A Notebook for Questions While in Hospital

Mathew’s Dad, Stepmom, and I had distinctive note taking styles. Here are the contents of one page in the notebook. This represents the questions we had and information the Doctor was giving us.

Questions

When biopsy? How biopsy?

More scans?

Lower abdomen

Info from Doctor

tumor markers

6 x 5 inches (the size of the tumor). NOTE: It gets larger before chemo is started.

Where it comes from

???? Right kidney

Right peritoneum

Pressing on bile duct

Pressing on hepatic artery

?? liver

may be in two places

Monday

Dr. John

Moffitt

At the same time, Mathew was making notes in his journal.

Comments

Replace the 3 Lumen Pic Line with a Port

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I can't imagine or pretend to know how it feels to lose your hair because you have cancer and the chemo causes your hair to fall out. I only know what I saw with Mathew and years ago, my sister Elizabeth's experience as they lost their hair to chemotherapy. But it was something that affected Mathew more than just the initial hair loss, it had nuances. Here is a journal entry. It's short but I think it speaks volumes. MATHEW’S JOURNAL 5-23-14 Lately, I’ve been envious of people’s hair. Well, I guess not envious of other people’s hair but missing mine. I told my Mom about it and expressed to her that I was afraid I was falling prey to vanity. She expressed the idea that I may be missing having hair because it’s part of being healthy. I do miss having a life and at the same time, I’m afraid that I may never have a full life again or that I may lose what’s left of the one I have. - I’ve been thinking about dying a lot lately. I don’t know wh...

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