I met with Dr. Michael Stumpf yesterday, for the first time. He is a general surgeon, specializing in breasts. He has been out of med school six years. Practiced the first three in Prescott - working with a surgeon who fell off a roof (lucky for Dr. Stumpf and unlucky for the surgeon on the roof) - which dropped him pretty quickly into a full practice. He practiced for a short time in Florida, and now here. I don't think he's been here long. First clue was that he could get me in quickly. His nurse likes him - that's a good sign. And he's performed a couple of hundred similar surgeries - so that's good. He has met Dr. Angelchik, but this will be the first time that they work together - that is neither good nor bad. But what do I know.
Unless Dr. Angelchik - whom I see on Monday - says otherwise, I've opted NOT for a lumpectomy but for a mastectomy. There are a couple of reasons for that, and I think they are valid. For one thing, the biopsy site in 2011 was in the lower part of the breast. That's what the radiologists have been following. However, the January 3rd biopsy - which is positive - is in the upper part. So if the lumpectomy takes care of the diseased tissue in the upper part, we'll still have to watch the lower - and trust me on this, the radiologists won't think they've done their jobs until they find more diseased tissue.
Another reason has to do with treatment protocol. A lumpectomy is followed by six or eight weeks of radiation, daily. And the radiation complicates subsequent reconstruction. So I'd like to avoid that.
What I would rather happen (well, what I would really rather happen is that I didn't have cancer) is that both surgeons cooperate during the same surgery, with Dr. Stumpf removing all the breast tissue and Dr. Angelchik beginning the reconstruction process. I assume that means that the existing implant will come out and be replaced with a different type of implant - but I'm just guessing. Some questions can probably be answered prior to surgery. But others will remain unanswered until more pathology tests.
I am hoping surgery can be done quickly. I've paid for the registration for KW's Family Reunion in mid-February and want to be able to attend. There are people to meet, places to go, houses to sell - so let's get on it.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Surgery
I had an interesting meeting with a general surgeon this morning. This is the surgeon who performed a mastectomy on my left breast (can I use that word in a blog?) in 2000. He worked in conjunction with a plastic surgeon who, in the same surgery, inserted an "expander" to create a cavity that would later receive an implant.
I'd thought we could do the same thing again, same hospital, same surgeons, different breast (there's that word again).
Not so much.
Neither of the surgeons have privileges at the hospital (Banner Thunderbird) where the first surgery took place. And neither have privileges at the same hospital anywhere. So much for their working together, at least simultaneously. They can collaborate - but for surgery purposes, it would be one surgery by one doctor at one hospital, and a later surgery by another at a different hospital. That just does not seem like good business to me.
It's okay. Things change.
So Plan B is this: appointment in two days with a general surgeon who does work with the same plastic surgeon, with hospital privileges at Arrowhead. Then the first of next week I'll meet with the plastic surgeon. Between the two doctors, I'm expecting a surgery strategy - and am hopeful (maybe stupidly optimistic of me) that it can be completed and my recovery far enough along to be able to attend Family Reunion February 16.
I'm grateful for choices and for early appointments and for time. Sometimes giving up control is difficult (hah! that control thing is always a challenge) - but we are so fortunate in this country: lots of great doctors, great hospitals, treatment plans, education available to make sound choices. And I'm grateful to have health insurance. More about that another time.
I'd thought we could do the same thing again, same hospital, same surgeons, different breast (there's that word again).
Not so much.
Neither of the surgeons have privileges at the hospital (Banner Thunderbird) where the first surgery took place. And neither have privileges at the same hospital anywhere. So much for their working together, at least simultaneously. They can collaborate - but for surgery purposes, it would be one surgery by one doctor at one hospital, and a later surgery by another at a different hospital. That just does not seem like good business to me.
It's okay. Things change.
So Plan B is this: appointment in two days with a general surgeon who does work with the same plastic surgeon, with hospital privileges at Arrowhead. Then the first of next week I'll meet with the plastic surgeon. Between the two doctors, I'm expecting a surgery strategy - and am hopeful (maybe stupidly optimistic of me) that it can be completed and my recovery far enough along to be able to attend Family Reunion February 16.
I'm grateful for choices and for early appointments and for time. Sometimes giving up control is difficult (hah! that control thing is always a challenge) - but we are so fortunate in this country: lots of great doctors, great hospitals, treatment plans, education available to make sound choices. And I'm grateful to have health insurance. More about that another time.
Cold but Productive
Even though Tuesday was supposed to be the coldest temperature on record here since 1988, it was a productive day. Sometimes when it's cold (and I'm not used to cold), it is easier to skip the morning walk, sleep in a little and avoid the outside world. Well, I DID skip the walk - but not the avoid the world part.
I quit talking about it and made an agreement with a great agent to do transaction coordination work for me. There's a lot of paperwork - on-line paperwork that is - in this business, and it's important to my broker that it be done both accurately and on time. A great transaction coordinator - and Jen Link is great at detail - will do that for me. So we've agreed to give it a try. At long last, that'll free up time to do more business generation.
My client accepted a good offer on her duplex on Raintree in Sun City. Inspection period begins today. Assuming all goes well during inspection and subsequent appraisal, she'll be able to proceed with her move to the Midwest. This is exciting stuff for her - and accepting the offer is just the next big step in her project timeline.
We got short sale approval on another listing in Sun City, with a closing date that gives my client plenty of time to complete the estate sale that she has planned. I love it when good things happen.
Two new leads came in - one through a colleague in Prescott, Gerald Semanski, who refers a client from Chicago. Looks like I'll help him search for a condo in Glendale or Peoria. The other lead came from an internet search: a couple from San Antonio looking for a retirement home in Sun City and they want to be moved in by April 30. Buyers are a blessing.
I'm serving on my office's Agent Leadership Council again this year. We had our first meeting of 2013 - some new agents are serving and our meeting format is a little different. Looks to be another group of top producers with good ideas and big hearts. It is a privilege to work with them.
Twenty-nine agents in my office have signed up for Family Reunion - February 16 in Dallas. I'm one of them. Family Reunion is Keller Williams all-agent conference held every year - a coming-together to meet with other agents, learn more real estate technology, be exposed to what top agents are doing to help their real estate clients be successful, learn what's going on in the business both in the nation and in Canada, and get jazzed up about what we do for a living, why we do it, and how to do it better. That's one long sentence.
And on a personal note - found a sale on ruffled scarf yarn at Michaels, had lunch with my friend and assistant, Denise Myrick, and went to choir practice. A productive day.
I quit talking about it and made an agreement with a great agent to do transaction coordination work for me. There's a lot of paperwork - on-line paperwork that is - in this business, and it's important to my broker that it be done both accurately and on time. A great transaction coordinator - and Jen Link is great at detail - will do that for me. So we've agreed to give it a try. At long last, that'll free up time to do more business generation.
My client accepted a good offer on her duplex on Raintree in Sun City. Inspection period begins today. Assuming all goes well during inspection and subsequent appraisal, she'll be able to proceed with her move to the Midwest. This is exciting stuff for her - and accepting the offer is just the next big step in her project timeline.
We got short sale approval on another listing in Sun City, with a closing date that gives my client plenty of time to complete the estate sale that she has planned. I love it when good things happen.
Two new leads came in - one through a colleague in Prescott, Gerald Semanski, who refers a client from Chicago. Looks like I'll help him search for a condo in Glendale or Peoria. The other lead came from an internet search: a couple from San Antonio looking for a retirement home in Sun City and they want to be moved in by April 30. Buyers are a blessing.
I'm serving on my office's Agent Leadership Council again this year. We had our first meeting of 2013 - some new agents are serving and our meeting format is a little different. Looks to be another group of top producers with good ideas and big hearts. It is a privilege to work with them.
Twenty-nine agents in my office have signed up for Family Reunion - February 16 in Dallas. I'm one of them. Family Reunion is Keller Williams all-agent conference held every year - a coming-together to meet with other agents, learn more real estate technology, be exposed to what top agents are doing to help their real estate clients be successful, learn what's going on in the business both in the nation and in Canada, and get jazzed up about what we do for a living, why we do it, and how to do it better. That's one long sentence.
And on a personal note - found a sale on ruffled scarf yarn at Michaels, had lunch with my friend and assistant, Denise Myrick, and went to choir practice. A productive day.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Looking for Listings
The challenge in this business is finding the business in the first place.
I am looking for people who want to sell - now. People who appreciate that there are not a lot of great houses on the market right now and that buyers WANT great houses and reasonable prices.
How am I doing? Most of my business comes either from people I've done business with or from people I know who recommend me. That's not my only source - but it represents the bulk of it. I stay in touch with past clients - hopefully, not so much in touch that they are sick to death of hearing from me.
I've obtained some new business simply by getting the word out to select subdivisions (in Glendale) that buyers are buying and having a hard time finding something worth buying. Those contacts have resulted in listings.
I'm trying something else - getting the word out to Glendale and Peoria homeowners who listed their homes a few months ago and, for whatever reason, cancelled their contracts. I'd like the opportunity to talk to them about how the market is changing and if (that may be a big IF or maybe not so big) they still want to make a selling decision, there may never be a better time.
Open House on a Cold Day
Sun City is filled with hardy souls - willing to check out an open house even when the temperatures are near freezing! We had lots of lookers Friday and a few less on Saturday - and the feedback was great. And it should be - it is a property that is warm, homey and well cared for - and it shows.
Property is a duplex (Gemini) near Boswell and 99th Av - 9913 W Raintree. This is an age 55+ community - and a particularly quiet, cul de saq street. The home has good natural lighting, lots of tile, a ton of storage space, and patios in front (north) and back (south). There are a couple of good fruit trees - an orange and a grapefruit - and built-ins in the living room and in the Arizona room. I like it. We are looking for a buyer who likes it too. Here are a couple of pictures -
Property is a duplex (Gemini) near Boswell and 99th Av - 9913 W Raintree. This is an age 55+ community - and a particularly quiet, cul de saq street. The home has good natural lighting, lots of tile, a ton of storage space, and patios in front (north) and back (south). There are a couple of good fruit trees - an orange and a grapefruit - and built-ins in the living room and in the Arizona room. I like it. We are looking for a buyer who likes it too. Here are a couple of pictures -
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Selling on a Cloudy Day
Arizona sunshine is hiding today. If you didn't know better, you'd think you were in the Midwest! Cloudy and not so pretty right now - but no snow either, so okay.
I've had real estate conversations today - and one new listing coming up in a couple of weeks. None of my buyers are looking today, except maybe on line. But then again, the day is young. Gray - but young.
Open house planned for Friday - unless the weather prediction is right and it is very very cold. If cold and sunny, okay. If cold and wet or gray, not so much. We'll see in the morning.
Bob - the escape artist - got out again. It appears he just walked right out the front door. He wears his phone number on his tag, so somebody called me and he's rescued. Again. This is getting to be a habit.
I've had real estate conversations today - and one new listing coming up in a couple of weeks. None of my buyers are looking today, except maybe on line. But then again, the day is young. Gray - but young.
Open house planned for Friday - unless the weather prediction is right and it is very very cold. If cold and sunny, okay. If cold and wet or gray, not so much. We'll see in the morning.
Bob - the escape artist - got out again. It appears he just walked right out the front door. He wears his phone number on his tag, so somebody called me and he's rescued. Again. This is getting to be a habit.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
It's Always Something
I love what I do for a living. I tell people that what I do is help people buy and sell real estate. I hope it's more than that - but hey, those words are descriptive. I am not much of a salesperson, and I'm okay with that. If somebody needs to be "sold" on a property, that's a decision they can come to by themselves and in consultation with friends and family. It's not my job. It's my job to help them have their eyes wide open about real property and make sound decisions - and I'm pretty good at that.
So, speaking of having eyes wide open, I got mine opened yesterday. On Monday the 3rd, I had a breast biopsy. The week before, I'd had mammogram and ultrasound - so I knew something was up. It's not the first biopsy - there was another about 18 months before. Long story just beginning, report is positive. Positive sounds so positive, doesn't it - but what it means is that I need to see a surgeon.
In 2000, I had a mastectomy of the left breast. Little bitty cancer - almost precancer - but it was near the chest wall and had to come out. Ductal carcinoma in situ - DCIS - meaning that the cancer was contained in a duct. If you have to have cancer, that's the kind to get. Mastectomy was successful and so was breast reconstruction. No chemo. No radiation. A couple of visits with an oncologist, many visits with the plastic surgeon, and follow-up mammograms on a regular basis. I've been blessed with health. I had a friend going through much more serious surgery at the time, and I didn't say much about mine - was so grateful it went so well. I've spoken about it pretty much on an "as need to know" basis - meaning that if I knew someone was about to go down the same road, then I'd share my experience, hopefully in an encouraging way.
My first prayer request after getting the phone call yesterday was that I could get an early appointment with a surgeon. And that prayer has been answered. I have an appointment with Dr. Ames Yee for next Wednesday afternoon. Dr. Yee is the general surgeon who performed the left breast mastectomy. I'll know more next week. What I don't know now is whether surgery can be scheduled right away, or whether more tests are needed, nor do I know how to think about reconstruction.
For now, all I know is that this time around the cancer is both DCIS as well as "infiltrating ductal carcinoma, grade 2 of 3".
Between now and this time next week, I need to get some real estate business done! I showed three properties in the last two days, to three different clients. The housing inventory is still down - so I suspect none of these prospective buyers will need to look for long before they get serious and make their offers.
So, speaking of having eyes wide open, I got mine opened yesterday. On Monday the 3rd, I had a breast biopsy. The week before, I'd had mammogram and ultrasound - so I knew something was up. It's not the first biopsy - there was another about 18 months before. Long story just beginning, report is positive. Positive sounds so positive, doesn't it - but what it means is that I need to see a surgeon.
In 2000, I had a mastectomy of the left breast. Little bitty cancer - almost precancer - but it was near the chest wall and had to come out. Ductal carcinoma in situ - DCIS - meaning that the cancer was contained in a duct. If you have to have cancer, that's the kind to get. Mastectomy was successful and so was breast reconstruction. No chemo. No radiation. A couple of visits with an oncologist, many visits with the plastic surgeon, and follow-up mammograms on a regular basis. I've been blessed with health. I had a friend going through much more serious surgery at the time, and I didn't say much about mine - was so grateful it went so well. I've spoken about it pretty much on an "as need to know" basis - meaning that if I knew someone was about to go down the same road, then I'd share my experience, hopefully in an encouraging way.
My first prayer request after getting the phone call yesterday was that I could get an early appointment with a surgeon. And that prayer has been answered. I have an appointment with Dr. Ames Yee for next Wednesday afternoon. Dr. Yee is the general surgeon who performed the left breast mastectomy. I'll know more next week. What I don't know now is whether surgery can be scheduled right away, or whether more tests are needed, nor do I know how to think about reconstruction.
For now, all I know is that this time around the cancer is both DCIS as well as "infiltrating ductal carcinoma, grade 2 of 3".
Between now and this time next week, I need to get some real estate business done! I showed three properties in the last two days, to three different clients. The housing inventory is still down - so I suspect none of these prospective buyers will need to look for long before they get serious and make their offers.
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