Ah, That's Better!

It just occurred to me that I haven't written since Thursday so a bit of an update is necessary.

Friday morning was the first morning that I didn't wake up nauseous. What a relief. Even though it had only been a few days I was starting to think it wasn't going to go away!

The fatigue is also subsiding. Although sometimes it comes in waves when I'm not expecting it.

Naturally, I ended up getting Sydney's cold, which turned into a bit of laryngytis. Nothing serious. It is much better today.

We did call the cancer clinic though just to check in and be sure that this wasn't something I needed to worry about (no fever yet). The medical oncologist on call indicated that since laryngytis/cold is a virus there isn't anything they can give me anyway. Just rest and fluids.

So I think I'm on the upswing now.

Love CJ

Blah

Yesterday was a rough day. Tired, nauseous, blah.

But I did manage to go to the Wall Motion scan in the afternoon. This test was done to check on the strength of my heart. Some of the chemo drugs can do a number on your heart muscle so they need a baseline to start with and compare during the treatments. Another test down.

Unfortunately, I missed the last session of our support group at Wellspring. It's hard to believe that 8 weeks are already over.

Not much else to report today.

Back to bed.

Love CJ

Nausea

Today's word of the day is nausea.

A few of the side effects have reared their ugly heads, namely nausea and a sort throat. The nausea is similar to how I felt when I was pregnant with Sydney. I need to eat a little bit, often, to feel better. The morning seems to be the most difficult. It's only 8:00 a.m. and I'm already thinking about going back to bed! Oh yeah, let's throw in a bit of a fatigue too.

I felt mostly normal on the weekend. Back in February, before my diagnosis, we had planned on going to the Pinery for a few days of camping with Mike & Janine and Don & Allison and the kids starting this past Sunday.

Since we didn't know how I was going to be feeling and Sean has to use his holidays to take me to my chemo appointments we had to cancel our portion of the trip. But we did manage to make it to the Pinery for the afternoon on the Sunday. The kids had a blast. At least we got one good day in before my stomach started to turn sour.

At this point, I am hoping to manage the nausea with the drugs I've been given and with a balanced diet. I cannot afford to gain too much weight or that will just be another hurdle I will have to cross at the end of all of this.

One day at a time.

Love CJ

Shamesless Plug for My Hairdresser

As you all know, last Saturday I got my hair cut in anticipation of the next step - baldness.

I have to say that I have had so many nice comments on the hairstyle. I agree, even though I am ultimately a long haired freaky geek and that's what I'm used to.

I just have to say that my hairdresser, Sylvia Santos, did a wonderful thing for me last Saturday. She knew the reason for the short cut, since I'd been trying to grow my hair out for months now. She kindly took the time to do it up right, with an awesome style. She even gave me some sample product to use until the big day of baldness arrives.

The real kicker was at the end when I came to pay...she insisted that it was free of charge. I couldn't believe it. She said she refused to charge me for a haircut that I really didn't want. Isn't she amazing?

Here comes the shameless plug....Are you tired of your hairdresser, do you want to try someone new, do you not have a current hairdresser? Then Sylvia's the gal for you.

About a year ago, Sylvia took the big step and opened up her own salon called Tha Salon. It is located on 500 Adelaide St. N., London (just north or Queens Avenue); Telephone: 519-640-6957. I believe she has at least 2 other stylists in her shop and also an aesthetics salon.

I'm not saying that you're going to get a free haircut when you go, but you'll have a hairdresser who's young and hip and has a big heart.

Here's to you Sylvia! You're the best.

Love CJ

Chemo #1 - Check

I am happy to report that chemo #1 has been completed.

Sean and I arrived at the chemo suite at 11:00 a.m. this morning. Since they had already taken my blood the last time I was in, I didn't have to get that done first. After waiting for 2 hours, I sent my heavy (Sean) up to the desk to ask when we might get things started.

Of course, I was next. Apparently there was some mix up and the pharmacy hadn't yet sent my drugs over.

My nurse of the day, Myra, was awesome. She explained what was going to happen and in what order and reviewed some of the immediate side effects. I got set up in my cozy recliner chair with a warm blanket and she hooked me up.

The first drug was administered by Myra by needle through the IV, which took about 15 minutes. That one immediately gave me a metallic taste in my mouth, which I still have. The second drug was administered by IV drip, which took about 45 minutes or so.

So we turned on the DVD player and popped in my all time favourite comedy, Tommy Boy, which helped pass the time.

The pharmacy provided me with the anti-nausea drugs that I am to continue to take for the next few days. We were pretty much done by 3:15 p.m.

We came home, Sean went back to work and Mom arrived home with Sydney. We went over to the mall for a little bit and then to Wendy's for dinner (our usual spot on Fridays).

So the waiting game begins to see what type of side effects I will get and to ultimately see when I will lose my hair. Man, that one is really gonna suck. Oh well, what can you do? At least Sean and I will look very cute together!

Love CJ

To My Room 16 Buddies

I thought today was going to be just a regular day. Off to the hospital at 7:30 a.m. (ugh) for the stomach ultrasound, lunch with my UWO peeps, a meeting with HR and then off to pick up Sydney.

But this morning when I woke up I wasn't feeling the best, feeling a bit queasy (the popcorn from the movie last night started it) and completely exhausted. But off to the hospital I went, came home watched Rockstar and then had a nap.

I woke up still feeling a bit off, but knew that I needed to get to UWO to see my peeps for lunch.

In enters my Alumni Hall Room 16 buddies. Julie told me that they wanted me to stop by to say hello after lunch. Well, it was more than a hello. My buddies surprised me with a lovely card, 3 monthly parking passes for the hospital and some Tim Horton's gift certificates for whoever escorts me to chemo for each treatment. What a thoughtful gesture.

Needless to say I was completed overwhelmed. I think they secretly wanted to see if they could make me cry (tee hee). And yes, yes they did.

So I want to send a big thank you out to all of them....Marcia, Natalie, Heather, Carrie, Christina, Nicole, Carolyn, Susan R., Susan H., Sonia, Julie, Kim M., Matoula and Kathryn. I am so fortunate to have each you in my life.

Even though I wasn't feeling the best, they really raised my spirits.

To top off the day I came home to a clean house. A few of my former UWO colleagues (Kevin, Denise & Josh) have made arrangements for a house keeper to come once a month until my treatments are over. It was such a relief to know that the house had been cleaned before I start this rollercoaster ride. One less thing on my to do list (yes, I still have one).

I believe that things happen for a reason and I often wonder why I got cancer. Yeah, cancer sucks, but this experience has made me realize that I have so many people around me that care. It is very humbling.

Thanks again to you all.

Love CJ

Where Did the Cottage Go?

The trip to the cottage was exactly what our little family needed. A nice little getaway from everything.

We headed up to the cottage on the Monday morning, mini-van filled to the brim. Sydney travels very well in the car so that is a good thing. However, even at two years old she had her own version of "are we there yet?". All we heard for 5 hours in the car was, "I'm going swimming at the cottage."

Little miss Sydney had a bit of a one track mind that day. We arrived at the cottage at 4 and of course she immediately wanted to go swimming. I explained to her that we first had to unpack the van and get some dinner going. She could go swimming after dinner.

We got everything organized and dinner on the go. I placed Sydney's dinner in front of her and she said "I'm going swimming at the cottage." I explained again that she could go after dinner. She informed me that she was finished dinner (not touching a bite) and she was ready to swim. Man, is this child persistent or what? I have NO idea who she gets that from!

So into the water she went. We took her down to the little beach and plopped her onto the sand. I asked her if she wanted to try going into the water. Sydney ran full force (with no life jacket on) into the water, fell flat on her face, went under and popped up laughing. Sydney, the waterbaby had been born (and Mommy almost had a heart attack).

You can imagine what the rest of the week was like. Most of it was spent down at the beach in the water.

It was a great week to be at the cottage because all of Sean's cousins and their children were also there. I haven't seen that many children down at the beach in a long time. Sydney had lots of fun with Broen, Ezra and Pheonix.

Dawn, Nicole and Christopher came up for a 2-day visit as well. Fun was had by all!

Coming home from the cottage is always a bummer, a little rush of reality hits. But it was so much fun.

On Monday morning, Sydney woke up and said "Where did the cottage go?" Apparently she had forgotten we had come home. Poor kid. A little dose of reality for her as well.

Upon our return, I discovered several appointments that had been confirmed and some I had to make myself. Thursday morning I am off to the hospital for an abdominal ultrasound (again to double check the cancer hasn't spread to any of my internal organs). In the afternoon I am meeting with HR at work to get the paper work going for long-term disability benefits and at 11:00 a.m. on Friday I have my first chemo treatment.

So here we go......

Thanks for hanging in with me!

Love CJ

Cottage

Just a quick note today.

We are off to the cottage for the week for some rest and relaxation. Although, with a toddler in tow, I am not sure that we will get much rest. We'll be back on Saturday or Sunday.

I hope everyone enjoy's their week.

Love CJ

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Yesterday Sean and I attended the wedding festivities for our friends Pete & Paula. Congratulations to the happy couple!

I had originally made an appointment to have my hair done in an up-do style for the wedding, but when I found out that I was definitely going to lose my hair from the chemo I decided to get my hair all chopped off. I am hoping that I will be able to get used to the short hairstyle before I lose all of it. Before (with Sydney on her 2nd birthday) and after photos are below:

It's definitely a change, but I guess I'm going to have to get used to it! I will say it only takes 2 minutes to do my hair now. A definite advantage.

We had such a great time at the wedding last night. I forgot I had cancer for an entire evening....and it felt great. I think I'm getting too old for those dance moves, though!

Love CJ

Priceless

Today's appointment was with Dr. Kylea Potvin, my medical oncologist (chemotherapist).

As expected, given my age, diagnosis, and test results, I will be having 8 rounds of chemo (spaced 3 weeks apart), 3-4 weeks rest, then 6.5 weeks of radiation.

My first chemo treatment will be on Friday, July 21st. If there are no delays with any of my treatments (i.e. low white blood cell count) my 8th and final round will be on December 15th. Merry Christmas!

For the first 4 rounds of chemo I will be receiving two drugs called Adriamycin and Cytoxan. These are common drugs used to treat breast cancer, among others. And yes, I will be losing my hair.

For the last 4 rounds of chemo I will be receiving hormone therapy (Herceptin) and what they call a biological treatment (Taxol), since my tumour tested positive for estrogen and progesterone. The last test also came back positive for the HER-2/Neu gene, hence the Taxol.

The last 4 rounds of chemo will begin on October 13th. The Herceptin will continue for a full year until October 2007. I will continue to receive the hormone therapy every 3 weeks by IV. The good news is that I will be able to work during this period of time.

So after a rest period of about a month (say the middle of January) I will begin radiation (everyday, Monday to Friday to the end of March). Then a few weeks rest before I think about going back to work.

Oh, by the way, the bone scan came back clear. So that hurdle is over. I will be scheduled for a stomach ultrasound next just to check out some of my internal organs. I also have a genetic counselling appointment on August 29th to determine if my case fits the criteria for genetic testing.

So the MasterCard bill for the next year:

Haircut before I go bald: $40

One week at the cottage before treatments begin: $500

First 4 rounds of chemo: $1500

Second 2 rounds of chemo with hormone therapy: $2000

6.5 weeks of radiation: $3000

Going through aggressive chemo, radiation and hormone therapy treatments over the next year to increase my chances of being alive 10 years from now to 90%: PRICELESS

Love CJ

Bone Scan

I was sent to the hospital today for a bone scan, which is basically a precautionary measure to ensure that my breast cancer hasn't spread to my bones. This is unlikely, but it's a good idea to have one done.

I was scheduled to go in this morning at 8:45 a.m., but vaguely remembered from Kim that when she had her bone scan done it was a two-step process. So I referred to Kim's handy dandy blog (thanks, Kim!) and sure enough that was the case. I had to go in early to have an injection of radioactive material, then go home for 3 hours and come back for the actual bone scan of my entire body. Pretty harmless.

So they have you lie down on this thin table, tape your feet together and strap down your arms. The scan starts at your head and slowly moves you through the machine. 25 minutes later you're good to go. They also had me turn my head to the side and do an extra head scan. Once this was completed, the technician took the "pictures" to the doctor to review to see if any further "pictures" were required. She came back and told me I could go. Oddly enough I never even asked when the results would be ready.

As I was lying on the table in the scanner I was thinking how lucky I am to have all of these medical diagnostic tools at my disposal. I am most grateful.

Then I was thinking about all of the people in the world that have to go through something like this. Those with no salary coverage, no drug coverage, no access to medical treatments, no support system.....how do they do it?

Yes, I was diagnosed with breast cancer...but look at everything I have going for me. I hope these thoughts will sustain me when the going gets tough over the next few months.

So let's get this process on the go. It will all be behind me soon.

Thanks again everyone.

Love CJ