Members of Team James,
Wow, I guess it’s been awhile since I sent out an update. It has been a
very, very busy few weeks and I am at a bit of a loss as to where to start. Hmm,
at the beginning I guess....
The holiday season was lovely, surprisingly lovely considering the
circumstances. I wasn’t yet up for travelling so I stayed in Saskatoon, spending
most of Christmas with Chantelle and her family. As always, it was a pleasure to
be included in the Morrison/Reiber/Shields Christmas celebration. Tim came to
town on Boxing Day and stayed until New Year’s day – we had a fantastic week,
topped off by a lovely New Year’s Eve with Chantelle, Kelly, Lance and Marlys.
Every day found my voice mail and cell phone full of merry wishes and positive
vibes. Every mail delivery day found my mailbox overflowing with letters,
cards, gifts, monkeys (that’s right, I said monkeys!), hats and gift
certificates. I have no words to express my appreciation. You guys ROCK! I did
manage to get about 80% of my Christmas cards sent, thanks to my Dad and our own
little assembly line. The 20% of you who have yet to receive your Christmas
Cards can expect some lovely holiday-themed “Congratulations it’s January and
Not 150 Degrees Below Zero Outside!” cards very soon....
I also started taking the Low Dose Naltrexone on New Year’s night (A HUGE
Thank-You to Michelle and Tim for ALL your work on this for me) – I thought it
was a great and very symbolic day to start what I am affectionately referring to
as “my progression to remission”. It took some problem solving to get a script
for this medication in Saskatchewan – I actually had to do a Skype consultation
with a doctor from New York and have my family doc sign off on it. The
dispensing pharmacist was incredibly positive about LDN and it’s potential to
treat a variety of different diseases, including canser. (Purposely misspelled –
just my own little bit of rebellion – not giving it anymore respect than it
deserves.)
The past week has been spent going to many medical appointments, a two-day
visit from my sister and niece and some spa pampering. I finished my last IV
Vitamin C infusion this past week, visited my chiropractor for some help with
some relentless and very nasty residual back pain, and had an informative and
very positive appointment with my surgeon. First of all, he gave me the green
light to drive again, so I am no longer trapped in my house! Wahoo – FREEDOM!
He also instructed me to get back to the gym and enjoy the occasional glass of
wine, should I so choose. Funny, I was under the impression that since he cut
out a good portion of my liver, that avoiding alcohol was a bit of a necessity –
but turns out I was wrong. Hmm, who knew? THAT would have been a handy little
nugget of knowledge on New Year’s Eve, drinking Raspberry Cider while coveting
the champagne that made it’s way around the Cory dinner table. Ah well, there’s
always next year!
This week has been challenging aside from me and my health. My family lost
one of it’s most beloved and revered members on Thursday evening, my Auntie
Leona. She was an amazing woman, who left an incredible legacy in the form of a
very large and loving family. I am incredibly grateful that my chemo schedule
will allow me to attend the celebration of her life tomorrow.
Which brings me to....CHEMOTHERAPY week. Yikes. I would be lying if I said
that I’m not a little anxious about this whole process, but luckily I have had
some incredible advice and support from some of my gals (Nancy, Barb, Diane,
Heather and Anne) who have and are kicking canser’s proverbial posterior. And
let me just say that I couldn’t find a group of stronger broads with whom to
align myself on this journey. SO, Monday morning Dad and I will head up to
Prince Albert to attend the funeral – getting back to the city by 2:30 to pick
up Tim from the airport. Monday night is date night, so if you need me you
could find us fattening me up at the Granary and watching a mindless movie @
Galaxy. So good and so normal.
Tuesday morning will be filled with an early morning chiropractor
appointment, a physiotherapy appointment and a long leisurely afternoon at the
canser clinic with Tim and Kristie, being infused with a chemo cocktail
designed to nuke the little trouble-makers who seem to enjoy squatting and
reproducing in my liver. Being my first treatment, I will get a private room –
which is lucky b/c I’ve noticed that one of the side effects of my canser is a
complete and utter lack of interest in filtering my language. It would seem
that I swear like a trucker these days and wouldn’t want to offend my new peeps
on the first day. Hmmm, not very lady-like, but I don’t really give a damn.
Unfortunately Chantelle is away at meetings the day of my treatment, so she is
planning to participate via electronic chat (not easy for a self-proclaimed
control freak) and I am planning on taking my camera to record the day’s
festivities for posterity. Although my chemo plan is pretty aggressive and I am
confident it will be effective, side effects are very much an unknown at this
point. The research I have done indicates that comparatively speaking, my
cocktail is a relatively mild program with respect to side effects, but everyone
reacts differently and all I can do is hope that any side effects that do
present themselves are manageable.
So, here we go with Phase II of my mission. Thank you all for your
continued interest and support – everyone of you has at one point or another
given me another reason the beat this thing.
Bring it ON!
Barb
