88. Chemo Out Damned Spot!!

Here's what I want to do with metastasis of any kind of cancer for myself or anyone else who has it for that matter:   I want to pulverize it with a thousand sledgehammers.  I want to feed it to a million hungry lions.  I want to throw it from the highest mountain with a wind-chill factor of minus 60 or colder.  I want to shred it into a gazillion pieces and blast it into outer space, preferably into a black hole.  I'd gladly offer it to Putin for target practice, so he wouldn't use the Ukraine and its people, doing something beneficial instead.  But most of all, I just want it gone!!    Back on Sunday, on a more upbeat note, I hope. 😏  SanTeh! 

87. Chemo I have to be Honest, I haven't been Totally Honest..

I have been keeping something from you, and from myself as well, because this is the hardest thing I have ever had to deal with and it is really, really difficult.  Unless you have been in this situation, you have no idea how difficult.  

The surgery went fine and I bounced back fairly quickly from it.  After the surgery I had to wait 6 weeks before chemo was started, which, as you know,  I have been writing about.  Before the chemo treatment started however, a second CT scan was ordered, and then it was discovered that the cancer had spread to my liver, that it had metastasized, a fancy word for "setting up shop in other organs", that in fact I have Stage 4 colon cancer.  Yikes!!  Typically, colorectal cancer will metastasize to the liver and lungs preferably, but other sites as well.  This tumor was not found on the first CT scan before surgery.  At the start of chemo I was told by my oncologist that the liver tumor, which is not  big Thank God!, could be/would be removed, either half way through chemo  treatment or shortly after.  The chemo would try and get rid of all residual cancer cells and shrink the liver lesion so it would be fairly easy to remove.  It would be eliminated by a radiologist using a procedure called RadioFrequency Ablation, iow, the radiologist would zap/fry the tumor into oblivion.  Well, with treatment behind me, I was called for an ultrasound last Friday in preparation for this procedure.  First the ultrasound technician, and then the radiologist, tried to locate the tumor.  Neither could find it with the ultrasound.  Now you may jump to conclusions like I did, and think that it is gone, pouf, vanished, but it clearly showed up on an MRI about a month ago.  And get this:  that same radiologist told me that the liver tumor would have to grow again so that it would show up on ultrasound before he can treat it.  To say that I am upset is The understatement of the year.  I need some time to absorb all this and to cool my jets!! No, I need to rant and rave first before cooling my jets, which I will do in the next post!

86. Chemo Life's a Box of Chocolates...with a Carbon Footprint?

 I did not get all of my garden in yet, because we are receiving all the rain we did not get last year now.  Not that I'm complaining: no drought this year!   It may be drier up north?    Now about the chocolates...

Ask any Belgian what they consider to be Vitamin B and C and they will tell you that Vitamin B stands for Beer and Vitamin C is for Chocolate.  Both these "vitamins" are considered staples, national treasures even.  So after last year's surgery, my good friend Myriam S. decided I could use some cheering up and fortification with good old Belgian Vitamin C.  At first she thought she should send a hefty box from Belgium, the real deal, but reconsidered when she found out that the transport would take too long and possibly be costlier than ordering chocolates from Lindt, the next best thing.😏  She ordered on-line, a wise choice, except the purchase order did not include our home or cell phone number and the order ended up being placed in Toronto, Ontario, a good 2,500 km to the east.

A month or so went by and we still hadn't received any chocolates.  My friend was getting worried.  So was I.  She inquired from her side of the Atlantic and when she got nowhere, and I was feeling much better by then, I started making inquiries from this side.  It so happened that the courier company had been at our house twice and with no one home and no phone number to reach us, had returned the package to the warehouse in the city without leaving a message.   By the time I inquired the 2 week wait period in the warehouse had long expired and the package had been safely returned to the place of origin, a 5000 km round trip.  The Lindt Customer Service Person, who was really helpful, asked if I wanted the money back or would I prefer the merchandise?  I chose the merchandise.  The Person said it would go out with their next shipment out West.  I asked if there was a possibility to pick something out of equal value in the store as there is a Lindt store in the city near us.  After some back and forth, I received news that yes, it would be possible to get a nice gift box from the store.  Within a day or 2 the store manager phoned and asked about directions to send the package to our home by courier.  We decided to just go and pick it up at the store instead! 😂

Back tomorrow with possible update on my chemo treatment.

85. Chemo It's Camping Season: Glamping with Gwen

I had accepted a teaching position in Prince Albert, the Gateway to the northern part of our province.  Whereas I had been teaching French Immersion at an elementary level before, this involved a middle years class, Grades 7-8-9.  Teen agers!  I would have to learn all the material myself first before I could even begin to teach it.  It was not going to be an easy year!  To add insult to injury, I had found lodging with a widow who allotted me very little space in her fridge (she had 2 strapping lads with gigantic appetites living in her basement) and I had to share the clothes closet in the small bedroom with her deceased husband's clothes still in it.  I wanted to pack it in and return home!  Most people would have I think.

Then a colleague suggested I should give Gwen a call.  So I went to see her and she, being a teacher herself understood my plight, took no time getting me settled into her basement, where I could sprawl all my papers and assignments to my heart's content.  But that was by no means the highlight of my stay.  She introduced me to house concerts (live concerts in someone's basement, didn't know that even existed), to jam sessions at a local pub, to the farmer's market and to grass fed beef and organic produce, to exhibitions at the EA Rawlinson Center and last but not least, to Boler Camping.  Gwen restored 2 vintage Bolers.  OK,  she may have had a bit of help here and there with the electrical and some mechanical issues perhaps.  But by and large she did all the restoration work herself.  Having a knack for painting and decorating, the campers looked so cozy, inviting, glamorous even after she was done with them!  Which in turn inspired my husband and I to purchase an old camper, which we restored and used for many years criss-crossing, exploring and enjoying our province in summer.  Thanks Gwen for being a friend, for all your inspiration and for helping me through a difficult year!

Back on Sunday.  Have to get my garden in!  SanTeh!

84. Chemo Surgery: It's only a Fleshwound!

"It's only a Fleshwound": courtesy of "Monty Python" 😁

September 20th, 2021 I went into the hospital for the surgery called  a right hemicolectomy,  i.o.w. my ascending colon, neighboring lymph nodes and appendix were removed.  But, when I came to, I was relieved to hear that all went well and that my colon was stitched together again and thus I had no need for a colostomy/bag.  One less thing to worry about!  The surgery was performed through laparoscopy: 3 incisions were minimal, but the 4th one right by my belly button was a bit more involved.  It looked like a nasty "hook".  All healed well though.  It took time of course.  A month to be exact.  A great heartfelt Thank You to my surgeon and his team!  They did a great job!  He still phones me up from time to time to see how I am doing.  

Right after surgery was definitely not pleasant: I had tubes coming out all over the place and my lower legs were wrapped in plastic pumping bags that hospitals now use to mechanically pump each leg in turn to stimulate your circulation so you won't get any blood clots.  I could not move if I wanted to.  Of course in walks "Nurse Ratchet" who tells me to get up off the bed.  I did not oblige!  She was not pleased! Neither was I.

The day after surgery the catheter and oxygen tube were removed and later on the pumping bags for my legs also, because I started to move around a bit, mostly without any help.  What I found a bit disturbing was the fact that I was prescribed fentanyl as a painkiller.  Now we all know what a good reputation that particular drug enjoys!  So when they sent me home with a prescription for it, we did go to the pharmacy to pick up the prescription and took it home.  And I must say that I was tempted to take it for the pain as I had been taking a few pills in the hospital, but then I decided to take a couple of Tylenol instead and that did the trick - for the most part.  I was so relieved that I had another option!  But it did make me aware of how easy it would be to go down that other path and possibly get addicted.  So easy.  It could have happened to me also!   (And in case you are wondering:  I sold the prescription on the black market and made a fortune!  Just kidding!  If I'm not mistaken it got flushed down the toilet. 😇)

In addition I had to inject myself in my abdomen with Lovenox, a blood thinner, once a day for 4 weeks.  I was a bit queasy about it at first till my husband suggested he would do it.  But since he was shackier than me, I decided to do the job myself instead.  After a while it became old hat. Nothing to it!

One more interesting tidbit of information.  During my 4 day hospital stay I woke up in the middle of the night and did not feel sleepy.  So I was watching the city from my 6th floor window.  All of a sudden this bright light came toward me outside.  It kept coming closer and closer and I was getting worried it would smash into my window.  And the light kept getting brighter and brighter.  For a moment I thought I played a part in a James Bond movie!  It was then that I realized it was a helicopter ready to land on the roof just above my room:  they were shuttling Covid patients from one hospital to another during the night at the height of the pandemic!

Back tomorrow with 1 or 2 more.

83. Chemo With and without Wig/ Met en zonder pruik

I went to the hairdresser today and got a haircut.  I need to wear a head scarf or something when I go outside in the sun or my head will get burned!

 That's me with the wig I chose at the Wig Bank.  But I returned it! 😄

That's me with today's hair cut.  Hopefully it will grow back over time,  so I can look like the young lady I used to be.  Hah!  Having cancer is not glamourous!  

That's me a looong time ago!

82. Chemo Passport Picture

My good friend Mie and I discussed a long time ago that we should do something special for our 65th birthdays.  Never having been there, we decided on a week-long stay in New York.  Then Covid hit and New York was one of the worst places to go, so we had to shelve that idea.  Last year, before I knew I was having cancer, we were eying the island of Ibiza.  Unfortunately that was not to be either.  With the chemo treatments behind me, I have been daydreaming a bit about travelling again.  Which made me think about my passport, whether or not it has expired and should I be needing a new passport picture?  So I decided to take this a step further and got a chemo passport picture taken.  Here is what happened...

I went to the local drug store.  I was wearing my glasses as usual, a mask and a hat and asked the store clerk to take my photo.  She said yes but I would have to take off my glasses, mask and hat.  I responded that the glasses and mask were no problem but that I needed to wear my hat due to chemo.  She said she would go ask her supervisor.  The supervisor said that the hat needed to come off because I would need to "look as close as possible to being dead" upon which the clerk and I glanced at each other and smiled feebly.  The clerk quickly added that it was for "identification purposes should I "perish" in a strange land".  She apologized and said she didn't mean...Then we both burst out laughing.  I asked if I could wear a wig instead of the hat.  The supervisor said yes.  So after one of my last chemo sessions I visited the wig-bank of the cancer clinic.  It was a pleasant surprise!  I half expected a cluttered rummage-sale style place.  On the contrary, all wigs and head gear are neat and tidy and nicely displayed.  There is also a nifty anno 1950 boudoir-like corner with mirror and brushes and a nylon net to cover your remaining hair or bald head.  If I, and the lady who takes care of the place, would have had lots of time, I would have liked to try them all!  But I didn't.  So I chose this one. (see next post)  My husband did a double-take when he saw me wearing it.  (Reflecting on my husband's reaction I should have borrowed a different wig after each chemo session! 😉)  I returned it after the photo shoot!

If (and that's a big if), if I get brave enough to shave the rest of my remaining hair, I may post the wig picture and the baldy-head picture together at a later date, (maybe.)

Next weekend is a long weekend.  Camping season is starting!  Back on Monday or Tuesday with a camping/glamping story.  Also next week a brief recount of Surgery day of September last year.  Spoiler alert: I survived the surgery!  😄  Enjoy the weekend!  SanTeh!

81. Chemo Gratitude in the Time of Covid and Cancer

I am grateful for:

the fact that the colon cancer in my body was found;

living in a safe, peaceful, prosperous country;

having free medicare;

not contracting covid during all of my treatments;

not getting any infections during treatment and thus not needing antibiotics to boot;

not having been allergic to the chemo (some people are);

not having had mouth sores during treatment (salt water helped) nor a urinary tract infection, Lani 😄;

being retired and not having had to worry about work or having dependents;

the support of my husband who drove me to all of my appointments;

the excellent care of the medical staff;

the support of family and friends;

being able to finish the chemo treatments.

I am sure I missed a few items, but covered most of what I wanted to say! 😊

80. Chemo Saying Goodbye to Sweet Chemo Lani

It's almost 2 weeks when I said goodbye to Lani, my home-care nurse.  She took good care of me in the small hospital nearby.  She drew labs (bloodwork) before each chemo treatment, cleaned my Picc line every week and removed the infusor bottle after each treatment.  We are so lucky to have her!!  A home-care nurse is a nurse who goes and treats patients in their own home.  But due to covid, the home-care nurses only go to patients who have mobility problems, and I don't, so we had to go to her instead.  That was not a problem however.  I did have a disagreement with Lani, over cranberries of all things.  I believe that regular consumption of a few dried cranberries helped me avoid getting a urinary tract infection.  Lani says she went to a medical symposium where doctors claimed that eating cranberries do nothing for your urinary tract.  Well, I beg to differ.  Having had chemo treatments I would have been especially vulnerable to this predicament and it was no problem at all.  And I have always taken dried cranberries along on my travels in the past.  It could be a placebo effect for me.  But hey it works and I am sticking to it!  Bye Lani!  Take care!  Thank You for everything! 😘

Lani cleaning and disinfecting the Picc line.

Lani is about to remove the infusor bottle for the last time.  Thank God "Cocktail hour" is over!!!

79. Chemo A Tale from the Goat Trail

As I remember it...42 years later.

Picture the Summer of 1980: a time of "Big Hair", of the cliffhanger "Who shot JR" on the popular TV series of Dallas, and when Terry Fox initiated the Marathon of Hope.   But we were oblivious to all that.  We (myself, my sister and a male friend) were backpacking through Europe.  

Having explored the northern part of Portugal, we decided to head south, to the Algarve, the Mediterenean part, by train.  We had 2 options: either take a stop-at-every-local-station-by-day train and arrive at a small town in the middle of the afternoon to continue on the next day, or take a midnight speed bullet train but arrive at our destination in the middle of the night.  We picked the daylight option.  

Upon arrival at the small town of Funcheira, we quickly found out that the station master spoke no English.  So we headed into town in search for someone who could direct us to find accommodation for the night.  We found a young man of our age casually leaning against a Vespa-ish motorcycle observing the goings-on in the town square.  We introduced ourselves and thank heavens, he spoke English.  His name was Ilio.  No, he was not a local; he was from Lisbon and no, he did not know of any lodging or campground.  But when he found out that we were from Canada he became very interested in us.  He said that his parents owned a cottage a few miles out of town, that we were welcome to stay the night there, that they "wouldn't mind".  He even offered to take us there on his motorcycle.  Our male friend, who was always game for an impromptu event like this, took no time to consider, grabbed his backpack in a flash, jumped on the back of the motorcycle and off went the 2 amigos on a rocky path that led out of town.  My sister and I passed what seemed to be a long time waiting in the train station but eventually, there was Ilio again and it was time for her to join in the disappearing act.  

Slowly, the sun started to sink and it was night time.  The station master motioned that I had to leave the building because he wanted to lock up for the night.  There I was, outside, sitting on the bench with my few belongings, not knowing where my 2 other companions might be.  But sure enough, after an eternity, I heard the by now familiar put-put-put of the motorcycle and Ilio was back to fetch me.  I tried to hang on to him as best as I could with a 20lbs backpack strapped to my back without getting too familiar with this stranger, not an easy feat I can assure you!  And we too turned onto the rocky path leading out of town, progressing at a snail's pace.  

About halfway on the trail I noticed 2 or 3 headlights of bikes heading towards us.  Ohoh!  This didn't bode well!  An ambush, robbery or worse?I thought of jumping off, tossing my backpack and making a run for it.  But where would I run in this unfamiliar terrain in a pitch-black night?  I could barely make out the shape of some trees on either side of the trail and a couple of smaller bushes bordering it.  Not enough to be a safe shelter anyway.  When the group caught up to us, Ilio turned off the motor and a good-natured conversation and laughter followed.  There was hope yet!  After the all-male visit, we continued our trip on the path.  At last we arrived at the cottage, where a young lady, Ilio's sister, stood on the doorstep with a lantern in hand: no electricity available!  

The siblings ushered me into the dining room where, upon opening the door, a Portugese-style fiesta was in full swing with my 2 companions comfortably seated as guests of honor at a long banquet table laden with food and drink, and surrounded by the whole curious family: the parents, a couple of grandmas, aunts and uncles and cousins of various ages!  And to think that I had been missing out on all that worried sick about what happened to those two!  But the family made sure that I also got soon included in the celebration!

Yes, with the cottage being under renovation, we did not sleep that well that night.  But in the morning, breakfast sure more than made up for it!  Again the table was laden with ham and cheese, jams, coffee and homemade bread fresh out of an outdoor oven "for the Canadians!"  There was also a strange preserve on the table, vaguely familiar, and nice. We could not quite place it.  But it tasted delicious!

After breakfast we said our goodbye to the family.  Ilio walked us back to the train station on the path from the night before.  It cut right through an immense olive tree orchard, with trees on either side as far as the eye could see.  About halfway to town he pointed out some shrubs laden with ripe fruit: they were figs trees.  Having never eaten fresh figs before, we gorged ourselves all the way back to the train station.  There we said our goodbye to Ilio, who in such a short time, had become a very good friend.

My sister corresponded with the 2 siblings for a while, but after about a year or so the exchange dwindled and eventually stopped.  With our male companion no longer part of our lives, she and I sometimes still talk about the "Portugese adventure".  And then we say 3 cheers for Ilio and his amazing family, and 3 cheers for the Goat Trail that led us to their home!

Back on Tuesday.  SanTeh!

78. Take The Quiz!!

Take the Fast Five Quiz:  Alcohol and Cancer

 https://reference.medscape.com/viewarticle/968444?uac=159011HR&faf=1&sso=true&impID=4143181&src=

Back on the weekend with another story from Irm's archives. 😊     SanTeh!

77. Chemo What the Heck is Einkorn?

That's what I thought when I first came across it recently.  What the heck is this stuff? I had never heard of it and we are in the grain-growing business! 

Einkorn is the oldest, never been hybridized, wheat known to mankind.  It may have an anti-inflammatory effect.  It has gluten in it, but in a different form than what is in our cereals today.  It should however be avoided if you have celiac disease or wheat allergies.  It tastes slightly bitter and is considered to be of neutral acidity.  Google it if you are interested.  Or check out:  www.don'twastethecrumbs.com  Article: Einkorn: a wheat for the gluten free?  It has tons of info on it.

76. Easy Chocolate Fudge Cake

 

Easy Chocolate Fudge Cake

Good for a quick 1 or 2 small portions!  😋 I like simple recipes!!😄

Ingredients:

• ·       3 Tbsp milk with 2 TBsp sugar added
• ·       3 TBsp einkorn flour, 2 Tbsp unsweetened cacao powder, nothing added
• ·       1/8 tsp baking powder
• ·       1 to 2 Tbsp Greek yochurt, regular kind, not non fat

Equipment:

• ·       Microwave
• ·       2 microwaveable bowls

Put milk and sugar in a bowl.  Microwave till hot so the sugar can easily dissolve.  Mix well.  Set aside to cool.   Mix einkorn flour, cacao powder and baking powder in another bowl.  Flatten any lumps.  Mix well.  Add dry bowl mix to wet or reverse.  It does not seem to make much difference.  Mix till it is like batter.  Then add the Greek yochurt.  Mix some more.  Microwave cake mixture for about 1 minute.  Take out of microwave and let cool.  If you find this too dry, top with table or other cream.    I usually put the cake mixture in 5 ½” bowls but I have used smaller bowls, pried out the cake, cut it lengthwise in half and added cherries and whipped cream to be like miniature Black Forest Cakes!   (Recipe adapted from a women's magazine.)

The einkorn flour and the unsweetened cacao powder was bought at the health food store.  Now what the heck is einkorn?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrZ314PbSzU   Carole King: Bitter with the Sweet

75. Chemo A Bitter-Sweet Weekend

Happy Belated Mother's Day to all the mothers and gramas this weekend! For us the weekend was bitter-sweet.  The sweet part:  I finished my last chemo treatment on Thursday (yeah), our son was home for a very nice visit and we managed to get some long overdue visiting in with some of the relatives.  Very nice!

The bitter part:  on Saturday there was a graveside funeral service for my husband's younger sister who passed away from cancer November after a brief stay in palliative care.  By the time the cancer was found, it had metastasized all throughout her body even though she had been treated by the same family physician for  number of years.  I can not comprehend this. There are so many diagnostic tools available.  How could this possibly have been missed? It is just tragic beyond words.

Back tomorrow with a recipe and then other, much needed, more pleasant topics for a while!

74. Chemo Undergoing Procedures before Surgery (follows post #56)

 First I received a blood transfusion.  Although I was a bit apprehensive about this, I had no side effects, thank goodness!  My 95 year old mother did however, after she had a blood transfusion in her much younger years.  She claims that a monk had been the donor.  After the procedure she took a liking to drinking trappist beer, wore a lot of sandals (if she did not go barefeet) and started wearing baggy clothing! 😄

Next came the iron infusion.  This did not go without a hitch.  The nurses had to interrupt the treatment for a while and then start it up again at a much slower pace because I had a reaction to it.

Lastly I had a CT (cat) scan.  The results from that indicated that I did not have Stage 2 but indeed Stage 3 colon cancer, that it had spread into some lymph nodes, that the cancer was "on the move".   It had been decided by then to do the operation first to remove the diseased part of my colon and the operation was to be followed by chemotherapy to kill all residual cancer cells afterward.

73. Chemo Best Egg Salad Sandwich Ever!

 I was teaching in a school quite a distance away from my home.  Monday mornings, my husband would prepare my lunch for the day so I would not be late.  This particular Monday I knew he had made me an egg salad sandwich, an absolute favorite of mine.  I was really looking forward to it!

Arriving at the school, I tossed my non-descript lunch bag into the staff room fridge in the pile with all the other lunches.  When it was lunch time I quickly grabbed my lunch and proceeded to eat it.  Much to my delight the egg salad was exactly the way I like it: very creamy with just the right amount of finely chopped onion added!  My husband had really outdone himself!  Every bite was sheer bliss!

I was just about to sink my teeth into the second half of the sandwich when a frantic woman's voice filled the room.  Or rather, she had her head stuck in the fridge and kept muttering: "I can't find my lunch.  I just can not find my lunch."  Then it slowly dawned on me that the delicious sandwich I was eating might not be mine? I went to the fridge.  Sure enough, my bag had been tossed into the back in between last month's left-overs.  Whoops!  Sheepishly I confessed my error to the poor substitute teacher, apologized, tried a lopsided smile and suggested a "lunch swap"?  She found no humor in this, stomped out of the staff room and headed straight for the nearest Tim Horton's.  With most of the sandwich nearly eaten, all I could do at that point was just shrug and finish the Best Egg Salad Sandwich Ever!

72. Breast Cancer and Chemo

I thought I should include these links.  You might want to read this info if you have had breast cancer or are currently taking treatment.  

https://www.forbes.com/sites/victoriaforster/2022/04/08/breast-cancer-survivors-at-increased-risk-of-heart-disease/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/elaineschattner/2018/02/07/reasons-not-to-freak-out-about-risk-of-heart-disease-after-breast-cancer/ 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/elaineschattner/2014/08/13/breast-cancer-chemotherapy-varies-widely-study-raises-questions-about-early-treatmentchoice/   https://www.forbes.com/sites/elaineschattner/2014/08/13/breast-cancer-chemotherapy-varies-widely-study-raises-questions-about-early-treatment-choice/

I am having difficulty with these links.  Sorry.  You can look for it if it interests you.