Monday, March 27, 2017
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
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
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
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
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
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
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
Sunday, March 19, 2017
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
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
Sunday, March 12, 2017
Saturday, March 11, 2017
Thursday, March 9, 2017
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Sunday, March 5, 2017
Friday, March 3, 2017
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.....
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
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
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
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.....
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.....
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