Ok... once again, I'm trying to do up a blog entry and once again, I'm fighting against the clock... with yet another busy weekend ahead. Hahaha... as you can see, I just don't have time to be sick or feel sorry for myself because I don't have the time to fit that into my schedule ;)
Now, I KNOW I haven't done a blog entry in forever... not one with a lot of information so I'm not really sure where I left off and I forgot to skim over the last couple of entries before I started this one. So, I guess we'll just have to do a little summary.
- June 30th was the date of the surgery to remove the adrenal gland that had the malignant tumour. At that time, we knew the tumour was malignant because it lit up big time on the PET scan, but it was an enigma because they couldn't figure out WHY why it was malignant. If colon cancer is going to spread, the two common areas for it to spread to are the liver and the lung. It would be considered very rare for it to spread to the adrenal gland. On the other hand, I have had this growth/tumour on the gland for at least 7 years that we are aware of, probably longer. So if it was adrenal cancer, which is a very rare but very aggressive cancer, then I probably wouldn't be around now and it would have got me some years ago. So what the heck was going on?
Well, the pathology report came back and sure enough, the cancer was a "colon cancer metastic deposit". In other words, the colon cancer had actually somehow spread to the adrenal gland. I don't think they will know "when" it happened... had it been there all along and the colon cancer actually started spreading some years ago, or was this a recent spread, that happened before or after the chemo? The good news, Dr. Meneghetti successfully excised the tumour and right adrenal gland, so I think the above becomes a moot point.
- Next on the agenda is the lung surgery. They are giving me some time to regain my strength and recover from the June 30 surgery before we do the lung surgery. I have an Aug 21st appt. for a chest CAT scan. Then I will be meeting with Dr. Yee and he will go over the scan with me. We will know if the 1/2" lesion/tumour has grown or not and he will also explain the surgery. You can be rest assured I will be telling him about the bad experience I had during this last surgery where no one believed me when I said how intense the pain was and I want him to be aware that I normally can take a lot of pain before he would ever hear from me... but if I say I'm in pain, to realize that if I feel it I am in intense pain. I expect this second surgery to go much better because I now know what I need to communicate BEFORE the surgery.
I don't have a date for this surgery and won't have until after I see Dr. Yee. But from what I gather, they will probably schedule me for sometime at the end of Sept/beginning of Oct... after he thinks I've regained the necessary strength back.
- Arthritis/nerve damage. Yes, these two things are acting up big time! Arthritis can be a nasty thing at the best of times but I'm thinking that after all I've been through what with the chemo, radiation, and surgery... it's all aggravated it. The nerve damage is the damage that was done by the chemo to the nerves in my feet and shins. So this has been a real hindrance to walking from Point A to Point B.
- Pain Management. Ahhh... well, this is an interesting thing. I have been on numerous pain meds and as time has gone on, they just don't seem to be working all that well. So this week, my doctor has taken me off the narcotic pain meds (Oxycodone and Hydromorphine). Since they are not working, he's suspicious that they are causing "reflective pain", something that narcotic pain meds are known to do if you are on them for too long. The pain they are suppose to be controlling ends up being more intense. Instead of taking these narcotic meds, he has put me on "Tridural" (sp?) which is a new med that is not a narcotic and I'm only to take it once/day in the morning. I've only been on it for 3 days and so far, I think it might have promise. Yesterday, when I was at the theatre, I could actually walk around WITHOUT my cane... and when I was standing up selling tickets for the two hours before show time, I could do it without being in agony. I was tired by the end, and cold (it was freezing out yesterday), but I was pleased with the pain level for the day.
Ok, blah, blah, blah.... the above long saga is a catch up with the medical stuff. From now until the next surgery, I want to try and live my life as normal as possible. When we get into "medical mode", it can get downright scary when the reality hits as to why I'm surrounded by so many doctors and specialists. We are still fighting the battle for my life because this is a particularly nasty kind of cancer and the fact that we now know that it DID spread to the adrenal gland and we are 80% sure that we'll find the lung tumour is also a colon cancer deposit, then it is not a good thing that the cancer has spread. But damn it, this is ME we are talking about... and I have way too many things I still want to be involved with and way too many people I still want to play with... so the battle continues and I will beat it! I KNOW it is serious, but I also know that one hast to live their life and not have the monster control me and what I do.
Sooooo... somewhere around here I have some pictures that have been taken over the last couple of weeks and they will just give you an idea of what I've been up to (in no particular order)...
My pseudo-nephew and his gal, Helen, got married last weekend! So this is a picture of the wedding party, including Pat and Jerry, Jeff's mom and dad. Pat, Jerry and Dad all live together. Now isn't this a lovely picture of a lovely wedding party?
Awwww... here is Lady Bridget and Roger!! Roger is a long-term member of TUTS and has been around ever since I started in theatre. Bridget, of course, is the star Box Office dog :)
Now this is hilarious!! This is Ron, my landlord. I needed a new toilet seat so he was putting it on. Meanwhile, two neighbour pals (Mimi, Toby) and I were talking and we had the apartment door open... so Paloma, Toby's bird, opened her door and came over to see what was going on. She was particularly interested in Ron and what he was doing :)
Ok you have all seen some of my pictures of where I spend time in the park with the theatre. I have probably got a few pictures taken from this very same spot, during the year, but this was taken the other day and I think is a good example of showing why I love putting time in here at the TUTS office and this outdoor theatre. It is just so darn peaceful, beautiful and well-maintained. In other pictures, there have been bare trees, etc... but this is it in the height of summer.
Now, it's kind of hard to see since the trees are full, but if you look through the trees, this is the box office for TUTS... and you can barely see the green front of the theatre.Ok, I just know there must be more pictures around here on my computer, but I'm afraid this entry is plenty long enough for now. This weekend we have the last night of Fireworks on Saturday. This year, the three countries competing in the HSBC Celebration of Light competition were Canada, USA, and China. My personal opinion is that China will win hands down, but we will find out tomorrow night. The neighbourhood will be shut down again to traffic, so I will be staying home and not going to the theatre... which is probably a good thing because it does give me a rest day. Sunday is Gay Pride here in the 'hood, so once again the neighbourhood will be shut down to traffic for the big parade.
Then it will be back to the theatre for the final two weeks. Hahaha... I know I owe practically everyone email!! Trust me, I have read all incoming emails. I have deleted those that don't need answering and have kept those that I really do want to answer in my inbox. But alas... I was just in there and realize I have 650 emails that I would LIKE to respond to now... and let's face it, that's just not going to happen! Soooo... for those who may be reading the blog and wondering why you haven't heard from me.. don't give up. I may not be able to respond to a previous email, but I will be in touch. According to the weather peeps, it looks like we are going to be in for another stretch of good weather, which will be fabulous for both TUTS shows. We still have 2 weeks left of both runs. Once the TUTS is over and then I have two weeks to create the Sept 1 Metro Theatre Community Theatre newsletter.. well, then I'll have some down time to hang around, catch up on email and home stuff and relax before the next surgery.
Soooooo... I will be in touch with everyone soon!! I just can't say when yet :)
Huggggggs,
Cheryl
