Today was my first appointment with a specialist (the first of 3). I was a little nervous - stomach was a little flippy, but knew that this was the first day on my road to recovery. I feel that God had been instrumental in me seeing Dr. Vandermolen as the doors opened so quickly under sort of unusual circumstances.
When we found out about my situation, Blair mentioned my lymphoma to some friends at work to see if they would put my name on their prayer lists at their churches.A young woman named Ali overheard the conversation and told Blair that her mom had lymphoma and had been in remission for 5 years - said she was willing to talk to anyone about her experience and was sure she would refer me to her doctor, who she thought was terrific!
Though I still have not met Denise in person, we have talked and texted and I called her doctor right away. She was such an emotional boost for me, just to talk to someone who sounded so encouraging and she had been there!
Terry, Blair and I met Dr. Vandermolen at Orange Coast Oncology and Hematology {by Hoag} at 5:00 p.m. He spent lots of time explaining his approach to my case based on the results from the biopsy and answered questions that we had at that point. I have non-Hodgkins Lymphoma which is slow-growing and while I may have it for the rest of my life, the treatment is highly successful. He examined me and found enlarged lymph nodes in my neck, under my arms, and in my right groin, but the CT/PET scans and bone marrow test would prove conclusive.
The 3 of us were unanimous that we wanted him as my physician, so I had a bone marrow test and we were on our way! I cancelled the appointments with the other 2 doctors.
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