My primary care provider determined that a growth in the left nostril of my nose needed to be reviewed (and removed) by the PVAMC Dermatology Department. Initially scheduling set up an appointment for another examination but informed me that nothing other than an exam would take place on that date and if they found a type of cancer they would then schedule me for surgery at a later date.
With this in mind, that surgery would take place over a month later, I said that I would really appreciate an earlier exam date. As such, I was rescheduled for the initial exam at 10:30 AM.
After this new scheduling, my father-in-law (a 96-year-old WWII Navy Veteran) passed away. His Memorial Service was scheduled in Vancouver, Washington and as a result, I arrived at the Portland VA hospital at 06:30 AM in the hope that they could fit me in early for the exam so that I could attend my father-in-law's Memorial Service instead of canceling my appointment and have to reschedule it.
I explained my situation to a couple of other Veterans who said, "go ahead" and thus I contacted one nurse who listened to my request and said she would check with the Doctor and get right back to me but did not respond for over 20 minutes. On the advice of one of the other Veterans, I contacted another nurse (Brenda Mason) and explained my situation. She said that she would have to talk to her assigned DR and then responded in less than 10 minutes saying "Yes since it is only an exam will see you now." She then led me to an exam room in Area A to meet with the Doctor that she worked with.
The nose issue was determined to be something that they could not risk removing and thus they said that I would be referred to another department. However, they found four locations on my face that contained Basal Cell Carcinomas. They froze 3 with Nitrogen and took a biopsy of the 4th location which was on my forehead. They then scheduled me for a further exam to see if I had other locations elsewhere in my body with similar growths.
I felt that the professionalism and empathy of Brenda Mason needed to be appropriately thanked and as I such I feel she is a true DAISY Nurse. (I saw the form on my way out of Area A) And if the Doctors could also be thanked in a similar manner I would recommend that Nicole Marie Fett, MD also be given some positive recognition. They were both pros and we as veterans often forget to give credit to those who go out of their way when they treat us.