Wow Team James, do we have a lot to catch up on or what? My only excuses are that the past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of activity for me and I have been having problems posting pictures on the blog and I can't figure out why. My last blog was written from Saskatoon in the middle of the night while I was unable to sleep - tonight's blog is coming from Sleepless in Cambridge. I have been up since 2am and finally gave up and decided to tackle a two week update. I am going to apologize right up front because I have been feeling relatively fantastic today, but I have been DUMB AS A STUMP and that could translate into some pretty sloppy grammar. I shouldn't even be having conversations, let alone trying to type.
While is Saskatoon last time, my sister and niece and grand-niece came for a very nice visit on the weekend. It was my first time meeting Lexi and man, do I love a baby snuggle. She is quite adorable I must say, and such a happy baby...I have some beautiful pics and will add them later.
Chantelle picked me up and took me to RUH for my bloodwork and update with my oncologist. I expected no surprises as I was in between CT scans and after speaking to Dr. Sami the time before, he seemed happy with my "stability" as he called it. Dr. Osama however had different ideas - he said that any growth is bad growth and we need to consider moving me to the next stage of treatment. I was pretty upset at first because this was very different than what Dr. Sami had presented last we spoke and I have been steadfast in my dedication to staying on each treatment as long as possible to stay alive as long as possible, side effects be damned. Let's just say that he could have taken a softer approach than he did - but once he realized how upset I was, he explained the reasons why he was bringing this up. He had/has plans to do some genetic testing on my original surgical biopsy to see if my type of canser is susceptible to a new chemotherapy on the market. If it is, then he will attempt to get drug coverage for me and that will take several weeks. He is also worried about the long-term effects that Oxaliplatin will have on my body, and thinks a switch for my current cocktail, FOLFOX to FOLFIRI is the best choice. So needless to say, that definitely gave me something to chew on. Then at the end of chemo, I got my nurse to get me a copy of my most recent blood work with regard to my tumor markers and they had gone up by almost double. Scared the proverbial cr*p out if me. More on this later... The other thing that happened was that in response to my complaint of raw throat, my oncologist suggested drinking club soda and said that they suggest it to all patients. Well, that's one little nugget they neglected to mention....27 treatments ago! Seriously? First time I have ever heard about it. Super. And it works like a hot-damn too.
Monday night Chantelle and I took some food and gifts over to Mar's house for her birthday. Unfortunately we had to miss her party this year because I had to leave for Cambridge and Chantelle was following me to spend the next weekend with me and Tim before she flew off to meetings in NYC. I can't even tell you how much fun we had - the kids have changed so much in the past few months and we had a hoot - their little personalities are so impressive.
Chemo was once again, a decent experience only because so many of my friends popped by. Chantelle drove me, then Kristie and her new little bundle, Lincoln showed up and finally Parchy came by. It was my first time meeting Lincoln and we had a tonne of fun with him. I would love to show you some pics, but as noted above - I can't get them to save. Thanks you my peeps for making chemo bearable once again. I had another hystamine reaction to the Avastin and was forced take another shot of Benadryl. I tell you, if you ever want to see Barbie-Cakes stoned like a 70's Cheech and Chong movie extra, come on down to RUH - it is worth a laugh or two.
I headed back to Saskatoon first thing on Wednesday morning so I could get back in time for Tim to remove my pump on Thursday and clean the house for Chantelle's imminent arrival. Which leads me to our shopping weekend. Wowsers, di we do some damage. Spent all day Saturday and Sunday shopping and I felt really good - which is weird for me the weekend after chemo. In fact, we even had an appointment with the new David's Bridal in Cambridge on Sunday afternoon and I finally BOUGHT MY WEDDING DRESS!!!!! Yay! Wedding plans are in full swing now - but as an update, we have decided to forego the destination wedding due to the fact that some very dear friends and family wouldn't be able to make it on such short notice. More info to follow as we figure out what we will do. I drove Chant to the airport on Monday morning and promptly came home for a three hour nap, and to be honest spent a good portion of the week sleeping. BUT by the end of the week I decided I better get my butt back in shape and have been doing a combination of cardio, yoga and weight training ever since. I've found that on days I work out, I am much less likely to require a nap and just feel better overall.
I had another chemo update with my docs here in Cambridge on Monday and they are in agreement (based on the information I provided b/c they haven't been receiving updates from Saskatoon - ahem - one more indication of how important it is to be your own best advocate when it comes to your health) that is probably best for me to move onto the next treatment plan - but there was no time to do it this week and they have to wait for my primary oncologist in Saskatoon to make the order. There will also be some work on my end in getting the canser pharmacist's on the same page at each hospital, getting a dialogue going between Dr. Sami and Dr. Chouinard. Sigh. One other thing - I am still waiting to be contacted by the Radiation Oncologist from the Saskatoon Canser Centre - not sure how long that typically takes, but I have been waiting over a month. I guess I will be calling them tomorrow to light a fire under someone's ass.
My next bit of happy news is that Tim and I have FINALLY booked a winter getaway - to Sandals in Jamaica - we are set to leave on my birthday, March 17th and return March 24th. My plan includes a whole lot of this:
Now, after spending several hours on the phone trying to get an understanding of my medical coverage while out of the country, it seems that the only thing that could cause a problem is the fact that my platelets are slowly depleting after every treatment. It would appear that once they reach 75 (and last treatment I was at 77, 83 the treatment before) the docs will postpone my treatment by a week to let my body catch up and rejuvenate them on my own. Now if THAT happens in two weeks in Saskatoon, I will SNAP! Both because it costs about $1000 to get there and back and it will be a huge waste of money if I don't get a treatment and because it could completely wreck our plans for Jamaica. No stress over here folks. Apparently, they won't give me a platelet transfusion until I dip to 25 - so this is something I need to discuss with Dr. Sami ASAP so we can minimize the risk.
We have also planned a weekend getaway to a golf resort in Northern Ontario during the long weekend in May. It was a Group-on purchase - AMAZING sale price - like 85% savings, but when I purchased it I neglected to read the fine print and it turns out we have to "attend a 90 minute seminar and tour of the property". Oopsies - Sorry Tim. Looks like we will have to plan that around a round of golf.
So, that's pretty much the update for now - I am looking forward to a quiet SuperBowl weekend with Tim. Hope all is well with all of you - and thanks Sarah for the very sweet note - totally made my day.Happy Birthday Kelly Morrison - I love ya' Kelly-Kelly. And loads of luck and love to Lance and Marlys today - he is having hip surgery in Regina.
Hugs to all...
BJ
