Oncologist appointment tomorrow - what questions should I ask?

After being diagnosed on 18th January and going through all the various test, I finally get to see the oncologist tomorrow. Would like to hear from anyone who has any suggestions about what questions would be good to ask. 

Also what are your experiences of how long it took for treatment to start after first oncology appointment. As my breast cancer is grade 3 and fast growing, I'm worried about it spreading, before my treatment even gets started. 

Was it suggested you have a PICC line or port?

  • Ah thank you Pippin!

    I’m doing ok! Yesterday was a lot quicker as I had my bloods done the day before so from that side of things yesterday was much better. Feeling pretty nauseous but trying to stay on top of my meds!

    we got an email yesterday saying our new sofas we had ordered were arriving first thing this morning which meant we had to move the old sofa out of one room and upstairs into a spare bedroom (the sofa is a sofa/sofa bed) so using that temporarily as a guest bedroom bed..so a few hours after I got home from Chemo my husband and i were lugging a huge sofa up the stairs!!!!! Not quite what I wanted to be doing and never sweated so much!!!!..but we got it done!!

    had an ok sleep, woke up at 5am feeling sick but took my meds. Managed to get out for a 6km walk this morning but this afternoon have just woken up from a 2 hour nap!!!! Feeling queasy and a bit out of sorts but ok! 

    my kids are in a residential with school next week so need to sort out all their kit etc this week. Also have a radiologist appt tomorrow so will hopefully know more about next steps which will be good! Can sense the end of Chemo! One more!!!!!!

    my oncologist yesterday said I would then be on monthly zoladex injections, letrozole and abemaciclib. Slightly worry about side effects but will just have to wait and see. I was chatting to a friend of mine who is having a hard time on that cocktail so I’m feeling apprehensive!…BUT just need to get through Chemo, then radio and take one step at a time and keep positive that side effects will all be ok!!!! Fingers crossed!!

    How are you doing? 

  • Hi Greeny80, pleased to hear it wasn't such a long day for you yesterday, shame about the nausea though. I'm sure you could have done without moving furniture about, when you got home. It's good that you felt well enough to go for a walk, I find walking really helps the mindset. Hope all goes well with your appointment tomorrow, always good to know the next steps moving forward.I had an echocardiogram today to check my heart, due to being on the phesgo injections. They told me that there is no change  which is really good news.Do you know what this new cocktail of drugs is for? Try to remember that people react differently to all these meds, so you won't necessarily have a hard time. Hope you have a good week and don't feel too unwell. Xx

  • Hi everyone, hope you all enjoy the weekend. Got my dad's 90th birthday party today, shame about the weather. 

    Greeny80, hope you are feeling OK after your last treatment.

    NGS, last treatment on Tuesday, that must be such a great feeling. Hope all goes well.

    Carol, have a lovely weekend away. 

    Xxx

  • Have a fab time at your Dad's 90th. Hope it is a gorgeous day/evening fiull of celebration. The weather has perked up a little here so i hope you've managed to enjoy some sunshine too.

    I'm doing ok. Just going through the motions. Yesterday was probably the toughest day but it's all manageable still, just bad nausea, tiredness, achy etc...but you just have to go through the motions and let your body work through the side effects!...feeling a little brighter today and i can feel the nausea easing so hoping i'm over the worst! Just taken the dog out inbetween the showers and now back on the sofa!....My kids are off on a residential with school all next week so as much as i'll miss them it will be nice to have a very restful week! Let's see how much rest i end up doing!! Not very good at doing nothing!!

    One more to go though so that's good!...saw my radiotherapist on Thursday and i start 3 weeks of radio on the 29th July. Sorry if i've already said that!!!!

    NGS - yes good luck for your last treatment!!! Amazing!!!!!!!!! So nearly there!!!!

    Carol - sorry i missed that you were away, where are you off to? Have fun!

    Enjoy the festivities hits weekend Pippin and good luck for your next treatment too.

    Take care everyone and enjoy your weekend xx

    xx

  • Hi Greeny80, we had a wonderful family day, which went really well. Had a few showers but lovely in between. Had a few stomach issues during the night (not great when staying at someone else's house), but feel much better today. I was drinking a lot of alcohol free wine and think maybe it was all the sugar in it that, maybe caused it. Make the most of the time to yourself this week and have a good rest. I'm sure the kids will have a great time too. Will be good to get the radiotherapy done with and out of the way. It's a lot to deal with, having to go everyday. I hope you start to feel better this week and are over the worst of it. Just one more to go, that must feel so good. Next cycle for me on Tuesday, then only one more for me too, yay!

    Hope everyone has a good week ahead. Xx

  • Hey Pippin,

    So glad you had such a lovely time celebrating over the weekend. Interesting about the tummy issues and the non alcoholic wine and sugar. I'm sure that was the reason....hope it's all resolved now and that you're feeling good. 

    I think i'm now over the worst of my last cycle. Had my last Filgastrim injection today which usually makes me feel a bit groggy/achy/tired but then I usually bounce back so definitely looking foward to a week or so of feeling good before my LAST CHEMO!!! Whoop!!!

    Felt pretty ropey over the weekend but definitley feeling better with more energy today...kids were all packed up and they left this morning for their week's residential! Going to be a very strange week without them!

    I hope all goes well for you on Tuesday..penultimate one! End is in sight!...at least for the chemo part!! So yes i hope it all goes and side effects remain manageable.

    Hope everyone else is ok too??

      How are you doing? Have you now completed chemo??

    Take care

    xx

  • Hi Greeny80, I'm feeling pretty good today thanks. Went for walk this morning and also got all my housework done. I like to do this the day before treatment, so I can rest for a few days after chemo. I had my pre chemo telephone review this morning  and I'm all good to go tomorrow. As my echocardiogram was fine I can also continue with the phesgo injections, which is good. I mentioned that I'd had no confirmation letter regarding ct thorax scan I had in April, showed no changes, or plan about moving forward. She told me I will get further scans every 3/4  months for the next two years.  I also told her  that I wad supposed to be sent an appointment for the oncologist, so she said she'll arrange for my next review to be face to face. She aldo asked if I'd received appointment to go back to see the surgeon, as that was supposed to have been arranged. When I said I hadn't heard anything, she said she would chase it up. So it was a very productive review and I feel a lot happier about everything.

    Sorry to hear you didn't feel so well over the weekend. It's good to hear you feel better today and that you're now finished the filgrastim injections. Hopefully you'll now feel well up until your next chemo. Great that you only have one more to go!  Pleased to hear that the children got off OK,  I'll bet they'll have a great time. I'm sure the house will seem empty with them away, but you'll get a good rest.xx

    NGS, good luck with your last treatment tomorrow, hope all goes well for you. It must be a great feeling knowing its your last one. Make sure you ring that bell! Xx

  • Hi Pippin,

    I'm so glad to hear that your review went well and that you are all ready for your penultimate chemo session. It'll not be much longer now, until you get to ring that bell too! I hope that all goes well for you this time.

    Jolamine xx

  • Hi NGS,

    I am delighted to hear that you are being considered for the preventative vaccine and hope that you are successful in getting it. The results I've read so far, are very encouraging.

    I shall be thinking of you tomorrow and hope that all goes well for your final chemo. I'm sure that you'll be relieved to have your chemo session behind you at last.

    Kind regards,

    Jolamine xx

  • Thanks Jolamine. I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel, which is a great feeling. Hopefully, won't have too long to wait for surgery, feeling a bit nervous about this now. Back in January I was told it would be a mastectomy, with reconstruction, using tissue from my tummy, so quite a big operation. I'm hoping the plan won't have changed since then. I'm waiting for an appointment to go back to see the surgeon at the moment. Ideally I would like a double mastectomy, to avoid going through this again, if it returned in other breast. Not sure they will consider doing this though. Hope you are keeping well. Xx