. The bone scan will show any area of bone that's active for any reason, so it'll show where the person has arthritis and other bone things in addition to cancerous areas. My bone scan showed activity in my big toes, knees, various spots in my spine, and some other places I don't remember, which would point to arthritis in those areas.

Interestingly, I met with my home care case manager yesterday and after I told her that I had this sarcoidosis which is an auto-immune disease, she said that many people with auto-immune diseases also develop arthritis in places like their big toes. I've had pain there and in other places that I thought could be arthritis and it was interesting to have that confirmed, along with a possible reason for it appearing there (other than getting older, of course!).

I talked to my oncologist about what I think is the sarcodosis that's going on with my left breast. It's still spreading and it looks rather ugly. It looks like a purplish rash, mostly, but it's raised and flat and hard to the touch. My oncologist looked at it, said it wasn't cancer, and when I suggested that it might be a good idea to confirm that it is sardcoidosis, she said that it would be good to get a biopsy done for peace of mind. I'd kind of hoped that she would refer me to someone to help me deal with this but she's not from the area so I guess she doesn't know anyone.

I did some research online and it seems that even though sarcoidosis is an auto-immune disease, there's no one primary specialist that deals with the disorder: when symptoms come up a specialist treats those specific symptoms and that's it. I guess that means that I'll need to see my family doctor to get a referral to a dermatologist (unless my surgeon, who I hope can do the biopsy, can refer me to someone) and that my sarcoidosis specialist care will be in Mississauga.

While I'm not thrilled that the sarcoidosis is going nuts on that one breast, at least my cancer is stable. This is some kind of great news, right? :)