Downhill Run to 39

April 11th, 2021

The equipment at the Provision Cares Cancer Center in Nashville, TN continues to be problematic. They were down again last Monday. So far they have had to cancel my treatments on 7 different occasions. When I originally interviewed with them last December they said I would likely need between 5 and 8 weeks worth of sessions (5 days a week). A few days later, once I had agreed to enroll with them, I thought I might be done by the mid-March. Now it will be April 20th, if nothing else malfunctions between then and now. 31 down, 8 to go.

This company has been pretty nice to me, however, they do have one issue that I have asked them to look at and possibly improve upon. They schedule their 3 treatment rooms very heavily, with appointments 10 minutes apart for the room I am in. It makes sense for many reasons to do so, I get that. I don’t really know about the other 2 but based upon how many people come into the waiting area it is likely the same. For reasons I can only guess at we rarely are called at our scheduled time. Last Friday I was called in 50 minutes after my scheduled time. Typically it is 10-15 minutes, but also often has been longer.

The problem is that we have a protocol for filling our bladders to a certain level prior to treatment, and that the treatment itself causes frequent urges to urinate. So I sit there, having drunk the required amount of water 45 minutes prior to the appt. time, and needing to pee after one hour or so. So if I am called in on time or slightly after, little problem, my bladder will have the proper fill level. Longer and I sit there wondering whether to go pee or not, in fear that if I let out too much they won’t be able to treat me. So the problem is I do not know how far behind schedule they are, and whether to try and hold it, empty it and drink more, or what.

I have sometimes asked when I check in if they are behind schedule, but after several days of no long delays, on Friday I forgot to. So I have asked them think that maybe they could be proactive, to tell us when we check in how their day is going, and to update us if further delays are imminent. Seems simple enough.

Author: RJMS

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