Waiting for results of any kind can be an anxious time for anyone. Think back to your school exams as a prime example.
This wait felt very different. No longer was I waiting for results to ‘diagnose’ or ‘check my bloods were OK to continue treatment’, these results could give me the news that I was on my way back to ‘normal’ life a term I’ve used a few times in my previous blog posts.
The term ‘normal’ it doesn’t sound very exciting, we all take ‘normal’ for granted. A normal day, a normal house, a normal job a normal career. All phrases we’ve probably used a few times in our own lives. Terms that don’t ‘inspire’ ‘impress’ or ‘excite’ but terms I was hoping so much that I’d be able to use again soon.
Wednesday 2nd May had arrived. The day of the MDT clinic, the day my CT scan images would be looked at, discussed and a decision made. My appointment with my consultant wasn’t until Monday 14th May but as I said in my last post, patience is something I sometimes lack, especially in situations like this; hence me asking for the specialist nurse to call me as soon as she knew anything. I was told that depending on what time the clinic finished would depend on whether or not I got a call on the Wednesday or Thursday. As the day progressed I went through all sorts of emotions. My wife was out with work so I was home on my home stewing, checking my phone constantly (just in case the call volume has somehow malfunctioned and I’d missed a call).
By 4pm I had prepared myself for another evening and night of ‘worrying’ about the results. Then it happened, my phone lit up with the words ‘Unknown Caller’. Was it another unwanted sales call or was it the hospital?
It was the later, the specialist nurse. The person that was about to tell me my results. Heart beating rapidly, palms of my hands clamming up, she said “would you like me to tell you your results?” without hesitation I said “Yes”. “Ok, well I have the report from the clinic in front of me and I’ll read out their recommendation of course of action”, “OK, I replied”… “Excellent response to treatment, recommend a routine follow up scan in 3 months”.
My emotions came to a head; tears, laughter, smiles and questions…
The nurse went on to read out the more details aspects of the report. Giving me the dimensions on each of the three tumours that were present. Each one had shrank by a lot. The image below shows my notes whilst on the call showing what they had gone from and what they now were.
After a lot of exchanges of “thank you’s” and “I can’t believe it” I put the phone down and jumped for joy. Followed immediately by phoning my wife, parents and sister.
After delight came questions, why haven’t the tumours completely gone? Are they dead? Do they dissolve? Can they take them out? All questions I didn’t know the answer to but all questions we wanted answers to.
In this instance, I did find my patience. I was at peace knowing that my results looked extremely promising and that a few days waiting until I saw my consultant to get a more detailed report was completely doable. Especially since the amazing team I was under had agreed to move my appointment from the 14th May (Monday) to the 11th May (Friday) so I could get the full outcome of my results even sooner than expected.
So why did I call this blog post ‘The Results…Take One’? Well as you’ll find out in my next post, consultants like to check and check again. Something I was about to find out for myself.
To finish, I just want to say that if you’re awaiting your results, Good Luck. Be confident, be positive (I know you’ll have heard that a hundred times) and try and be as patient as possible. Your clinical team will be doing everything they can to make sure you get your results as soon as possible, but their thoroughness is paramount.
To read more posts in time line order click here
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