Did you know that cancer patients still have to go to their internists for their routine check ups? It doesn’t matter how many other doctors we see about our cancer, we still need to go and have all that other normal type of stuff done. I know it doesn’t seem fair, we seem to spend most of our life at one doctor or another. We are constantly having blood tests, scans and all sort of other things done to us, but we still need to do the routine stuff that everyone else is supposed to have done.

When I do go and the doctor puts on the blood pressure cuff I am still worried about how high is my blood pressure. When I get the needle stick for the blood work I think about where my cholesterol reading is going to be. Of course, I have all of these questions I want to ask, but I forget them when I am in the doctor’s office.

Doesn’t this sound normal? Isn’t it great to just be like everyone else?

Oh by the way, I still have to tell the receptionist that my insurance coverage has not changed, but I do need another page or two on their intake form to bring my medical history up-to-date.

Joel T Nowak MA, MSW