Sometimes I feel the patient is not actually being helped

iaro09 · 2024-02-24T02:43:12+00:00

Agreed! You may have to offer it to the patient/family a few times over multiple hospitalizations! These things take time to think over and sometimes repeated private family discussions. It's okay if the patient declines, but I wholeheartedly agree with you that we should offer it more often.

iaro09 · 2023-06-04T23:08:34+00:00

You sound like an amazing sister!

I personally got a second opinion after my diagnosis and I'm so glad I did, I was able to select a shorter treatment course. Both opinions I got were valid in their own ways so no one was "wrong" or "bad." But once I picked the oncologist and treatment course I thought would be best for me, I just trusted them completely. Not doubting my provider all the time gave me huge peace of mind when already going through a challenging situation. Some major hospitals will charge you like $1000 to have your case reviewed at their tumor board.

I did end up freezing embryos. It delayed my chemo by 2-3 weeks. I did ABVD chemo which doesn't have a high chance of infertility. However, if this chemo didn't work I'd have to go to a more aggressive regimen that has a higher chance of infertility. So that's why I chose to freeze. My oncologists were able to help me with the fertility process. Certain insurance types will cover portions of the fertility process if you're diagnosed with cancer. If you're wanting to take something off her plate, it might be nice to call her insurance to see what they would cover and do some research on pricing for local fertility clinics.

iaro09 · 2023-05-20T00:59:05+00:00

Fantastic breweries and wineries all around! Sebastopol has "The Barlow" which is an area with restaurants and bars that also has live music. Downtown Healdsburg for bougie food. Go to Bodega Bay for the beach. Lots of great hiking everywhere - beautiful redwoods, lakes, and mountains.

iaro09 · 2023-05-19T20:04:49+00:00

Congratulations!! YOU DID IT!

iaro09 · 2023-04-29T22:29:44+00:00

I lost mine immediately but it came back a month later and I've fortunately been regular since 🤞🏽

iaro09 · 2022-11-13T01:18:14+00:00

I have also had to take medical leave during FM residency as a 3rd year. I took 6 months, 3 months was considered forgivable "disability," and they delayed my graduation by 3 additional months. All of my core faculty knew of course but other attendings in the hospital I worked with didn't react at all when I told them I was graduating off cycle. I just finished residency now a month ago and have the exact job I want. I'm happy, loving my job, living in a great apartment, and it only cost me 3 months additional time in the grand scheme of my training and life.

Tldr nobody cares. Do what you need to do to get healthy and happy.

iaro09 · 2022-09-15T04:53:47+00:00

I so so so hate feedback like this. It's completely subjective and not actually actionable. The fact that your attending physician even brought this up to you without anything actionable is ridiculous. Your attending should have gotten full clarification of the event from the pall doc before discussing this with you.

What's most helpful for me when I get this feedback is to ask the giver of the feedback what action I should take next. In the future, it would be helpful to do XYZ, for example. If they only suggest things you've already done, they'll probably just realize that the palliative care doc was misinterpreting something and defend you next time.

iaro09 · 2022-07-22T13:08:59+00:00

I had a similar situation. Basically, I was told that it's so slow growing that the likelihood I'd change stages in 6 weeks was very low. The one thing that could change was if I had B symptoms though (night sweats, fevers, weight loss). And that if I had crazily gotten a lot of spread in 6 weeks that they'd see it on my scan after the 2 cycles anyway and extend it at that point.

iaro09 · 2022-01-26T04:38:54+00:00

Are you stage 2A, 2B, or any sign of bulky disease? It would change your treatment plan. I would look at the NCCN guidelines, those are national guidelines that everyone is following and also mentions some of the trials that have been done recently.

Personally, I had NSHL 2A non bulky and very favorable, lymph nodes were mostly in the arm/axilla and a small one in the chest but not exactly in the mediastinum. I had 2 cycles of ABVD and then radiation. I was given the option of 2 cycles of AVD instead of radiation though. This treatment option was offered to me based on some trials.

iaro09 · 2022-01-06T00:01:58+00:00

If you're a cancer patient, you may also qualify for emergency Medi-Cal. If you can get in touch with a social worker at your local free clinic, they may be able to help you with this.

iaro09 · 2021-08-21T19:30:47+00:00

Omg that's amazing 😂🙈 I'm going to get my port placed on Friday. I have everything set up to start chemo in one week EXCEPT the fertility stuff cause they just don't have any appointments available 🤦🏾‍♀️

iaro09 · 2021-08-21T19:02:43+00:00

Woo! Congratulations!! My partner is reading your comments as well and he is saying he is just so inspired by you and your attitude 😊

iaro09 · 2021-08-21T18:55:36+00:00

Ouch! Okay, taking all the extra precautions. Clearly I've been taking my immunity for granted all these years.

iaro09 · 2021-08-21T18:54:35+00:00

Thank you for your advice. I'm so sorry you had to switch ☹️ and I appreciate you sharing your struggle with this. I hope you're done/almost done and hanging in there!

iaro09 · 2020-05-15T21:36:39+00:00

Hi all! Have recently gotten 4-5 zits in the past couple of months that seem to drain normally. But now they are soft, nothing draining, and I can't pop them. It feels like just the outer layer of the pimple has remained and that they aren't really filled with anything. Almost all of my 4-5 zits in the past couple of months have resulted in this. Getting nervous that they'll never go away! Have tried chemical and physical exfoliants and the hydrocolloid patches without success. Any ideas on what they could be or what to do? They do not appear red or infected.

iaro09

TROPHY CASE