Dr. Quinn, medicine man

I had my date with Dr. Quinn today. Of all the oncologists I've had the honor of meeting, Dr. Kudelka and Dr. Quinn are definitely at the top, if not the best in terms of giving patients hope and encouragement. Dr. Quinn is part Australian and part comedian which make a brilliant combination. He also belongs to the same online support group...as if he had all the time in the world. He has responded to us online whenever we have questions. A few other doctors sit in and respond so that's comforting. Also, when I get my CTs done at USC he emails me the results immediately. The waiting can be excruciating and he understands that. I wish more doctors were like him. During my check-up today, he reviewed my CTs and said that I shouldn't worry about my **August CT report. He needs another CT to compare it against so I will be getting another one in a few weeks. Notice I am in no hurry. My friend asked me why I have to wait so long to get another CT. Well it's not like I'm in a hurry to know if it's bad news. And it's not as if I am in a hurry to get opened up again if it is anything distressing. So the labwork can wait. Thankfully, I have distractions such as work and school to think about. G'day!

**CT on 8/11/05 IMPRESSION: Patchy densities in the left lower lobe, new since the prior study. This is thought to be due to inflammation or atelectasis. Malignancy, although unlikely, cannot be excluded.

Peace to you

For Carl, Steve and Tom

The online acc support group that I belong to consists of both acc patients and doctors and scientists. We lost Carl on September 9. We lost Steve who was both a doctor and acc patient on September 24. Tom passed away on October 8. Please pray for their families. Carl's daughter, Margaret, came up with a brilliant idea. Our original support group didn't feel like a place we could vent our true frustrations because of the fact that doctors and scientists are members too. We understand that doctors don't have the time to filter out our messages of our fears and anxiety. So Margaret started a new group on yahoo where we can freely talk openly about what's in our heart and soul. Email her to join: mader at fuse dot net. Why didn't we do this sooner. Margaret, thank you! And of course, thank you to everyone in the group, especially to Richard Beverlin who founded our ACC support lifeline.