Radiation finished today............

THANK YOU UNIVERSE.

OVER AND OUT....

It's me.....

I got the results of my surgery today.... and all is good.

no lymph node  involvement, which means the cancer did not spread 

Every bit was removed by the surgery, and it was a very tiny bit! Chemo did its job and shrunk the mass to nearly nothing.

Still need some radiation, to make sure this does not come back in any form, but should be 4 weeks max.

Things to be grateful for on this Thanksgiving weekend.

M

Sept 14/17


Good Morning....

Surgery is over, it went well, and I have no pain or discomfort. 
Glad we have reached that part of the journey, now just have to wait for the stitches to heal... see the Dr. at the end of the month to see what is needed for radiation...

M 

August 19......

10 days since my final chemo treatment.....so thankful to have that behind me. However we were getting pretty good at getting to the CHUS in 40 mins:)

There have been a few side effects from the chemo, but I think they will disappear over the next few weeks. The nails on my fingers and toes look as if I have had a really bad French Manicure, and I have to treat them gently. The nail beds are not as sore as they were 10 days ago. I am back to walking every day, but have not hit the 3 mile mark yet....some days my legs feel wobbly... other days are fine...

Surgery is set for Sept 12...... 

" And that's all she wrote"
M

July 26,2017

I can't believe that date that I just wrote, it has been a whirlwind 
around here.

It was Lesley's wedding weekend on the 23rd, and there was the grandest collection of children, nieces and nephews and wives and cousins, and children that ever there was......... and now it is all over and we miss them. So many friends and family that have not see each other for years....... technology like email and face time is good, but nothing beats a real honest to goodness, old fashioned HUG.

I have had more treatments and continue to do well, I even gained almost 3 pounds. I told you more ice cream and less walking would work.

The end of chemo is getting close, 2 more appointments, then some time off for good behaviour, and surgery set up for the 12th of September.

See you next week
M.

July 12/17

I totaly lost, deleted or did something to my last post re no wine ete.... I don't remember how I phrased it so trying again.. :(


No wine, no chocolate, no sugar.... not because they are forbidden while I am taking chemo, but because they taste HORRIBLE... I have to gag to get some of the food down..

I have read that it takes about 10 days for the taste buds to regenerate their sensitivity , and my last treatment should be August 9th.... so on the 19th will have a hangover, breakout in pimples, and gain 10 pounds. 

July 9/17


Falling behind with posting, but all is well, nothing new to report:)

only 5 more treatments left....... looking forward to August 9th.


M

June 30.......



6 Taxol down... and 6 to go...... 

Treatment continues to go well.... the only exception is that food tastes TERRIBLE..... and I have to force stuff into me...

Therefore I am losing too much weight the Dr. said.... so my only solution is to Eat More Ice Cream.... Exercise Less...

It is my new Mantra...

Could be a title for a best seller..... nutritionists may not agree.....

.......................................

Taxol    5/12  ✔

Treatment was later this am.... so still feeling the effects of the Benadryl......

Actually nothing much to report....   All is well:))


M


I am loosing too much weight:(  have to cut down my walking and eat more ice cream....

hmmmmmmm 

June 14.   

Treatment #4.  Treatment room 2.    


 A month all ready!


The sun is shining brightly through the window, feels great. 


Very quite in here compared to last week, nurse says there are only 50 patients scheduled for this room today,

 All setup and running.....I trust the rest of this session will be uneventful. 
Benadryl is already starting to work....  feeling slightly drowsy.  I think they are running fluids faster than usual. It feels like having one drink too many and too fast.  
Zzzzzzzzz


I so desperately want to take to take a picture, and should not...... Hmmmm where there a will there's a way



This caught my eye as  I looked over at the next chair, the woman is sleeping and I did not want to take her photo. 

To paraphrase a song......  Any place I hang my wig is home.

I am home now... taking a nap soon. Very groggy but

VERY GREATFUL, things are going well.

M

June 10




The White Roses Are In Bloom......

I keep forgetting that I don't have any hair to wear them in....

 Notes from the treatment room.........   June 7      3of 12

The staff are so kind and welcoming, even the trainees. They exude confidence and thus instills it in their patients.  I am in a private room with a bed. 

However treatment allocations are bases on whatever is open at the time. All the IV  spots are comfortable recliners, and there is a comfortable chair for the accompanier.

The nurse has checked  my blood pressure, oxygen levels, heart rate and temperature all at the same time. That beats the old way of doing everything with several different tools, and takes up less time. 

First on the list is to disinfect the area of the chest where the power a cath is, then I feel prick, and the IV is inserted✅ Both the nurse and I have to wear a mask while this part  is being done.

Then I swallow a  white pill of ward of any  nausea ✅
Then a big bag of Benadryl  IV ✅

Benadryl makes me feel a bit dizzy and  my words feel thick..

Stu has gone to find me water,  I did not bring any this time I thought I would not have to be unplugged from the wall to get the bathroom as many times as last. 

Another bag of stuff going through, this is more stuff to keep away the nausea. Decadron to be exact ✅

There is beeping going on all around me....each one is a indication that something needs to be stopped, or a bag of fluid needs to be changed. 
I think the Benadryl is affecting my ears as well...Stu is talking to me but saying the strangest things😀


hmmm. Getting sleepy. 

 My IV poll is having a conversation with another one nearby. I think it is time to stop the Decadron. 

I was right, another anti nausea med is now running ✅,,,   is a lot in one day, but so worth not being sick to my stomach. A woman has just arrived, she needs to be on a bed  for her treatment. I  offered to move, a Lazy Boy type chair works well for me. 

It is a busy place, 31 treatment places 

This is my third of 12 weekly treatments, I see many familiar faces..some with IVs running in their arm, others through the in dwelling catheter is with us all the time. 

Many women have lots of hair, this may be their first treatment, or they are wearing a wig....I am letting my little bald, ( well actually peach fuzz) head be au natural. 

Benadryl makes my legs feel restless...


I am beeping again....

Everyone is speaking French, however they do their best to talk to me in English. 

The nurse is gowned and the purple gloves are on....time for the TAXOL,  it seems one of the nurses did not sign off on the Decadron so she has to go and it verified for the chart.

And we are back. 

Taxol just started, it runs for an hour and 15 mins ✅

Apparently I fell asleep.....sure hope I was not sounding off my best snores😀

Bathroom stop....got mysel unplugged from the wall without any major disasters. And IV runs for another 7 minutes, then rinse, remove all the tubes and head for home. 

Thank you for flying chemo express with me.

I should have left all the typos and mistakes in...... don't type, and take Benadryl at home.... stay safe....
M

June 2......

2 out of 12 down....... 10 to go....

Nothing major to report, except FOOD TASTES TERRIBLE

YUCK.

First treatment  of Taxol yesterday..... 1st of 12 weeks....

Total IV time 2 hours, the first hour is two meds for nausea plus Benadryl in case of an allergic reaction....

All went well, with the exception of having to wait an hour before my scheduled start time, and someone had an allergic reaction :(

I feel great this morning, and just getting set to take Mr. Dog out for his morning walk.


M

THERE ARE DAYS THAT I GET ANNOYED FOR NO REASON.......



My dear husband has surprised me with a Fitbit exercise tracker..I was using another brand for several months but unfortunately its strap broke, and  I gave up wearing it. When setting up the new device I had to enter my height, weight, and date of birth.....

I like to have a calculation of how far I have walked over the course of the day.My Iphone does a great job, but I have to make sure I have it with me all the time, and that it is charged.

Yesterday was my first walk with the new tracker, I did one of my usual walks with the dog near our house, down the road and into the woods, which has always shown up as 1/2 mile on my phone. I was  very surprised when I found that the new device was showing more than double the steps I would usually register, and about the same distance. I made a few more tests, and again it showed far too many steps.... so I delved deep into the settings, and discovered that it had arbitrarily entered my stride as 10.01 inches...THAT WOULD BE NO MORE THAN A SHUFFLE.....  Did the computer decide that because I was a 5 feet 4 ( seems that I have shrunk over the years) and a month short of 75 that I was a little OLD lady, out with a cane?

One more thing..... it measures heart rate, quite accurately..... so when it came back with a message for me that said...my resting heart rate of 70-74 was "excellent for a woman of my age" I could not help be feel it was being condescending.


Other than that... all is well... I have completed the first lot of chemo, and will start another session next week, for 12 weeks. I will let you know how it goes.....

Maureen

Tuesday, May 2,  2017

Chemo Day..... and the last one of this particular cocktail... and I feel a post coming on.

They give me  many anti nausea meds (steroids) before I start my treatment, wait 1/2 hour... then more steroids mixed into the IV's that are administered with the "chemo" through a catheter that has been implanted into my chest.

All this make me a Chatty Cathy for sure...I notice I speak faster, louder, and am not beyond telling the same story more than once...

But I have energy...... I walked for 20 mins this afternoon after my treatment...

Kevin said he would make supper, and was planing on using the leftovers from chicken baked with 40 cloves of garlic.( so good, you must look up the recipe). While I was out he took any remaining chicken off the bones,put it in a cast iron pot at the back of the stove, and had a good 3 cups to work with. When he was in the basement cold room, looking for potatoes,  Chance thought the chicken was for him, and gobbled it down! He is a tall dog when he stands on his hind legs, reaching the back of the stove is not a problem.
 We had to find a plan B for supper. When in doubt there is always a great meat sauce, and pasta.

Back to the chicken carcass .... I feed the Ravens, and there are many around... really BIG guys...it is a super way to clean out the 
fridge...
So I gathered up the carcass, some stale bread, some sliced ham that should have been eaten a few days ago, and offered up a feast.

 I place the food  on a high platform that the dog can not reach and call the Ravens. It is probably just as well that I can't add a sound file here but, they do hear me, and usually show up in about 5 minutes.. There is alway a sentinel or two around, to sound the alert should anything interesting happen... like food or danger.

Two or three calls is usually enough, but today the steroids kicked in and I probably called them 10 times.... it is a harsh call and there I was, in the middle of the back yard,with my bald head and cawing...loudly.. I am sure the neighbours wondered what the Hell was going on this time!

P.S    Chemo is doing the job, the lump is much much smaller, and all is going well......

M

It has been such a great two weeks, Kevin is here for a bit, and has waved his magic wand and almost instantly done all the yard work..... repaired a lot of garden fence posts.... plus he is a terrific cook and dish washer!
I have had so much energy that unless I see myself in the mirror ( with my little bald head),I forget that I have breast cancer.  ( It was difficult to write that last part of the sentence)

Monday I see the good Dr. again and barring any reason not to... Tuesday will be the last chemo session of this particular cocktail.... 

I will keep you posted......
M

Rain, Rain, Rain........go away, I have stuff
to do............

April 18

I has been a long time since I believed in the Easter Bunny, but he/she/they came over the weekend, brought food, cooked, and we had a great family weekend....
Thank you Rabbit.
M

And one more... for today....


Yesterday I had to stop at the pharmacy to pick up some meds for this round of injections...... on the way back from the pharmacy counter I passed through the ailse that sold hair accessories, there were some nice looking combs that caught my eye, I stopped. THEN remembered I HAVE NO HAIR..

I forgot to add.....

I told him that I had given up my wine with supper.... Why??? he said... well I though probably I should....  Drink up he said...the next round of chemo, Taxol, will probably make it taste like hell..

Hmmmm, nothing since April 1st....

Well no news is good news...

I saw the oncologist on the 10th..all is well.. The lump which started out at 7cm has shrunk, or melted as the Dr. said to  4.4cm, which is fantastic news.... and only after 2 treatments.

 I have lots of good energy after I get over "chemo week", and when the weather is good I frequently walk 3 miles a day, (yes miles  not kilometers) not all in one session but over the course of the day.

The doctor is great, has a wonderful manner and instills confidence in his patient.  He called me into his office down the hall from the waiting room, on the way he asked, "How are you doing, you look great?" 

"I am great," was my reply, "on days when it is not snowing or raining I walk 3 miles a day."

"So not much walking this week he smiled."

 ( I know I should be using quotation marks here, but this is chemo so I am to be excused!!) 

Once inside his office he said... so tell me how you really are, what are your side effects, and ran through a long list of things that sound horrible and my answer to all was "No." I told him that chemo week was not fun...but not terrible.. I am a bit tired, very irritable and weepy, and I yell at my dog, because he won't get out of my way and won't leave me alone. He smells the chemicals, senses my moods and gets frantic if I have the bedroom or the bathroom door closed. And he is a big 100 lb, ll month old German Shepherd! He gets in the way. 

Well that is better than yelling at your husband, he offered. No. I said .he goes to the basement.  The dog, the Dr. asked? No my husband, the dog is afraid of the stairs.

So on those days I take 1/2 an ativan..  Good, he replied, give the other half to the dog...!

Yesterday, the 11th was treatment #3.. so you are all warned.

Saturday.....April 1st.... and at least 15 cm of heavy wet snow..... and it was not an April Fool's

but by this evening it is surprising how much has melted away.

Friday and Thursday were great days, mild weather makes walking more enjoyable and
over the course of each day I logged enough steps to register 3 miles each day. A big GSD needs 
exercise.

The pattern seems to be that the chemo week is not fun... tired, and irritable and I cry at the drop of a hat.... for no reason.....    I read on a message board that the crying spells are know as the 
Chemo Sobbies... a good name..   then the remaining two weeks are pretty good.

I am still shocked to see a bald head in the mirror... and am staying away from crowds... ( I guess there are not really crowds of people in this little Village)

To be continued...

There is NO PRIVACY WHEN YOU OWN A GERMAN SHEPHERD

You have all read about Chance, the almost 11 month old German Shepherd ( I have to remember he is still just a puppy) because he is HUGE

Anyway, he has recently become very concerned if I am behind a closed door. He has left many long scratches on the bedroom door as well as the bathroom one...

I really really needed a bath today.... and did not want him whining and scratching on the bathroom door while I was trying to soak in the tub.... so I let him come in with me...

He does not understand the concept of a bath.... he whimpered and whined as only German Shepherds can... he paced back and forth... put his feet up on the tub.... looking very perplexed all the while....

At least he did not try to rescue me!

M

Ugggh.  Day 3

Too many steroids, irritable, no sleep, and feeling off balance. I have already boiled over the black beans that were cooking on the stove. Stu has gone to his man cave in the basement..cat is hiding but Chance won't leave me ALONE....

And it is only noon...


Every family should have a nurse.... dear cousin Cathy comes to give me my Neupogen shots for 7 days after chemo treatment....to help maintain good white cells. Thank you!

I did take the dog out for several runs around the house, not his usual exercise but at least we were both moving...

One more pill tonight and that is the end of anti nausea meds for this round.....

I seem to be complaining.... HOWEVER IT IS ALL MUCH BETTER THAN BEING NAUSEATED..

I know tomorrow will be much better....

M

Day 2... second chemo treatment

Just finished a brown sugar scrub on my face.... and no mustache or chin whiskers 

to pluck for 6 months....

Guess there are some advantages to chemo hair loss:)

We truly live in a "metric" system.....I am old enough that I remember ... pounds, ounces, cups, pints, quarts, and gallons....  and must admit that I refer to that measure more often....

My pharmacy tale from yesterday....... and NO   I did not flash my underwear this time!

Having learned from the last lot of Rx to be filled I wisely ordered the anti nausea meds ahead of time and had them at home and ready.... the injections had to be refilled, so I dropped them off on the way home and left.... (I don't need them till Wednesday)....

A couple of hours later I got a call from the pharmacist, female and sounded young

She needed to verify my weight, as the dosage is weight based... I replied  155.... there was a very long quiet pause.... then with a definite question in her voice she asked, " pounds"  I expect she was visualizing that number in kilos

I thought my second treatment of Chemo was to be on Friday.... no one told me it was just a
talk to the nice Dr. day.... I waited for over an hour and fifteen minutes in the "waiting room", expecting to be called...and told which treatment room to go to.....  

I finally got up and asked what the hold up was.... only to be told that if I did not hand over the papers I was so carefully holding ( ones given to me by the oncologist) that I would not have an appointment for Chemo....  Life is a constant learning experience.....

The good news is that the "lump" is shrinking..... I though I could feel little chemo feet wandering around and stirring things up..:)

So back we go tomorrow.... Monday for session #2

M

Day 14....

And she climbed to the top of the mountain....

"Oh Great One"... she said,  "When does 

it begin, this thing called.... hair loss?"

"Day 14," came the reply

"And does it happen all at once?", she whispered.

"Only one answer per visit", boomed the voice,

"Go back down the mountain."

                                 

-20   feels like  -30

hope my hair

does not

leave today

:))))

mmmmmmm  Miatake mushroom soup

also check out information on Turkey Tail Mushrooms..... via Paul Stamets

we really need to give Mother Nature much more credit than she gets......

and......... another great day:)

but I must admit I am ready for bed by 7:30 or 8:00 most nights

Feeling fine..... so fortunate when I read about how some people feel while on this stuff....  but maybe they don't have such an attentive care giver

No energy yesterday..... and it was so cold outside...

However today is a totally different day, walked the dog, got my "staples" removed.... and feel much more like me....

M

I can see why German Shepherds are used as "sniffer dogs" for drugs.....

Chance is very concerned about the smells he is picking up...... cancer, chemo, and the incision for
the port a cath, that I wear in my chest...

He is an excellent nurse... but his bedside manner needs to be fine tuned a bit.....

He spends the night either on the floor by my bed.... or on it.....

Day 5 .......

I feel good..... no nausea, lots of energy... too much really as there are a lot of steroids in all the chemo mixture I am getting...... I felt as if I could run a 4 minute mile yesterday......

I realize I have to not overdo anything ..... and do take rest periods.....  

Sleeping at night was a problem....

However I have a little blue pill for that if I need it...... "it worked"

M

BREAST CANCER CHANGES THINGS....

I started this blog several years ago.... posting photos, and some notes of our quiet life here in the country surrounded by pine trees....

But life got in the way of blogging.... and it appears that it has been sitting idle for a long time...

Life has a way of changing.....and now at 74 I have been diagnosed with breast cancer.  When I actually write those words it still seems that I am referring to someone else ... not me..

I am never sick....

I  had to have my family Dr fill out a routine medical form for my drivers licence as I will turn 75 in June, at that time he found a large lump in my breast.... although I had know there was something there for a while, I was not ready to face up to it...  now I had not option...

Things moved quickly.... a mammogram and ultrasound, and then a biopsy all happened within a couple of weeks....

When I met with the oncologist who will be in charge of my case, he said he would not order the usual protocol of chemo, as in his opinion it would be too harsh. So I am going to be doing chemo for close to 6 months.....then surgery.....  The goal is to shrink the mass in order to make a lesser invasive surgery.....

Our first trip to the CHUS  ( the big University Hospital in Sherbrooke, located in two different hospitals) was eventful.   My sense of direction is not very good, and we overshot the cut off to autoroute 610 as I thought we needed to get off at another exit... 1st mistake..     Even my phone GPS was not giving me directions that we could follow, Stu was driving and I am still amazed at how calm, cool and collected he was. We did find a place to turn around and get back on track to the hospital but from a different approach than usual. Once we got parked, and into the main entrance I looked at my instructions that were given to me by the appointment secretary. She was French and did her very best to speak English to me, and I understood her to say we needed to get the elevators for L3 oncology. We  could not find that bank of elevators and time for the appointment was getting closer and closer. We took the main elevators to floor seven, followed some signs and ended up on the wrong end of the floor in the palliative care section. Not a good start, and by that time I was so upset and frightened that I broke down and said I could not take any more... a very kind young man, probably the resident on the floor came to our rescue and guided us to the proper place..

After we were finished our session with the oncologist, I noticed that the elevators we were looking for were in "Ailes 3", a reasonable mistake on my part....

To be continued.....