What was that all about?

'Allo, dear reader

You may or may not have heard by now that my dear wife went in for a bunch of tests this week at the CCI (Cross Cancer Institute).  Some of you may even have been a bit startled by this.  Well, let me put your minds at ease.  Please, dear reader....read on.

A couple months ago, I posted an article in which I mentioned a 'test' that Dianne was possibly going to participate in.  For those of you who missed that entry, here it is again.  I'm copying and pasting from that article, so please read it if you'd like, and then I'll continue todays writing.

"Also, starting in September, Dianne will be participating in a study that will see her take a new drug called Neratinib.  We had some concerns about this drug and it's side effects, but her oncologist reassured us that all the side effects are treatable.  Orginally Dianne was going to turn down the opportunity to participate in this study....mainly because she's had enough.  She is tired, and it takes hardly anything to wear her out.  Yes, she looks healthy and she looks awesome, but really people....there are still issues.  I think most people forget that (not that I blame them for that).  The thinking is that she must be good since she looks so good.  Not so much.  The heart medicine really sets her back every morning, and this new drug too will not be very pleasant.  The oncologist really wants Dianne on this study, because she is a very high risk for re-occurence due to the type of cancer she had.  Fortunately, she will be able to start the study in September, once the kids are in school.  She really did not want this drug and its side effects to ruin her summer...and now it won't.  We are very thankful for that.  Again, I will keep you all informed as to any test results that we get back, and I will continue to post updates if there's anything."

So, now that it is September, the process has started to possibly enrol Dianne in the study.  Thus she had to go for a mugga scan, an ECG, a chest x-ray and blood work.  All of this is to determine if she is healthy enough to go on the drug.  We will not find out the results until next week Thursday.  If everything looks good, Dianne will start the drug on Friday.

And that, dear reader, is what it's all about.  Nothing to worry about...it's just another case of our health care system working well.

Cheers.

FF

Update and.....update and stuff.

Good Morning dear reader

Welcome once again to fifafan.ca.  For those of you who were re-directed here from fifafan69.blogspot.com....welcome.  This is the place for my blog entries, so bookmark it, and check back once in a while.  My posting has been a bit random, so don't check back too often.  Better yet, use the RSS feed.

So, what's going on you ask?  Lots of stuff.  My big helicopter is still not flying.  The speed controller blew up for unknown reasons, thus I have to wait for a new one to come out of Hong Kong.  I'm holding out a very slim hope that I'll have it flying before I depart on holidays.  And that's it for heli talk.

Anyone watching the World Cup?  My teams, in order, are Holland, Spain and England.  Beyond that I just don't care.  I find it very comical that the French blew up, the Italians showed their age, and as much as I like the English, why do they insisit it's their God given right to do well at the WC?  They really aren't that good.  The only reason the Premiership is so good is all the foreigners.  A select few British players are really any good....Gerrard and...and....well, Gerrard.  John Terry is shyte apart from the fact he plays on a Chel-scum team that has some brilliant foreigners, and the same for Frank Lampard.  Wayne Rooney is only good in club football, and then because he has some foreigners on his team that can feed him the ball in space, thus allowing him to score.  His british counterparts couldn't find him in space for 4 games....thus Rooney looked like poo out there.  Meh, as long as Holland beats Slovakia today, I'm happy.  After that, I fully expect them to crater as is their wont.  /end WC rant.

Very soon is the wedding of my nephew Keith.  Less than two weeks away is the big event...and we made some definite plans for the days leading up to the day.  The Wednesday is our golfing 'stag', followed by a BBQ and bonfire.  Thursday is decorating, followed by golf.  and Friday morning is golf before the ceremony (with the brides permission!!!!!!)  Really, I just want to golf.  Speaking of golf, I went out on Saturday, and broke 100 for the first time ever!!!!!!  Back to wedding plans...if Keith thinks he's uptight, he should see the state of mind I'm in.  I don't even have my 'toast to the groom' done yet.  Oh my.  The stress.  *sigh*

Now on to the important stuff.  Here is another update on my dear wife.  The Herceptin treatments she's been taking are over.  Yay!!!  They cancelled the last one because of her heart.  Boo!!!  Yes, you read that right.  I posted about this in an earlier blog that the Herceptin caused her heart to show signs on cardiac toxicity.  Well, that did not improve any, so they called off the final Herceptin.  For now, Dianne will remain on the heart medicine until she gets her heart checked out again by the experts.  I'll let you know how that turns out.

 

Also, starting in September, Dianne will be participating in a study that will see her take a new drug called Neratinib.  We had some concerns about this drug and its side effects, but her oncologist reassured us that all the side effects are treatable.  Originally Dianne was going to turn down the opportunity to participate in this study....mainly because she's had enough.  She is tired, and it takes hardly anything to wear her out.  Yes, she looks healthy and she looks awesome, but really people....there are still issues.  I think most people forget that (not that I blame them for that).  The thinking is that she must be good since she looks so good.  Not so much.  The heart medicine really sets her back every morning, and this new drug too will not be very pleasant.  The oncologist really wants Dianne on this study, because she is a very high risk for re-occurrence due to the type of cancer she had.  Fortunately, she will be able to start the study in September, once the kids are in school.  She really did not want this drug and its side effects to ruin her summer...and now it won't.  We are very thankful for that.  Again, I will keep you all informed as to any test results that we get back, and I will continue to post updates if there's anything.

And that, dear reader, is all I've got for today.  Hup Holland, Hup!!!!!!!!

Cheers,

FF

Moving right along then………

Hello dear reader.  So, what was the last thing I wrote about?  Hmm, let me go to the site and check it out.  Ah yes, I was calmly mentioning the finish of chemo.  So, 3 weeks later, and normally I would be telling you all about Thursday’s consultation and possibly some chemo details.  But I can’t do that today.  Oh, I can still tell you about Thursday’s consultation, so why don’t we start there.

Our day started at 7:00 when we left the house on our way to the CCI.  The purpose of this consultation was to find out the results of the heart test Dianne had last week, and to determine if the last chemo had any effect on the tumours.  And blood work.  For some reason, Dianne had to have blood work done again.  Ironically, her blood levels did not come back, so even if there was chemo, it would probably be delayed.

So, Dianne got her blood work done, then we sat around for a bit, reading….waiting for Area B to open, and the Dr. to call us in.  Dear reader, I have to interject the day here, and explain a situation.

In the middle of August, we found out that Dianne’s surgery was scheduled for September 14.  We were a little bit disappointed that there was such a huge gap between the last chemo and surgery.  So, we decided to do something about it.  We phoned the surgeons secretary. (as I write this, dear reader, I am reflecting on a sermon we heard from Rev. Aasman on the 9th commandment.)  To make a long story short, (and to intentionally stay away from breaking the 9th), we informed the secretary that the 14th (date, not commandment) was unacceptable (imagine a commandment being unacceptable), and that we’d like it moved.  We informed her that the 14th is close to 6 weeks after chemo, and surgery was supposed to be around 4 weeks after.

We were a bit concerned because our thought was that if we gave the cancer a chance to grow, it would.  No chemo = cancer party time = all bad.  Now, back to Thursday…………

So, after we’re done sitting there, the nurse calls us in and we have a chat.  We talk about how Dianne is feeling and all that important stuff.  We also expressed our concerns about the surgery date.  Then, the Doctor’s intern came and did an examination.  And, skipping past all that fun stuff…we finally talked to the Dr. himself.  His determination was that although the tumor’s did not disappear as hoped, they still shrunk significantly from the beginning to now.  But not much change since the last chemo.  We then talked to him about our concerns about the surgery date.  He reassured us that, even though the date was not ideal, the cancer was still being controlled by the Herceptin (which is still being injected every 3 weeks).

Dear reader, when we heard that we felt better.  I mean, if the Dr. doesn’t seem too concerned, then we shouldn’t either, right?  So, with that, we make our way home, with a quick stop for an extra large double double (that’s a coffee, for all my American and European readers), and a quick stop to pick up a birthday present for David’s friend Adria.

Finally, at 11:00, we get home.  Andy must have been wondering what was taking us so long (he was looking after the kids).  And when we get home, there is a message for Dianne to phone the pre-admission clinic at the Sturgeon Hospital.  We are kind of surprised, to say the least.  So, Dianne calls them and finds out that she has an appointment with them coming up….as soon as we can get there!!!!  Wowsers!!!!  This appointment isn’t supposed to happen until 6 days before surgery.  Could it be?

Before we leave for the Sturgeon, I arrange to take the rest of the day off (potentially).  And off we go.  So, we get there…we find the right desk, and we sit.  Dianne goes over some paper work, only to find out that the surgeons office (remember the 9th commandment, Rod) had sent the hospital the wrong consent form.  Dianne has signed a consent form for both a single mastectomy and a double mastectomy.   The one hospital had was for the single, but Dianne had told the surgeon’s secretary that she had decided on a double.  *sigh*

Finally that is all sorted, and we are informed that Dianne’s surgery has been moved to September 2nd!!  6 days away!!  Woohoo, this is really exciting!!!  We don’t know who pushed what buttons to get this changed, but we have suspicions.  But, regardless of who it was, we are very thankful for the change!!

And that, dear reader, is it.  As the title suggests, we are moving right along.  Thanks Andy for staying with the kids all day, and thanks Heather for driving Dianne to her appointment today!!

And very abruptly (and at the call of nature), I bid you farewell.  I will update on Wednesday….post surgery.

Cheers.

Crazy 8

Good day, dear reader.  You’ll have to excuse me if I gush, but gush I might.  CHEMO IS DONE, CHEMO IS DONE, CHEMO IS DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!  End of gushing.  For now.

That’s right, dear reader, Dianne is officially finished with Chemotherapy.  25 weeks ago, she started the long journey down chemo road, and with a few twists in the road, she made it to the end of this stage of the race.  Most of say that the 25 weeks went very quickly, and I believe that everyone it did.  Everyone except Dianne, that is.  For her, it was a long, arduous process.   I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again “Dianne, I love you and you are amazing!!”

Now, why the title Crazy 8?  Isn’t that a card game?  Well, dear reader, the reason I chose this as my title is because chemo #8 was a crazy ride.  The administration of the chemo went according to plan, but the time we spend at the CCI was crazy.  Let me explain.

Normally, when we get to the CCI, we go in, they tell us where to sit, and then the nurse comes along and hooks everything up, and all is well.   Dianne usually reads or dozes off, and I will either read or play on the laptop.  So, we were all prepared for much of the same when we went in.  We were soon to learn that it was not to be.  We were not the first ones in the room that morning.  Chris and his brother Jim were first.  Chris has lung cancer, and his treatment started a bit earlier than Dianne’s.  As we headed towards her assigned seat, Chris bellowed out a hearty welcome.  It was the kind of greeting that made you think of loud mouth schnooks and goombas.  Needless to say, we were a bit concerned.

As we got to talking with Chris and Jim, we realized that they were just trying to make the best of a bad situation.  Having fun, trying to lighten the mood kind of stuff.  Very quickly, we started to have fun.  As more people entered our area and took a seat, they were greeted heartily and made to feel welcome (or not, depending on how they like us).  Soon, the room was full, the room was loud, we were all laughing (well, most of us were laughing).  Dianne and I did not get a chance to read or play on the laptop.

Some very interesting and bizarre conversations happened that day.  The one about the twitching kids (honestly dear reader, you don’t want to know….but if I ever see a kid twitch I am going to laugh my a$$ off and think of Chris and Jim), the one about salads.  One of the patients actually had to read part of her book out loud to us…it was something about what kids don’t learn in school.  We asked her not to read to us anymore LOL.

Everyone in the room knew it was Dianne’s last treatment (mainly because Chris bellowed it out to everyone who walked in).  So towards the end, it became a really big deal.  The process was this:  when the chemo drip was 20 minutes away from being done, Dianne had to put a hot pack over the PICC line (which was about to be removed) so that it would slide out nice and easy.  Once the PICC line was out, she had to wait around for 20 minutes with a compression bandage on it to make sure she didn’t bleed all over the place.
So, here we are….20 minutes left in the drip.  The process has started.  The heat pack is in place, and Chris is bellowing that Dianne is almost done.  The drip is now done (that’s officially it for chemo, but still a bit of work to do).  I turn the other way because I know that the nurse is about to pull the PICC line out.  Dear reader, I don’t know about you, but I don’t need to see a tube being pulled out of a vein in someone’s arm.  Watching the operation channel on TV (is that even on anymore?) is one thing, but seeing this stuff live makes my mini-wheats come back to haunt me.  The PICC line came out really smooth.  Dianne said it didn’t hurt, but just felt really weird.  20 minutes left.

The countdown was on, and became a verbal countdown at around 10 minutes.  I would bellow out the amount of time left in small intervals, at which point conversation would briefly stop.  At one minute left, everyone in the room was watching and listening to me do my count.  At 10 seconds I counted every second…..10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…..DONE!!!!  Dear reader, it was a heady experience when I said 0…the whole room burst out into cheers and clapping!!  The nurse broke into a rousing rendition of ‘Happy last chemo day’ to the tune of Happy Birthday (or a reasonable facsimile thereof).  And with that, we picked up our stuff, said goodbye to everyone…..and left.

So much more went on this day during the treatment, but I honestly can’t remember it all.  I can tell you that the first 7 treatment days were quiet….and the 8th one was crazy in a fun sort of way.  We left the CCI with smiles on our faces, and a warm fuzzy feeling in our hearts.

Now what, you ask?  Well, now we wait.  Dianne has 3 or 4 weeks to recover from this chemo, and then it’s surgery.  We should find out this week what the exact day surgery will be.  And yes, dear reader, Dianne has decided to have a double mastectomy.  We talked a lot about the options, we got different opinions from different people, we consulted with the Dr. at the CCI….and decided on the double.  I won’t go into all the details of why we decided this, but rest assured that Dianne is very comfortable with this decision.

And that dear reader, was crazy 8th chemo day.  I probably did a lousy job of conveying how much fun we actually had, but that’s all I got.  I’d like to give a shout out to Chris….if you ever read this, Chris, I hope and pray that all goes well with you!!  A very special thank you goes out to the chemo nurses at the CCI….you ladies are brilliant, and we appreciate everything you’ve all done for us.  You’ll still see us, though…every 3 weeks for the next year for the Herceptin treatment.  (Dear reader, the Herceptin is the drug to counter Dianne’s HER2+ disease, which is what is making her cancer so aggressive….).  Thanks again to Laura for giving Dianne her last Neulasta injection.  Thanks to Andy and Darren for watching the kids.  And thanks to everyone for the thoughts and prayers…we appreciate it more than words can say.

On a final note, dear reader:  CHEMO IS DONE.  D-U-N….DONE!!!!

Cheers.

RK

Ok, now to play ketchup.

Wow.  I’m thinking that I have some work to do here.  My last entry was on June 29, and it is now July 29.  So, let’s begin.

Disclaimer:  If you don’t have lots of time, please don’t start reading this.  Put it off until later.  Even if the kids are on the computer, kick them off and come back to read this.  It might be a bit wordy.  /end disclaimer.

Good afternoon, dear reader.  Welcome back to my blog.  Although, it should be me who is welcomed back, as I’m the one who disappeared.  So, welcome back, dear writer!!  Ok…deep breath.  Where am I at?  I left you last with 6 chemo’s done and a rough plan of what lies ahead for my dear wife.  That was the end of June.  Amazingly enough, things have changed.

Between the 29th of June and the 17th of July, not much happened.  Our holiday plans were changed.  Originally, the kids were going to go camping with my family for 4 days, after which I would join them for 4 days.  We changed that.  We decided that the kids and I would go camping for 8 days, and Dianne would have a holiday at home…no kids, no hubby, no worries.  We did this because during the time we wanted to be camping, she had to have a consultation and possibly a chemo treatment.  We figured that this would work out well.  So, on Monday the 13th, the kids and I headed off to Coaldale, and then to Kikomun Creek Provincial Park (Surveyors Lake) in BC on Tuesday.  We enjoyed our time their immensely, although I can honestly say that Dianne was sorely missed by the kids and by me (being Mom and Dad on a camping trip is not all it’s cracked up to be.)  I actually forgot to feed the kids lunch on the first two days.  And this whole changing of clothes thing is hogwash.  But hey, it saves on laundry when we got home, right?

So, all this begs the question:  What did Dianne do whilst we were camping?  Well, she rested.  From everything she’s told me, she enjoyed it quite a bit.  On Thursday, July 16, Dianne went in to the CCI for her consultation.  Her blood counts were up!!  The good Dr. measured the tumor (which in his estimation used to be the size of a watermelon (and anyone who knows Dianne will laugh hysterically at that), and decided that it now measured 4cm x 4cm.  This down from 5cm x 3cm from the last measurement.  Excellent!!!  (/insert Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure guitar riff).  He also said that the tumor is softer and seems to be caving in on itself (I call it an implosion).  This too is very good news.  This means that the tumor is shrinking in size from outward edge to inward edge (nipple to chest), and is breaking up slightly.  Chemo on the 18th is a go!!!!

As a side note, Dr. Joy’s new intern apparently has warm hands (which makes Dianne very happy) and he likes the Calgary Flames (which automatically adds to the respect level I have for him).

Dianne emailed me at 3:10PM on Friday, July 17 to let me know that the chemo treatment went well.  (Thank you Henrietta for taking Dianne to the consultation on Thursday and to the chemo appointment of Friday!!)  She had a good nurse, which always makes the process better.  She also had a guy eating ice beside her for the last half hour.  Just so you know….when Dianne sees ice, hears ice tinkle in a glass, thinks of ice or eats ice, it brings back nasty chemo memories.  It is not pleasant for her.  So that last 1/2 hour must have been real crappy for her.  (not to mention that it is now very hard for me to make a Mojito, margurita or daquiri without making her sick).  Only 1 chemo left!!!!

ONLY ONE CHEMO LEFT!!!!  For me, it seems not too long ago that we were facing the daunting journey of 8 chemo treatments and all the hellish side effects thereof.  (For Dianne, it seems a long time ago, but time is moving different for her.)  And now, she has one left.  Wow.  We are both really looking forward to the end of the leg of the trip.

On July 20th, Dianne received a phone call from the surgeons office requesting that she come in at 10:15 the next morning.  This is an important meeting we figured, because this is where the mastectomy decision is most likely to be made (single or double).  Thank you Andy for driving Dianne to this appointment.

What transpired at the meeting with the surgeon?  Well, it has been decided that surgery will take place at the end of August or beginning of September (usually  or 4 weeks after the last chemo).  Dianne’s blood counts have to be up before surgery can proceed.  The surgeon prefers to do a single mastectomy now, and if Dianne would like to, the second one can be removed in a years time.  The surgeon feels this reduces the risk of infection.  However, Dianne has the final say as to what happens.  She has signed a consent form for both a single and a double….now she needs to make that decision.  Dianne and I have talked about it, and are still gathering some more information before we decide.  We have to let the surgeon know at the beginning of August what will happen.  Dianne will need to stay in the hospital for one night after surgery, and if there are no complications, she can go home the next day.  I will be home for 2 weeks following the surgery in order to do everything that Dianne would normally do (feeding kids is an important one, as I learned on the camping trip!!).

And that, dear reader, brings you up to date.  Dianne’s next consultation is next Thursday (a week from tomorrow).  The final chemo is approaching!!  The tune to The Final Countdown by Europe suddenly popped into my head for some reason.  Ah, this is going to be an important landmark in this journey.  I am looking forward to being able to tell you that chemo is done.  And, the Lord willing, I will be able to do that next weekend.

Again, I must thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers, and for all the other support given.  Thanks again Henrietta for being such an awesome sister!!  And Andy, thanks for being a great brother-in-law!!  And Laura, many thanks for once again injecting the Neulasta into Dianne on the Saturday after chemo (can we call you one more time next weekend?).

Dear reader…..cheers.

RK

8 is enough

Hello again, dear reader.  Again, it is time for an update on Dianne.  So without further ado, let’s go.  And I promise I will not make any ‘Michael Jackson is dead!!’ references.  You’d probably tell me to beat it.  Or start calling me Billie Jean.  Or tell me to mind my own ABC’s.  Well I tell you, I’m struggling with the man in the mirror, and not everything is black or white.  Ok, enough of that…it’s been a real thriller.

Now, for the update.  This past Thursday, Dianne had her consultation with the oncologist.  He was thrilled because the tumors have shrunk to 5 x 4 cm.  Based on that, he is going to go ahead with the full run of chemotherapy, meaning that Dianne had 3 left as of Thursday.  Also, her blood counts came back to normal, which meant that chemo was a go for the next day.

And with that, the chemo was administered, along with all the steroids that come with it.  The steroids cause insomnia, so Dianne did not get much sleep over the weekend.  The administration of the chemo went real well.  This is the 2nd round of the 2nd type of chemo, and with this one comes a drug called Herceptin.  The Herceptin is used because Dianne is HER2 positive.  With the first dose of Herceptin, it took 90 minutes to IV it into her, and with the second one it was 60 minutes.  I believe that 3 and 4 will take only 30 minutes to get it in.  The actual chemo (Taxetere) is administered after the Herceptin.  So, we were at the CCI for about 3 1/2 hours this time around.

The side effects of the Taxetere don’t kick in usually until Monday.  These effects consist of muscle pain, joint pain and bone pain.  Thankfully there has been no nausea associated with the chemo so far.  The pain can be controlled with Tylenol, although there are risks with that too (it masks fever).  Is this all repeat?  Have I mentioned any of this before?  If I have, please accept my apologies.  If I haven’t then there is no need for apologies LOL.

So, where are we and what is ahead?  Right now, Dianne is done 6 out of 8 chemo treatments.  Following chemo is surgery, followed by radiation followed by more surgery (reconstructive).  And today is Monday, tomorrow is Tuesday….we’ll deal with Tuesday when it comes.  That’s how we live…day by day.

This week, Dianne and the kids are at her mom and dad’s in Camp Creek.  Hopefully they have a great time there, and hopefully Dianne feels well enough to enjoy it.

A very special thanks goes to Laura P. for injecting the Neulasta into Dianne on Saturday.   And thanks to Rita G. for being available if Laura couldn’t do it.  Thanks also to everyone who’s supporting us through prayers and good wishes.  We appreciate it all!!!

Cheers,

RK

Finally…an update

Greetings, dear reader.  Finally I am getting around to publishing an update.  Again, laziness has struck, and I find myself sitting on the couch not blogging more often than not.  My evenings are spent with Dianne, with the kids…and once they’re in bed I sit here with a glass of wine and play some video games.  Really, I need to make time to keep all of you updated.

 At last update, we discussed how Dianne’s 5th treatment was delayed.  Well, a one week reprieve is all she needed for her blood counts to come back to normal.  And so, the treatment was administered.  During the week off, we had visits from our Pastor and his intern, plus a visit from two elders from our church.  These evenings were very enjoyable…it was more proof that there is a tremendous amount of support for us.

 So.  The treatment.  It went well.  I wasn’t present for this one…I went to David’s sports day in Neerlandia (Rebecca came along as well), and so Henrietta went to ‘chemo day’ with Dianne.  For those of you who followed along with my Facebook status updates, you’ll kind of have an idea how the weekend went.  Dianne has been able to eat and drink with no repercussions at all.  This is really a ‘new’ experience for us…the past treatments have drastically her ability to keep food and drink in for about 3 days following.

 Now, don’t get me wrong.  She has not felt all that great following the treatment, but it could have been so much worse.  The muscle aches and pains showed up on Monday evening.  Thankfully, by then the insomnia was starting to disappear (she was done taking the round of steroids).  As of this writing, the aches and pains are still there, and we’re unsure of how long this lasts.

 On Monday, Dianne and I went for a consultation with the radiologist.  We discussed the pro’s and con’s of radiation.  You’re probably wondering why we would have this consultation now.  After all, radiation won’t happen until after surgery.  Well, the radiologist needs time to plan out the treatments, and also needs to get herself familiar with Dianne and her situation.  It was a very good consult, and we feel very comfortable with radiation as another treatment.   Radiation will take place at least 4 weeks after surgery, depending on how well Dianne is healing.  She will go for at least 20 treatments….5 per week for 4 weeks.

 Dear reader, I think that brings you up to date.  I might have forgotten something, but that should not surprise anyone who knows me.    I know it’s been said before, but I must say it again…thank you all very much for your thoughts and prayers, and for every other form of support you’ve given.  Words cannot express how deeply we appreciate it.

 A quick shout out to Dana….you go girl!!!  Only one chemo left for you!!!  God bless, my friend!!!!

 Cheers.

 RK

Not quite what we wanted to hear.

Dear reader,
The following post is a direct copy and paste from the email I sent to my family.  This is the latest:

Dianne had her consultation this morning, and it didn’t go quite as expected.  One piece of good news is that her heart is in good shape, and thus is able to receive the 2^nd type of chemo.

However, she will NOT be receiving that chemo tomorrow as scheduled.  Her blood counts are low, and they need to be back to normal before they can administer the chemo.  This is a disappointment, but in light of how all things have gone to date, we have no reason to complain.

The other not so good thing is that the tumor(s) are NOT shrinking.  The ultrasound shows that it / they are actually growing slightly, but the oncologist doesn’t quite agree by his manual measurements.  In either case, this is not cool at all.  Dr Joy now says that he wants to try for sure 2 more rounds of chemo, but if there is no change after that, he will discontinue the chemo treatments and Dianne will at that point head off into surgery.

Obviously, we are a little bit disappointed.  We had hoped that everything would stay on schedule and go smoothly.  And based on how things have gone, I don’t think this was unrealistic.  However, as I mentioned, we can’t really complain about this.  So far, Dianne has done wonderfully, and she continues to do wonderfully in her battle.  This is just a wee hiccup in the treatment schedule.  No big deal.  She will go next week Thursday for another consultation / blood test to see if she is able to receive the treatment next Friday.

In all of this, we do realize that everything is in God’s hands, and that nothing happens by chance.  We know that He, in his infinite grace and mercy, is holding Dianne and I and our family in His hands, and He will continue to give us everything that we need.

Cheers,

RK

PICC her, PICC her!!!

Dear reader, in my humble (and unbiased!!) opinion, my dear wife should be woman of the year.  Yes, it’s only May and there is still 7 months to go, but she is truly the leading candidate to win this award.  And if I am the only one who votes for her, then she still wins the award.  My wife is truly amazing.

Ok.  Enough of the stomach turning diatribe.  I’m already in enough trouble for writing such stuff (love you babes!!).  So you’re wondering “What’s up with the silly title of this entry?”  PICC her?  PICC her for what?  Woman of the year?  No, dear reader, it’s PICC not PICK..  I did not make a spelling mistake.  PICC = peripherally inserted central catheter.  I mentioned in an earlier blog entry that the Drs decided to install a PICC line into Dianne so that she won’t have to get poked any more for a chemo IV.  Well, the PICC is in.

Monday morning, Dianne went in to the CCI (remember the CCI, the Cross Cancer Institute) and there the Dr. installed the PICC.  Apparently the Dr. was not a Monday person.  Witnesses say that he was mumbling and muttering the whole time under his breath…something about putting a 3mm tube into a 2 mm vein and the logistics and possibilities thereof.  He was not amused.  And the same witnesses say that he did not have much of a sense of humor.  When he asked Dianne if she was sure her height was 5’6, she responded by quipping “Maybe I’m a bit shorter without hair?”.  He didn’t see the humor.  I howled with laughter when she told me that she said that!!!  His response:  A very curt “that makes no difference”.  Methinks buddy should start taking Mondays off if his humor stays home like that.  Grump.

So, how’s Dianne doing now?  Well, by Monday evening she was sore (the freezing came out!!) and tired (she didn’t get a chance to nap).  Her arm was pretty puffy, and I’m sure it’s not a steroid related growth (good thing there’s no drug testing for sporting events in her near future).  Nope, it was just puffy from the PICC installation.  By this morning, the swelling had gone down and Dianne was not as sore.  Now the kids and I just have to be careful around that arm.  Trouble could be brewing if we bump it.

Today is a day off for Dianne…she has no appointments scheduled.  Wednesday is an ultrasound and heart tests (I think), Thursday is blood work and consultation and Friday is chemo…the first round of the second type of cocktail.  4 of those and then chemo is done!!!

I’ll update more probably on Friday or Saturday with results from the ultrasound, heart tests and consultation (with blood work).  Thank you Gerda for giving Dianne a ride yesterday, and thank you Evelyn for taking Rebecca in for the day!!  We really appreciate the effort you went through to help.  And of course, we are very thankful for all the support we continue to receive from everybody!!  Thank you.

Cheers,

RK

The Latest…..

Dear Reader

Really, truly and honestly…..there is nothing new.  Everything is good right now.  Thursday will be another consultation to find out how Dianne’s blood counts are, when the next chemo will be and if there has been any change in the tumours.

So, check up here again on Thursday or Friday.

Until then….cheers.

RK

Minor Complication

Hi all
Last night marked the beginning of what has turned into a minor complication.   Basically what happened is that one of the veins in Dianne’s arms has reacted badly to the chemo, and is inflamed.  She has a big red / brown streak down her arm.  She phoned the CCI this morning, and they wanted her to come in, so we went there for an 11 AM appointment.

The puzzling thing to everyone is that the vein that is affected is the vein that her 1^st chemo treatment went in…this is a very ‘twilight zone-ish’ reaction…normally it reacts shortly after the chemo administration, not 4 treatments later.

What does this mean?  Well, a couple things.  Dianne will have to take Advil this weekend, plus putting an ice bag on it 4-6 times per day for the next 3 days to see if that will make the swelling go down.  If not, she will probably need to go back to the CCI next week for further evaluation.

Also, because her vein is reacting now, she will get a PICC line installed for future chemo treatments.  This is a catheter that they put into her arm and snake it to just above the heart.  This will remain in until chemo is done.  It comes with its own set of potential complications, so she will need to go to the CCI once per week to have the PICC line flushed and tested.  They feel that this will be the best way to administer the chemo as her veins probably won’t stand up to much more poking and prodding.

Right now, Dianne is resting.  Her arm is sore if she tries to straighten it or if she lifts anything.  Thus she will keep it bent and won’t lift.

I will keep you all informed as to how the weekend goes for her.

Cheers,

Rod

Better Late than Never

Hello?  Dear reader, is that you?  Hmm, fancy meeting you here.  I’d have thought you gave up on ever hearing from me again.  After all, it’s been a while since I’ve graced these pages with my musings.  Am I too busy?  No, not really.  Lazy?  Yup.  I have been so uninspired to write, and I feel really bad about it.

Ok.  I’m over it.  I don’t feel bad anymore.  Now, on to the important stuff.

Dianne.  Y’all are wondering how she’s doing, right?  I have to say that she is doing pretty good.  She is half way through the chemo treatments…4 down, 4 to go.  At the last consultation, the good Dr. could not detect any change in the tumour size, albeit this is without the benefit of an ultrasound.

He (the Dr.) is quite impressed with how Dianne is reacting to the chemo.  He is amazed that her eyebrows have not disappeared yet (although they are very very thin), and he can’t figure out why she doesn’t get more sick than what she does.  I know why…it’s cuz she’s tough as nails.  Trust me.

So, where do we go from here?  Well, starting with the next treatment, she is going to be getting a different chemo cocktail.  That one makes us nervous, because it is apparently the most horrid thing one can imagine.  Bah, bring it on.  We can take it…one day at a time, but we’ll make it through.

(Am I the only one who thought Detroit’s 4th goal tonight should NOT count?  Stupid, coward zebra pinhead).  /end tangent.

Dear reader, things continue to go well here.  We continue to give everything over to our Lord, and we firmly believe that He is helping us get through this.  And we thank you very much for all the support we continue to receive.

Until next time (and hopefully it won’t be a long time), cheers.

RK

The week that was.

Good morning, Dear Reader.  Welcome to Monday.  Ugh.  Monday.  Have I related to you how much I do not like Mondays?  I believe I have, so I won’t go off on a rant about what Mondays do to me.  Ugh.

I haven’t updated these pages for some time now, and that is mostly due to laziness and a severe lack of writers block.  I started updates almost everyday, even just to say hello.  But, whatever I wrote just didn’t flow, didn’t work and was impossible to read.  I suspect that this won’t be any better.  However, I feel the need to update you on Dianne’s status.

The week that was.  For the most part it was a pretty tame week, with a wee hiccup on Thursday.  For whatever reason, the last chemo treatment didn’t hit her very hard.  Maybe it was the new anti-nausea med she tried.  Maybe she’s just uber-tough.  Maybe we’re all just getting used to it and didn’t notice.  I don’t know….but I’ll take it.  I’ve mentioned before that when she has a good day, we all have a good day.  And except for Thursday, they’ve pretty much all been good days (relatively speaking, of course).

So what happened Thursday?  Well, suddenly, without fore-warning, Dianne could not keep any liquids in.  She was pale, even more pale than normal.  Now, she’s always been my alabaster queen, but this was pretty bad.  And lethargic.  The poor gal had zero energy.  I ended up giving the kids their breakfast, getting David out the door for school (on time even!!!).  Dianne ended up in bed.  The main cause of concern here was dehydration.  This is potentially very bad for her, and could have potentially ended her up at the Cross for an IV.

But, before we panicked we called the Cross and asked for advice.  They suggested that she try Imodium.  So, Rebecca and I drove to Safeway and picked up some Imodium.  While we were there, we bought a dozen multi-color roses for Dianne along with a big helium balloon that said “Happy Birthday!!”.  I also picked up a Venti Vanilla Mocha something or other coffee from Starbucks.

Yes, dear reader…Thursday was Dianne’s birthday.  What a way to spend it, huh?  I’m pretty sure it will be a birthday she will soon as forget.  And no, she won’t forget it because of chemo brain…she’ll forget it because it really wasn’t a great birthday.  We tried to make it special for her, and hopefully we succeeded.  The positive news is that the Imodium helped, and by mid afternoon she was keeping in the liquids and she started to perk up a bit.  I ended up going to work for a few hours, and things went back to normal.

That was our Thursday scare.  It is possible that Dianne caught some sort of bug.  As this is the ‘no immune system’ period, this was scary.  Thankfully she got over it real quick, and things are now back to the new normal.

Here’s hoping that this week has no such scares or episodes.

Cheers.

RK

I’m so happy I could cry!!

Good afternoon dear reader.  And by good afternoon, i mean GOOOOOOOOOOD AFTERNOOOOON!!!!!!  As the title of this entry states, I am so happy I could cry.  I’m sure your interest is piqued, so I guess I will share my joy.

Today, Dianne had her appointment with her Oncologist, along with getting blood work done.  The blood work went really well, and her counts came back to 100% again.  This means that the 3rd chemo treatment is a go!!  I’m not sure if we’re supposed to be excited about chemo, but we are.  It would really be disheartening if a treatment had to be delayed because of low blood counts.  Thus, we are pumped!!

Is that the reason I’m so happy?  It is a contributing factor, but not the full reason.  The real reason is this:  the Oncologist confirmed today what I have been suspicious of all along:  my wife is crazy!!  LOL, you read that right…the good Dr. stated today that Dianne is nuts.  Ha, I love being right.  (I’m glad Dianne isn’t watching me type this…it would be the frying pan treatment again).

But, this begs the question:  Why is Dianne crazy?  (Besides the obvious reasons of hanging around with me for the last 15 years or so).  Well, Dr. Joy thinks Dianne is loopy because she doesn’t use the anti-nausea meds.  He has never had a patient that can go through 2 rounds of chemo and approach the 3rd with out them!!  He says she is a throw-back to the 1930’s.  (Does that make her much older than me, or just much tougher?  I’ll go with tougher.  She’s a tough old bird.)  Suspicion confirmed….I’m right, she’s crazy.  LMAO.  (I’m going to walk into the house tonight very very carefully)
 
But even this, dear reader, is not the complete reason for my happiness.  Yes, it is awesome that her blood counts are back.  Yes, it is awesome that she is handling the chemo so well (without anti-nausea meds!!).  But there is more.  Wait for it…..here it comes…..ready?

THE TUMORS ARE SHRINKING!! THE TUMORS ARE SHRINKING!!!!  

That’s right, dear reader.  The tumors really are shrinking!!  They have gone from 8 1/2 x 6 all the way down to 5 x 5 (all measurements in CM).  And not only are they shrinking, but they are also breaking up!!!  Yes, there are now 4 small tumors instead of 1 big one (and by 1 big one, I mean that the original 2 tumors melded into 1).  This is also fantastic news!!!

THE CHEMO IS WORKING!!  THE CHEMO IS WORKING!!!

So far, it is very apparent that the chemotherapy is doing it’s job!!  Getting news like this is very uplifting.  It makes the hardships of chemo well worth it!!  The twofold purpose of the chemo was to try shrink the tumour(s) and to see what effect the drugs would have on this particular cancer.  Well, I’d say that so far, both purposes are being fulfilled.  We are so very thankful that this could be the case.  Truly, God is guiding this, and He is awesome and good!!!

So, now there is one thing that has to happen.  The good doctor gave Dianne a different anti-nausea medication to try.  The reason?  She has to be able to handle the anti-nausea meds in order to receive the last 4 rounds of chemo (she will be on a different type of chemo for these last 4 rounds).  She is going to try the meds tonight in order to determine if it is the meds making her sick or the chemo.  And since she has not had round 3 yet, tonight is the perfect time to try them.  My only stipulation is that she doesn’t take them until I am home from work.  If this med is going to knock her sideways, I want to be there.  If she can’t handle this anti-nausea med, the doctor is going to have to come up with a Plan B.

And as a side note, the ultrasound she had a few weeks ago returned confirmation that the cancer has not spread to a couple of suspicious areas!!  Again, this is fantastic news!!

And this, dear reader, is the reason I am so happy I could cry.  We have all been praying mightily for positive results, and today’s news is what I believe to be the answer to our prayers.  Obviously, Dianne still has a long hard road ahead of her.  But up to this point, things are moving along nicely.  Our family thanks you all for your prayers, positive thoughts and every other support you have given us.

The worst part of today?  The yogurt in my lunch was mouldy.  That makes me angry.

Have a wonderful afternoon, dear reader.  I know I will.

RK

4 day weekend!!! w00t w00t!!!

Good day, dear reader.  Welcome to Thursday…the last work day until Tuesday.  Ah, the sweet sound of ‘4 day weekend w00t w00t!!!!’  That’s right…4 days off.  Brilliant.  There is lots going on this weekend.  My dad is turning 70 on Saturday (Happy Birthday, Dad!!!!!!) and my eldest niece is doing public profession of faith (Congrats, Debra!!!!!!!!).  I’m taking the kids on the first bike ride of the year on Friday.  Lots going on.  Lots to be thankful for.

One of the nicest parts of the weekend is that Dianne is feeling pretty good.  It is always hard to see it when she suffers after a chemo treatment, but it is very uplifting to all of us when she is doing well.  She has another week to prepare for her next chemo, but it will be a busy week.  She goes for an ultra-sound on Tuesday at the CCI.  Presumably they want to check out the tumors, and see if they are shrinking, or just hanging about maintaining the status quo.  Thursday she goes for her pre-chemo blood work and consultation, and if all goes well she will go for chemo on Friday.  Round 3 it will be….only 5 to go after that!!!  Is that a light at the end of the tunnel I see?  Heh heh…a bit optimistic, but that’s the way I roll.  To Dianne I say ‘stay strong babe!!!  By the grace of God you’re doing awesome!!!!’

I would like to thank Pastor Lindemuller (I hope I spelled that right) from the URC in Fresno, California for the gift.  He and his wife sent us a book…I can’t remember what the title of it is (I’m at work at the book isn’t), but I will publish that title tonight as an addendum to this blog entry.

And a shout-out goes to Joanne who put the idea in my head to actually keep these entries and make it into some sort of journal so we can go back on it years down the road.  I told you you’d like this entry, Joanne!!!  Thanks!!!!!

Have a great weekend, dear reader.  I hope to see you again on these pages soon.

RK

Not much new going on here…..

Happy Friday, dear reader.  I am so happy its Friday…for several reasons.  Reason #1 is that it’s, well…Friday.  By far, it is the best day of the work week.  Reason #2 is that I am one day closer to having Dianne and the kids back home.  They spent the week (spring break) at Dianne’s parents place up in Camp Creek.  From all reports, they have had a really good week.  The kids love being there….it’s an acreage, so they can play outside without any worries, there was still lots of snow on the ground to play in, and they adore their Grandpa and Grandma.  And Uncle John.  Uncle John builds fires, which both kids really really like.

Dianne also had a really good week.  By Monday, she was able to start eating real food again, she was done taking the steroids, and the heartburn issues were not as prevalent as after the first round of chemo.  Of course, she was tired, but that is the new normal…tired is normal.

She is now into the 7 day period where her immune system is shot.  At this point, her white blood count is extremely low, if not non-existent.  This means she is very very susceptible to infection, and we are going to be trying to lessen the risk of infection happening.

So this week I have been a bachelor.  As much as I love seeing the family have a good relaxing time up in Camp Creek, it is not an easy week for me.  All you husbands out there are now thinking ‘What, are you crazy?  No wife.  No kids.  No commitments.  Sounds perfect.’  Well, let me tell you….it’s not.  I look at it this way.  No wife means I have to cook, clean, sleep alone, talk to myself and worst of all, I have to remember that even though she’s not around, I still have to justify all the money I spent when she gets back.  No kids means the house is very very silent.  This is not bad until it’s time to sleep.  The house is just too quiet to sleep.  My kids do a lot of farting and burping and talking in their sleep, and it serves as a lullaby to put me to sleep.  With them gone, the silence is deafening….and un-nerving.  Thus, I don’t sleep well when the house is empty.  Next time I’ll make a recording of all the noises and play them as I try to go to sleep.

When I get home this afternoon, I have to clean the house.  Do the dishes.  Do laundry.  Make the bed.  Dispose of all the empty beer bottles.  And other miscellaneous tasks that need to be done.  And all this has to be done before 8 PM, because that’s when I head over to Mike’s place to play video games.  Yes, my priorities are right.  If the house isn’t perfect, I’m still going to play video games.  Tomorrow the wife and kids are back home, so they can get to work after a week of lounging around.  (Was that my outside voice that said that?  Oh man, I’m up the creek now.)

And that, dear reader, is all I’ve got.  Not bad for a week in which there was not much new going on.

Cheers

RK

The Night after the Day Before

Good evening, dear reader.  I’ve re-written this blog entry several times now, and none of them flowed for me.  Maybe I’m distracted by the hockey game (Flames vs Wild) but I just can’t seem to get inspired.  However, I will try to give a readable update.

Dianne has had her 2nd chemo treatment, and is now trying to recover from the effects of it.  It has not been completely horrible, but it has not been completely brilliant either.  The ‘feeling sick’ part of it hit fairly soon after the administration of the drugs, but it was manageable.   By late Friday night, she was feeling pretty miserable, but did manage to finally fall asleep.

Saturday morning started pretty good.  But it didn’t last long.  Once Dianne started the steroid treatment (2 pills per day for 3 days), the day started to go downhill.  For the rest of the day, it was a really up and down battle.  For brief periods of time, she would feel not bad, but then would sink back down and feel like crap again.

That was pretty much the day.  Up.  Down.  Up.  Down.  Down. Down.  Up.  Down.  You get the picture.  Right now, she is resting seemingly comfortable.  Hopefully she can get a good sleep tonight.

On Sunday, Dianne and the kids will go to Barrhead and spend spring break with her parents.  This will be a good distraction for the kids, as well as Dianne.  She should have a fair bit of time to rest there.

And that, dear reader, is all I have for now.  As I said, I’m simply not feeling inspired.  It’s probably pretty obvious by the clinical type of update.  And by clinical, I mean boring.  Oh well, better luck next time.

Cheers.

RK

Not too bad at all…….

Hello dear reader.  Here it is….the latest goings-on in the life of my wife (wahey!!!  I’m a poet and I didn’t know it).

This morning, Dianne had a pre-chemo appointment at the CCI.  This included blood work and a chat with the doctor.  I suppose you’re all getting curiouser and curiouser about the results, so without further ado….here they are.

Good.

Thanks for coming, see ya next time.

Ok, well…if you’re reading this that means you didn’t fall for it.  *sigh*  I really need to work on that.  Of course, if I’d have published at that point, what would ya’ll have done?  Oh well, at least I’m laughing ^_^
Here is the latest rundown:  the blood work showed that her counts are perfect!!  This means that she bounced back from the low / no immunity stage really well.   This means that round 2 of chemo is going ahead as scheduled.  Dianne will be going on steroids starting tonight.  This is to promote white blood cell growth.  They are starting this a bit early so that they can find out if she can handle the ‘roids.  If she can’t, then the 2nd type of chemo (in the last 12 weeks) cannot be administered.  The ‘roids are in pill form, so hopefully she’ll be able to keep them down over the next little while (post-chemo).

Dianne convinced them not to put on any anti-nausea meds, in light of how poorly she reacted to them last time around.  It looks like Gravol will be the official drug of choice.  We are both please that they agreed to this (although there was never really any concern that they wouldn’t).

The doctor did not mention anything about the results of her previous ultrasound, so we are assuming that no news is good news.  And by good news, I mean that we are assuming that the cancer is contained at this point.  Why did she not ask, you’re wondering?  I think it slipped her mind…maybe when we’re at the CCI next, we can ask about it.  Dianne will be going for another ultrasound in the near future just to see how things are progressing.

The only sort of bad but not really bad and not totally unexpected thing that we found out today is that the tumors have not shrunk at all.  But, being only 3 weeks into treatment, we did not really expect anything else.
And that, dear reader, is it for today.  Both Dianne and I are in good spirits, and are remaining positive.  The relative ease of the past 3 weeks surely does help one’s outlook on the whole thing.  We are not expecting the journey to be as smooth as this, but at least now it is 3 weeks shorter.

Thank you to Gerda for giving Dianne a ride to the CCI this morning.  Thank you to Arlene for babysitting Rebecca.  And a special shout out goes to my buddy Ryan and his wife Dana.  Dana is also a breast cancer patient, and is roughly at the same treatment time frame as Dianne.  Stay strong, Ryan and Dana!!  The four of us can go down this road together.  Ryan, I’ll bring some homebrew over tonight.

Cheers.

Bald for Cancer

In support of my dear wife Dianne. 

My initial bald pictures...







 

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

It’s done.  Pretty much done.  I don’t know if I reported in an earlier post about the state of hair in this house.  (It’s not like I actually read these things).  Well, the last week or so have been an itchy and sometimes sore experience for my dear wife.  Last night (Friday), we noticed that it was getting real close to falling out.  So, the decision was made.

This afternoon, after I got home from work, we first went to Michaels to pick up some fabric coloring stuff so the kids could color a couple bandanas for us.  Then, when we got home……*sigh*.  It was done.  I used our clippers (professional clippers at that!!) and shaved her head.  I did not shave it down to the nub, but it was cut with no guard on the clippers.  It’s short.  Oh, so short.  Shorter than what I keep my hair.

This is a really blatant way for reality to hit once more.  Nope, we are not dreaming.  I suspect it won’t take long for the kids and I to get used to the new look.  Rebecca’s biggest complaint was that ‘Now Mommy looks like Uncle!!!!’  (I’m not sure if she’s referring to John or Andy LMAO).  David took it all quite stoically.  The trauma was not as bad as it could have been.

Once Dianne’s hair cut was done, mine was next.  Usually, Dianne cuts my hair with a #2 guard on the clippers.  This time, she did it with no guard.  And, to follow up, I went over the stubble with my electric razor.  And now, I look like Rebecca’s other uncle (Uncle Pete!!).  As of this writing, Pete can say that he officially has more hair than someone in the family.  It’s been years since he’s said that.  (Pete, is 2009 another year of the bald eagle?)

And that, dear reader, is the state of hair in our house.  That’s a big enough change for now.  So, if you attend Providence CanRC, I strongly suggest that tomorrow morning, you wear sunglasses.  My scalp is blinding.

And my wife is still hawt!!!!  And I love her, hair or no.  That will never change.

Cheers.