"But Now I See"

Always learning.

The follow up schedule from the folks at MCV indicates that I need to get an eye exam once a year. No kidding. I thought it was just them being helpful to remind me to do something that I should do once a year anyway. My last eye exam was December 2008, two months after I was diagnosed. As in the past, I scheduled eye exams on an "on demand" basis. If I felt my prescription had changed, then I would go get a eye exam.

The MCV schedule indicated that I was due to have an eye exam last July. I didn't. I didn't bother as I wasn't having any vision problems. Interestingly enough, when I had the eye exam in December 2008, the doctor noted that when he looked at my retina, there was a blood vessel abnormality in my eye that could indicate cancer was present in my body. When he read my information sheet, he breathed a sigh of relief, looked at me with a smile and said, "You've made my day. I thought I was going to have to share some bad news with you and refer you to an oncologist. Now that I see you are undergoing treatment for cancer, I can tell you what I saw in your retina without ruining your day."

Today, I went for an eye exam. Not entirely because I decided to follow the MCV calendar, but rather because I have been noticing that my vision has changed again. Pretty significantly. I also didn't want my doctor to think that I wasn't following the rules. If I go in to the next appt. in a couple of weeks with new glasses, she'll know I had an eye exam. Not that my current prescription isn't sufficient, but I noticed that when I would move my glasses about 4 inches away from my face while watching TV, it was like the difference between regular and HD TV.

When the doctor examined me today, he said, "Your vision has changed dramatically since your last appointment. The treatment you have been through can change the anatomy of your eye." (My eyes have not changed in shape and are not in any danger of falling out of their sockets.) "The difference between then and now is 'normal' by cancer treatment standards. Now that you are in remission and not receiving any additional treatments, your vision may not change for another ten years."

So that's why they wanted me to get regular eye exams. I get it now.

Postscript to CT scan conversation. I did call the doctor's office today and verify that they had received the reports from the CT scan. I didn't ask any more details. Here's how it would work if they did see something abnormal in that scan. The doctor would have immediately ordered a PET scan. She hasn't ordered one.


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