A brilliant man and 100 questions

Wednesday quickly arrived-and I will admit that I was scared. My chest was full of butterflies. I decided to take my Mother and Mike to the appointment with me for support and to be sure that I didn't miss any crucial information. And off we went once again to the CBR hospital-- this place seemed to be becoming my 'second home.'

We were first met by a nurse in the cancer unit who asked a number of preliminary questions (the same questions I had been asked by every other doctor and nurse I had seen): allergies, medical conditions, how I found the lump, the details of my diagnosis ... etc. etc. She measured and weighed me and took my blood pressure and my temperature. She then asked me to remove my shirt (again, something I was getting used to) and gave me a jonny shirt to wear. She said that the doctor wasn't in his office, but would be with us shortly. Off she went.

We waited. And waited. And waited. After about an hour, we heard a nurse page Dr. MacCormick on the intercom. We waited again. Finally, about an hour and a half later, he arrived, apologizing for his tardiness and explaining that he was stuck upstairs with a patient.
I was surprised by his appearance-- I'm not quite sure what a nationally recognized oncologist should look like, but he is not what I pictured when people spoke of him.He looked rather young (maybe early 40s) and fit. He struck me as just your 'average joe'-- like someone you may run into at the grocery store and have a quick chat to. He wore very laid-back attire-- rather sporty, with no shirt or tie. I liked it! He was also very friendly and outgoing, which put my fears at ease.

He grabbed my file, but before opening it he looked at me and said: "Melanie, first of all, why don't you tell me how you got here ... What brought you to this point? How did it all unfold?" This is good ... he is seeing me as a person first, rather than as a patient with a medical record. I confidently told him the whole story, beginning from when I found the lump in Korea and ending with the most recent operation I had undergone. He wrote furiously as I spoke, asking intermittent questions and seeming quite interested. When I finished my story he asked me 100 questions-- many of which seemed completely unrelated to cancer, but I'm sure there was a purpose: Did you go to university? What did you study? (He even asked about my instrument when I told him I studied music) What do you do in your spare time? Where were you born? Have you ever lived anywhere else? How long have you been dating Michael? Smoke? Drink? Are you active? Is there a history of any cancers in your family? What are all of your grandparents last names? (The amazing thing here is that he was able to tell us, off the top of his head, what cancers were prevalent in people with the last names we listed!)
...He asked questions about every aspect of my life. He also wrote bits and pieces of everything I said down-- I even noticed him writing where I went to university and what I studied!

I later realized that this man is a not only extremely intelligent, but he is a very thorough doctor. He wanted to know every angle and aspect of my life so that he could not only know possible risk factors for my cancer, but so he could add to the wealth of knowledge and research he had already acquired. He wanted the complete story, the big picture. This would also help him to decide the most approprate treatment plan for me.