Rain, Howlers, and This Thing in My Gut

It continues to rain here on the Cape. Yesterday afternoon, we left for New York City -- in the rain. The howlers were carrying on as per the usual. Although we seemed to leave them behind, the rain followed us all the way to the City and then back to the Cape tonight. It is now raining harder than it has since our arrival on Saturday, with a little thunder and lightning thrown in. No howlers though. They must have worn themselves out.

Why'd we go to New York City? Well, I had an appointment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center with a surgical oncologist who specializes in GISTs. I set out to make this appointment almost as soon as the doctor who performed the endoscopic ultrasound told me I had a GIST, that it needed to come out, and that I basically couldn't have that done just any old place. I definitely wanted to see a different doctor after the doctor who told me it was a GIST changed his tune and said the tumor could simply be surveilled every 18 months. 

I loved Sloan Kettering, and I loved the doctor I saw. He was patient, kind, and informative. My pathology slides had not yet been delivered, so the Sloan pathologists have not confirmed the findings of the local hospital in the Great State of South Jersey. However, the doctor and his surgical fellow did explain the South Jersey hospital's pathology report, which, even though it is MY report, that hospital will not post it to my patient portal. 

Anyway, according to that report, I have a gastric leiomyoma that's benign. Leiomyoma is quite a mouthful compared to GIST. Therefore, I've decided to call my leiomyoma Lyle. The doctor said that, given its size, Lyle the leiomyoma likely can be surveilled via CT scan. After our appointment, I had a CT scan at Sloan, and I'll have another one in 6 months. If Lyle doesn't grow, then the CT will be repeated in a year, then 18 months. I think the doctor said -- I'm not sure -- if Lyle doesn't grow during that time, the CT scans can be spread out even more. In addition, I'll start seeing a GI doctor at Sloan.

Here's the best part. The CT scan I had today was done with contrast, which meant that an IV had to be placed in a vein in my arm. I am terribly allergic to adhesive tape. Paper tape is a problem as well. When the tape is removed, it literally takes my skin with it. This allergy is noted in all my medical records, but it seems to make no difference. I had abdominal surgery in late 2015, and I made a special point to inform the surgical staff that I was allergic to tape. I was taped anyway. Below is a picture of a very small part of my abdomen after the tape was removed.

The Aftermath of Tape

I am taped over and over again, whether it's surgery, blood draws, IV lines. Not today, however. The nurse who removed my IV line covered the hole with gauze and then affixed it by wrapping a self-adhering ace bandage around my arm. Genius!!!! No tape in sight.