The May 16, 2025 appointments
May 16. 3 pm.
Though my appointments at the Duke Center for Women’s Cancer Care Raleigh were in the early afternoon, I headed to Raleigh early Friday morning with Rick. He had work to do in Raleigh, so it made sense for us to ride up together.
That gave me time to meet a friend for breakfast, take a walk at Lake Johnson Park, and go to the State Farmer’s Market before heading to my CT scan and labs.
The check-in process once I arrived was a bit of comedic error as the young lady at the front desk insisted I wear a “Fall Risk” wristband (I just hiked to the summit of four mountains earlier in the week with Rick. I think I’m okay) and 30 minutes later when I hadn’t been called back for my appointment, it was discovered she had never actually checked me in!
My scan and labs were done simultaneously and were quick and easy. In fact, my scan results were back before I even saw Dr. Rossi. She came in, excited to tell me the good news, but I had to admit I’d already seen MyChart.
Based on this scan and the last one three months that read the same (and despite the elevated Inhibin B levels from my last labs), Dr. Rossi decided to move me to 6-month visits with 6-month CT scans, a slight, but significant, change to my protocol. I’m thankful for more “time to breathe” between appointments.
When I asked Dr. Rossi why she was comfortable with this, she said that despite the elevated Inhibin B levels, we can’t operate on what we can’t see. I am comfortable with that, too.
So I said goodbye to Duke for what I hope will be the next six months (provided the inhibin levels haven’t jumped a crazy amount) and headed here to Lucky Tree to plan the next six months of life (something I had sort of been holding back on, pending the results of the CT scan.)
I won’t share this post publicly until I get the blood work back - in about a week - just in case there’s something substantial there. But, in this moment, I am feeling really good about what’s ahead.
Since I first started seeking answers in 2017, I’ve never had six months between physicians’ visits. I’m thankful for a good visit and looking forward to having six months before I have to really think about this again.
May 22. 7:30 pm
I got my Inhibin A and B back. B is trending up again. A is out of range for the first time since surgery two years ago.
I suspect Dr. Rossi isn’t going to change anything she told me last week, but I’ll have to wait and see. I have noticed some significant physical changes this week that remind me of the symptoms I had in 2019 and 2023, but again, we can’t operate on what we can’t see. So, I guess we’re now in a waiting game.
My current plan is to enjoy the summer ahead to the fullest, just like I did after surgery in May of 2023.
May 30 update
Dr. Rossi just called me herself to let me know I need to come back in August, and I need to get a PET in the next couple of weeks.
