Would You Drive Two Hours for Confirmation?

August 28th, 2006

I figured out that the sores in my mouth and throat were from mucositis. That's a relatively common condition for chemo patients. What happens is that cells in the gastro-intestinal tract (that includes the mouth) reproduce quickly. Chemo targets all rapidly-dividing cells in the body. If it kills of the cells that line the GI tract, ulcerations can occur. And they hurt. 

I called UCSF first thing in the morning to see if I could get a prescription to help with this. They wanted me to see an nurse practitioner to confirm the diagnosis. So, reluctantly I drove to San Francisco today just so an N.P. could tell me, yep, that's what it looked like. She said it appeared that I had suffered through the worst of it on my own and gave me a prescription for "magic mouthwash", as they call it.

Of course, I didn't bother to fill the prescription. I figured, if I already suffered through the worst last week, then what's the point? All in all, a wasted day for me.

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