First Appointment with the Lung Specialist

The earliest appointment I was able to get was for Tuesday March 17. In between, I went to Pasta & Basta, where the waitresses sing (well, but annoyingly) every 5 minutes while you are eating. I also had a visit from my friend in Nijmegen. We went to the Burger Bar and then to OT301 for a 50s/60s horror movie/sci-fi schlock surf rock concert put on by Messer Chups. On Sunday, there was the monthly storytelling show in Dutch called 'Echt Gebeurd' at the Toomler, which features writers, artists, comedians, and other public figures telling true stories without notes.

I was also too busy at work to think much about the lump. It didn't seem to be growing and I still had no symptoms. I showed it to a few people at work, mostly because I felt I should explain why I was going to be out of the office yet again for a medical consultation. It was March 17 before I knew it.

The appointment was brief. My doctor was an older man, who could speak English, but seemed far more comfortable speaking in Dutch. He showed me the x-rays and then ordered a CT scan and some blood tests. I went to get the blood tests immediately after the appointment, in what seemed like a fairly efficient process. My CT scan was scheduled already for the following day. The doctor didn't seem particularly rushed to get it, but I wanted it done with as soon as possible. While I couldn't detect whether the lump was growing, I was starting to feel twinges in the lump once in a while and a burning/itching sensation there in the evenings, that made it sometimes difficult to sleep right away. I told him this, but didn't press the point, maybe because I didn't want to believe myself that things were getting worse so fast.