100.Chemo Well Heeled

My first serious job in Belgium in the 70s was working in a bank.  It was a prestigious, well established place, located in the heart of the city, with a huge marble-floored lobby, lots of oak paneling on the walls and shiny brass accents everywhere.   It was the place where the well heeled of the city did their transactions and entrusted their money.  I was hired as a data entry clerk, sitting in a cubicle behind the scenes. The wage was more than good and I was eager to spend some of my cash! 

It so happened that on my way to and from work I had to walk by a small boutique selling fashion and footwear imported from Britain, very in vogue at the time!  One evening I spotted them in the window: a pair of knee-height black velvet boots with 2 inch stiletto heels! I was smitten!  I had to have them!  I was going to show the fuddy-duddy co-workers in the bank what real fashion was all about!  So I bought them, tucked the box under my arm and headed for home.  My parents, who had survived the depression and lean war years were not impressed.  "You spent your money on THIS?"  But their reaction did not deter me from wearing my purchase to work the next morning.

Now I ask you: at what point in your life does a person develop a brain?  If I had one at the time I made little use of it.  Instead of taking the box to work and wearing the boots there, I traveled to and from work wearing them.  I should mention that we lived in the suburbs, that I had a 15 minute walk to the bus stop, then a bus ride and another 10-15 minute walk in the city on cobbled streets before reaching the bank.  Walking in 2 inch stiletto heeled boots is an art form I never possessed, not then and even less now.  So I missed my regular bus, because try as I may, I could not get there in time.  Once in the city, the cobblestoned pavement presented another challenge.  I managed to swerve from lamp post to lamp post to keep more or less in an upright position, much like a drunken sailor after several wild nights.  Arriving at the bank I would straighten up and glide somewhat gracefully through the lobby to my cubicle, to the amusement of the tellers situated behind the counters.  Lucky for me the manager's door was closed.

The second day went much as the first, except that this time, when the tellers saw me making "my entrance", two jolly older males cupped their hands around their mouths and proclaimed to the others: "Here comes the leaning tower of Pisa!"  Also the manager's door was slightly ajar this time.

When I entered the bank on the third day,  I was late again of course.  This time the manager stood in the doorway of his office, cigar in mouth, hands on hips.  He did not say anything, only squinted at me.  It was then that I got this sinking feeling, that perhaps wearing these boots might not be such a good idea; that I could get fired over this!  But the straw that really broke the camel's back was when, at the end of the day, standing at the bus stop waiting for my ride home, I was approached, proposed to and offered some money by two "gentlemen".

The boots survived the move to Canada, where in an attempt to recover some of my "investment" I wore them to a couple of Halloween parties.  Then they ended up in a musty basement somewhere, where they quickly deteriorated.  

And if I remember correctly, my next purchase were a pair of Birkenstocks: Sensible Shoes! 

  

I'll be back at the end of next week.  Come sailing with me then!  Take care! SanTeh!

99. Chemo Money Talks

During my treatment for colon cancer, the subject of money would come up now and again.  For example: every time I went, the pharmacy would wait to make my chemo batch till I got at the clinic in case I , or any other patient for that matter, would not show up and the drug treatment would be wasted, because each dose gets tailored to the patient's needs.  When  quizzing the staff about it, the response would be:  "Oh!  The treatment is soo expensive!"  The same thing went for the CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen) blood test: "Oh! It is soo expensive!"  Being a curious person I asked the  pharmacist what the cost of my treatment (Folfox) was.  She looked it up and said: $200,00.  Mind you that was just for the chemo drugs alone, not including the chair time at the clinic, the nursing staff, the oncology appointments, the anti-nausea drugs, etc.  That would also add up of course.  But as far as the cancer drugs themselves were concerned, due to having been around for several decades, mine was one of the cheapest treatments by far.  Some newer immunotherapies cost tens of thousands of dollars per treatment.  Even so, with mine being the more reasonable one, you have to also consider that I had 12 treatments in all.  So everything times 12.  Lucky for us, our Canadian health care system pays for it all!  I hate to think about what would happen, if we did not have the coverage that we have, like a lot of people in the U.S. for instance, or worse yet, no treatment available at all like in some parts of the world.  Yikes!  "Fortunate" cancer patients that we are!!  😏

98. Chemo Beste Klasgenootjes!

Dag Dames van de Economische!  t'Was maar om te laten weten dat Hilde en Karel hier inderdaad langs zijn geweest op weg naar Alaska.  We hebben een fijn bezoek gehad!  Goed wat bijgebabbeld!  Dat moet een van de volgende jaren nog eens herhaald worden!  Sommigen gaven instructies aan Hilde om me ne knuffel te geven.  Awel se: ge krijgt er van mij ene of meerdere terug! xxx  Allerbeste wensen, vooral voor een goede gezondheid: heel belangrijk!!!  SanTee!!  Daaaag!  Irm

FYI:  the comment section should be working!  I would love to receive comments!  Thanks! 

97. Chemo That's CEA, not CIA!

Not to be confused with one another, although both are a way of surveillance!

There is a blood test called CEA that  measures the level of CEA in the blood.  CEA stands for CarcinoEmbryonic Antigen.  CEA, a protein found in 70% of cancer patients, is released into the bloodstream from both cancer cells and normal cells.  When found in higher than normal amounts, it can be used as a tumor marker for colorectal cancer.  The normal range is less than 2.5 ng/L. ; greater than 10 ng/L indicates extensive disease and greater than 20 ng/L metastatic disease.  Usually your blood does not get checked for this until you have colorectal cancer already.  My levels have been anywhere from 6.4 ng/L to 11.3 ng/L.  and during chemo the levels went up and down like a yoyo, so they were unreliable.   This last month the level has been finally trending down.  I take that as a good sign.  Fingers crossed!   With chemo behind me, I will be checked once a month from now on.

I'll be back in about a week with a light hearted story.  We can all use one from time to time.  Keep well!  SanTeh!

96. Chemo Back from the Brink?

Last week was full of medical appointments, but the week turned out much better than I had ever hoped!  On Tuesday I had lab work done so the results would be available for the Thursday appointment with my oncologist.  If you go early enough in the day, the results will be available on-line by supper time.  Nifty or what?  Apart from a couple of still worrisome numbers, the rest were fine, and it seems that the CEA level is trending downward, which is most encouraging of all! Wednesday we drove up to Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon for a PET/CT scan, the ultimate in scans.  I was a bit apprehensive about the ordeal.  The prep time takes the longest however, and the scan itself lasts roughly 20 minutes.  That's do-able if you are claustrophobic like me.  I was worried that I might have to wait a long time for the results of the PET/CT scan, but my oncologist had the report in hand the next day already.  I was impressed.  Even more impressive were the results.  No active cancer was found (at the moment), so I am cautiously optimistic 🙏 🙏🙏YEAH!!!  Perhaps you recall that I had an ultrasound in preparation for a liver radiofrequency ablation procedure not long ago.  And that the radiologist could not find the tumor.  Nothing showed up on the ultrasound in the location where it was supposed to be.  Maybe that's why?

I will be monitored for a while yet: at the end of July, I will have another ultrasound and an MRI later on.  I may be back from the brink...I think.  Let's stay optimistic anyway! 😊

Song:  "I'm a survivor" by Lacy J. Dalton

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXmIl0-QaPw

95. Chemo Going to Wanuskewin

For the year-end field trip I decided what better plan than to take the students back to their roots -  "We are going to Wanuskewin!" - in part because it was befitting the culture and the curriculum and maybe more so because I had never been there and wanted to experience it for myself! 😆  When I suggested it to the class they all rolled their eyes but agreed on the condition that a stop at Ruckers, the amusement place, should be included.  I had no problem with that.  The trip was to be an overnighter; we would have to take sleeping bags and other gear.  "Oh, and by the way, the teacher is usually also the driver."  "Great!"  Gulp!

So the day came and we set out in the vehicle: 12 students, an adult "antie-chaperone" and myself.  Before leaving the reserve, I thought it prudent, since we were allotted an older van, to fill up with gas and get everything checked by an attendant.  The trip to Saskatoon was uneventful.  I can't remember why we ended up on Spadina Avenue but there we were, almost right in front of the old chateau-style hotel when the van stalled and I could not get for life nor money, the motor started again.  Traffic began to accumulate behind us and I was fearing an upcoming mutiny by the students because we had not been to Ruckers yet.  So the boys scrambled out of the van, and because we were on the top of a slight incline, pushed the van "downhill" with the help of some bystanders and, miracle of miracles, the motor started up again!  By now the sweat was pouring out of me and I hightailed it straight to a garage where a mechanic's head disappeared under the hood and found a cap that was not screwed into place.  Thankfully we had no more mishaps with the vehicle after that!

Ruckers was enjoyed by all.  Then on to Wanuskewin where a guide toured us around, had a bannock supper prepared, told stories by the fire and made sure we were all comfortably tucked into our sleeping bags in the big tipi, our sleeping accommodation for the night.  The guide would be back in the morning to make breakfast.

Just before daybreak I woke up and had this eerie feeling.  The fire had long gone out, the temperature was near freezing and some of the tipi flaps were rattling in the wind.  I was stone cold.  I looked around and to my astonishment realized that I was indeed all alone in the big tipi: my companions had abandoned me, God only knows how long already.  I found them settled in the van where it was cozy warm, the windows dripping with condensation.  Once inside myself, it took me 2 to 3 hours to regain my normal body heat, but without question I had a superb front seat to a magnificent sunrise!

Back at the school, people wanted to know how the students had enjoyed their field trip.  Their general response was: "Ruckers was good!"  😏😄 

Back tomorrow with an update on my situation.  SanTeh!

Song by Buffy Saint Marie:  Qu'Appelle Valley, Saskatchewan    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjgaF3KqqiM

94. Chemo Teaching On Reserve

 Tomorrow, June 21st, is National Indigenous Peoples Day.

I had finished my teaching degree in December and by March still had not found any employment.  So I presented my resume at a reserve school in the hope of doing some substitute teaching.  Instead, to my surprise, I was hired to teach full time till the end of the school year.  I was the 3rd teacher for that group that year.  The class consisted of about 12-15 Grade 9 adolescents.  Naturally they were more interested in socializing than studying and the curriculum could not be further from what they needed: Shakespeare in English class, distribution and commutation in math, ...  So for English I plugged in the movie "Romeo and Juliet" with Leonardo DiCaprio.  My pupils did show some interest, especially in the car chases between the Montagues and the Capulets!  Teaching math was hopeless and always started with me rounding up the students from their hiding places all throughout the building.  (The principal was no help in this matter).

Now don't get me wrong, they were not a mean-spirited clientele.  In fact when I happened to teach them something they liked, they were actually very pleasant young folk!  One girl in particular was soo bright she could easily have taught circles around me at that time.  She expressed the wish to become a doctor.  But sadly her dream never materialized. She became a "hausfrau".  Not that there is something wrong with that.  But it's a shame because she had so much potential, someone her community desperately needed.

I made it to the end of the school year and as is custom had to plan the year-end field trip...in the next post! 😎

93. Chemo Gemmie in the rain

We have been having quite a few rain storms lately.  Gemmie does not like the thunder but just loves rolling around in the dirt as you can see!

 

She knows she is not allowed in the house when she is grubby.  So most of the time she manages to clean up before scratching at the door.  What a dog!

92. Chemo Happy Early Father's Day!

This goes out to all the Fathers, Grandpas, Stepdads, would-be Dads:  Have a Happy Father's Day on Sunday!  My Father passed away long time ago and I am sorry to say that I did not know him well so I can not provide a good story on him.  I did miss him after he passed away though.  

Boys will be boys.  Here is what my husband has been working on this last winter.  He and his friend are fixing up old cars in their spare time.  Thought you might like to see these photos! 

The black 1947 Hudson  (gangster car) was sold recently.  The boys are still repairing the 1954 Buick.  It will take them a while yet!

91. Chemo Husband's Birthday

Thought I should mention that it's my husband's birthday today!   He is a farmer, farmed, and still farms, 3 quarters, a grain farm only, no animals are involved, other than our spoiled dog, Gemmie. 😊 In addition he was a heavy duty mechanic, for many years working off the farm to supplement our income.  When he was young, his parents had a small dairy farm and the boys were involved in doing chores.  In the 70s the farm had to be modernized, but since Grandpa was close to retiring and a major investment of money was required, the farm was sold to what was then called the Land Bank, a government agency, for a pittance.  Soon after the sale my husband was presented with the opportunity to lease that same land back from the Land Bank, which we did for many, many years.  We payed much more in rent than what the grandparents received when they sold.  In addition to the rent/lease money, it was also our responsibility to pay for the property taxes on this land we did not own.  Go figure!  Once an adult, my husband had his belly more than full of dairy farming and switched into cereal crops: mostly barley, canola and canary seed.  But over the years he has also grown flax, sunflowers, wheat, quinoa (long before it became mainstream) and last year experimented growing a small plot of buckwheat.  The only crop he will definitely not grow is oats, because he is allergic to the stuff! 😟

Happy Birthday Hon! And many more years, especially in good health!  SanTeh! 😘

My then young husband is on the left!

90. Chemo Thanks

I am waiting on an appointment with my oncologist.  Until then, I do not have anything pertinent to share about my situation.  I do like to say thanks however, thanks to all the people who have been in contact to get better now that chemo is behind me.   Some have supplied me with visits, gifts, hats,  chocolate (who knew 😄), some with kind words in texts.  I thank you all!  It is most kind and encouraging!!  I would like to share two gifts in particular:  one is a work of art, made by Mother Nature, courtesy of Sheri and Lewis, the other one is a work of art made by the hands and the creative brain of my brother-in-law Ross, the bird-house man from Kelowna.  He is also an extra in  some Hallmark Productions being filmed in the Okanagan from time to time.  A multi-talented man!

Unless something unforeseen comes up, I do not have anything planned to write about till Father's Day and Aboriginal Day.  I am working on projects that I have put off since last year and I am putzing outside a bit.  I have to stay out of the sun though. My stamina is slowly, very slowly coming back.  I have started to walk with the women of the walking club again.  But some of the side effects I had during chemo are worse now than when I was in treatment.  Yikes!  Recovery is a slow-moving process and no more steroids are involved either!!  Later!  SanTeh!

89. Chemo What the Queen and I have in Common

We are both female: check.  We each have at least one dog: check.  We both wear jewelry: check, although hers are the real thing and mine are from Walmart.  We both are into one precious metal this year:  Platinum to be exact!   One of my chemo drugs was oxaliplatin, a drug containing platinum.  Because of this metal circulating through my system, I am very sensitive to cold and must bundle up and protect my body more than before, iow I must be my own "body guard"! 😄 

The Queen on the other hand is celebrating her Platinum Jubilee, 70 years as a Monarch.  She never had chemo as far as I know.  Good for her!  On my husband's side of the family, they are devoted royal-watchers, although it baffles me as to why.  Having Irish roots, the family emigrated to North America during the Great Famine 1845-1852.  The word in England during that time was: "Let them eat Crumpets!!", as 6 million pounds of rent money were remitted out of Ireland into British coffers.  Now my husband and I agree on one thing however; that the English monarchy livens things up in Britain and at the very least counteracts the dreariness of the British weather.  To be without the Royal family is just unthinkable.  Where else would you come across Royal off-spring who dilly-dallies with minors or one who wanted to be a tampon, a Tampon King no less?  The Royal family adds their share to British tourism and tabloidism on and  off the isles.  Will and Kate's visit to the Carribean to promote the Royal Brand did not exactly go as planned.  But then the Colonies are getting wiser and are slowly starting to back away from the CommonWealth. (Is that as in Wealth for the Common People?)  Hats off to the Queen though for persevering and sitting on the throne for 70 years!  I have to hand it to the Old Gal: at 95 she does have grit!  I can barely manage 20 minutes on the throne and my legs get numb.   And she did after all marry Prince Phillip, who is all right in my books, who, instead of the obligatory ribbon-cutting, did something useful and founded the Duke of Edinburgh International Award, a program my son was involved in and greatly benefitted from!  So, Long Live the Queen!

Truth be told: I may have a peek at the TV to see what the royals are wearing, to see if Kate is gaining any weight and if Megan and Harry do show up! 😉😊😉     Back on Sunday.