Noun: appointment; plural noun: appointments

 

An arrangement to meet someone at a particular time and place.

 

From the moment you suspect there might be something up, maybe finding a lump or noticing some changes in your body, you should expect to attend an appointment of some description at least once every 7.5 minutes.  And this will continue for at least 100 years after you have had the all clear.  These won’t just be your standard hospital appointments.  You will of course have to see your surgeon and/or oncologist on a frequent and regular basis.  Then there will be blood tests, pre-chemo appointments, actual chemo appointments, appointments to make sure your heart won’t give out during chemo, biopsies, scans, visits to the dentist to make sure your oral hygiene is up to scratch, pre-surgery, post-surgery, physiotherapy, pre-radiotherapy, radiotherapy, post radiotherapy.  It’s endless.  I recommend you hire a secretary to ensure you know if you are coming or going.  As you descend into a chemo haze, keeping up with all your appointments will become a marathon task.

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Keep your fingers crossed that your medical centre or hospital isn’t too much of a distance from your home.  If it is, consider learning a foreign language in your car, or downloading and listening to the complete works of Shakespere on your journeys.  You may as well broaden your horizons whilst traveling down the A12.  Again.

However, you will see your new ‘family’ of medical professionals who are looking after you so often, you will come to think of them as friends.  And you get loads of free coffee.  It’s not all bad.