A visit to the Onc

Yes.. it was that time of the year again to stop in and see my Oncologist. See what is up, and how things are going.



Yea the good news is that my blood work is excellent. Gotta get a copy of my recent CT scan over to him, and then following that, I can make arrangements to have the port removed from my chest. Hmm.. Maybe before New Years? That will be another step towards putting this all behind me and moving on. I am lucky in a way. a lot of people complain about their port, that it hurts and it gets in the way of their every-day life. Imagine when you go driving, wearing a seat belt, and how it can cause discomfort. My Port doesn't hurt, itch or anything. I often forget that I even have it.

OK....

My Doctor and I then discussed diet etc. He tells me that I need to cut back on the alcohol. Not that I drink a lot. As a matter of fact, I am always watching what I drink. but the fact is that since I was feeling soo good lately, I have allowed myself an extra drink here and there. Nope. Gotta keep it to four drinks a week, or if I go out only one night a week, then no more than three drinks. My solution to that is to switch from beer to wine. I can seriously sip on a glass of red wine for a long long time, and frankly I don't need to drink when I go out, but it is out of habit to down a beer when I am in a bar.. nope, now I will sip on a wine.

Next, I was told that I could have red meat twice a week. hmm. I have kept red meat to a minimum - like once every six weeks. Well, my doc told me that it really depends on the cut of meat. Not some fast-food hamburger.. but a nice, well prepared steak, with no char on it, is good and necessary otherwise I might develop a dietary deficiency. Well. We will see about this. Maybe once a month or so. I plan to enjoy some steak this holiday season.

In general, as the saying goes, everything in moderation, including moderation.

The good news is that I might have that port out before New Years. (no pun intended) So stay tuned and maybe I will have some really wild photos to show you when that procedure goes down....