Back To the Doctor

I posted before about how out of place I felt as a woman in a urologist’s office…take a look at the educational material in the examining room and you’ll see what I mean…

Oh – and there was more: lots of posters on the walls with diagrams of the male anatomy in great detail (all sponsored by pharmaceutical companies selling solutions for erectile dysfunction). I think I know more now about the male body than I ever wanted to.

I posted my self-diagnosis a few days ago – it was half-right. They do want me have an MRI done again in six months to keep an eye on the cyst on my kidney.

However, I didn’t have a copy of the report from the urinalysis to include in my Internet research for my control-freakish self-diagnosis. One of the tests – the “FISH” test – showed some abnormal cells, so the doctor wanted to do a cystoscopy in the office this afternoon. A cystoscopy uses a flexible tube to examine the lining of the bladder – I can’t even begin to describe what THAT test was like!

After I got home (and soaked for a LONG time in a hot bath), I – of course – got on the Internet and looked up the FISH test (also known as the UroVysion test). Apparently, it’s an extremely sensitive test that screens for bladder cancer. The good news is that the cystoscopy looks good right now – the bad news is that I have to re-do the FISH test in two months and if it comes up positive again, I’ll have to have a more invasive test done.

I am not at high risk for this form of cancer – I’m not a smoker , I don’t work with dangerous chemicals and I’m under 40 (if only for a few more months) – so it’s probably nothing. I’m just going to put this on the back burner right now and re-examine it in a few months…stay tuned to see how it all turns out.