Thursday, May 19, 2011 - Dog Trauma and my CAT scan results

Hello Bloggies ... another update!! :)

Hey, it's only been about a week... I'm doing better, right?? Well, I'll work on trying to make these weekly updates, but who knows ... so much to report on, so little time.

Well, for starters this past week has been extremely traumatic for a good 4 days (Fri - Mon) because of my little diva, Bridget. I know some of you were following the status updates on Facebook so this will be a repeat... I'll make it quick since the trauma is now over and she's doing so much better. It started Friday (May 13).... I should have known that Friday the 13th was not going to be a good day. I had to go for my CAT scan at 8:30am that morning (right there... having to be ANYWHERE by 8:30am does not bode well with me!). The rest of the day seemed to go without any problems. Toby mentioned when she took Bridget out for her walkie around dinner time, that she had gotten sick... just once but she threw up a yellow bile. This is not uncommon in dogs, but is something one should keep an eye on because it could be a sign that something is wrong internally. Well, it didn't seem to affect her appetite and she ate her dinner with her usual gusto... but a couple of hours later, threw that up as well. Then starting around 11pm, the diarrhea. Oh oh... just this past March she had that attack of colitis, so were we to go through this again? Pretty much so, it seemed. I was up all night with her Friday, getting her outside before we had an "accident". Sat morning I called the vet's office, explained the problems and with some discussion we agreed that we should just let it run it's course... and keep her on a very very bland "white" diet (chicken and rice). There is also a medication called ProGut, which is a paste that puts the good flora back in the gut... so Toby ran up to the clinic and picked this up. Saturday night seemed much better... both Bridget and I got to sleep through the whole night, no problems. Sunday, not so good... and Sunday night was THE worst. I can't even begin to describe how horrible it was and the poor little darling was in so much pain and suffering. Monday, first thing in the morning it was up to the clinic we went, where they kept her all day. They were going to keep her so that 1) I could get some sleep (after 2 nights of no sleep, it was taking it's toll on me since this was also a chemo week), 2) run a bunch of tests to check everything that could possibly be causing this and 3) set her up on a 4 hour IV of rehydration. After all that diarrhea, the poor little darling was soooo dehydrated. It's amazing how quickly small dogs can fall into the danger zone with dehydration and diarrhea will do it every time. Well, suffice it to say, all her tests came back in the normal range, which means she does not have any of the diseases they thought might be possible... and her pancreatitis test came back negative, which is a huge relief. Soooo, after coming home with antibiotics and having been rehydrated, she did much better... and now, she is almost totally back to her normal spunky self. The diagnosis... after having colitis, she obviously has a very sensitive "gut" and if she picks up something off the ground, or she is exposed to any kind of stress... her sensitivities act up. We are now going to work with the Vet on a diet that will hopefully keep on top of this so it doesn't happen again.

In case anyone hasn't figured it out... my little Bridget means the world to me ;) She's a character and a half, she's been with me for 13 years, through the good times, the bad times and the everyday times. A lot of you will remember that she started out as the Box Office dog at Metro Theatre... as well, she was both the Box Office dog and the Office dog at TUTS. She didn't come to work with me back when I was working my government job, but all the more reason it was important she came with me everywhere else. She quickly became adept at charming everyone who she met at the various theatres. She has been my sidekick all this time and she is so very rarely ill that when it happens, I will do anything and everything to get her well again. She's my little hero :)

Then there's me.... sheesh, it never seems to just rain, but it pours. As I mentioned, I had a CAT scan Friday morning. The purpose of this CAT scan was to see if the latest chemo (Irinotecan) I've been on since early February is doing it's job. As a recap, the cancer we are dealing with right now are multiple nodules in both my lungs. The primary cancer was colon cancer and the primary tumour was removed 4 years ago. The spread went to my lungs but appeared to be very indolent (lazy, wasn't growing). Last spring, the nodules started growing, so I was put on the oral chemo (Capecitabine aka Xeloda). That worked until Dec, then it just up and stopped working. Unfortunately, that's one of the realities of chemo... it can be working really well but then the cancer gets used to it and becomes immune. So then one has to try a new attack.

Well, long and short of it... it doesn't appear the Irinotecan chemo is doing a great job on it's own. When comparing the most recent CAT scan with the scan in Sept... there has been growth... not a lot, but the nodules are bigger than they were in Sept. What my oncologist and I think is that the Irinotecan has slowed down the growth, but it hasn't done the job we wanted it to do which is to shrink the tumours. So, my oncologist is suggesting we try adding another chemo (5FU) to the Irinotecan we are already on... so it will be a combo chemo. Now, the 5FU is the chemo I was first on (it is also the IV version of the Capecitabine/Xeloda). It's possible the combination chemo might be the extra kick that is needed for the tumors to be affected and start shrinking.

I'm certainly (obviously) willing to give this a try, but it does not make me a happy camper. The reason why? The 5FU is given in the same IV when I go in for the Irinotecan, only since we are adding it to the existing Irinotecan, that will increase the time I'm in the chemo chair. I'm not sure how much longer I'll have to sit in the chemo chair, but I do know I will also have to be hooked up to the 48 hour portable pump. Some of you will remember I was hooked up to the pump and would come down and do the box office at TUTS. Of course, back then I did not have the Irinotecan as well, so adding this 5FU chemo is not going to get rid of the side affects I am currently getting. Hopefully, I won't have any NEW side affects because of the pump. I tolerated the 5FU very well last time, so I'm expecting to again this time... but it has been 4 years, so it's possible that it may produce side affects that I didn't get last time.

Also, through the wonders of technology... a request has gone in for the research team to do testing on the original primary tumour that was surgically removed back in Jan 2007 to see if it is KRAS mutant. This is a gene or some such thing that if I have it, I would not be eligible for two other chemo treatments (Ertibux and Vertibux). Both of these have their own side affects, one of them being a very painful rash that breaks out on the face. So, I'm torn as to whether I want to be eligible for these two options or not. But, we are getting our ducks lined up in a row as to just what options we have left. Right now, my oncologist is not too concerned... but says the realities are there are only so many options so we have to cover all our bases and make sure that these options would actually do something for me. She says we are not to jump ahead of ourselves... we'll plan for 4-6 months at a time, because options can change, new ones can become available, etc. at any time.

So that's where we are right now. The CAT scan was not what I wanted it to be... and now we are about to add to our existing chemo treatment plan. And yes, after typing all of this, I'm now tired... so I'm going to go have a wee nap so I can be awake to go check out Broadway Chorus's performance at the Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island tonight :)

Cheryl

Friday, May 13th, 2011 - A long overdue blog entry

Heloooo bloggies! Yes, it's Friday evening and the sun is just starting to go down. Actually, I'm thinking it's more the clouds are rolling in than the sun is going down. It's going to be a dark and stormy evening... the wind is already a'howling. Not sure when this started since it was a gorgeous, gorgeous sunny and fairly warm day today. Go figure?

Well, surprise, surprise... it's been a good month since my last blog entry. I am really not sure how I'm going to be able to break this bad habit I seem to have gotten into. I mean, the whole purpose of blogging is that one keeps up an ongoing dialogue, even if it is pretty one sided. hehehe.. one needs people to write comments on each entry for it to be more a "conversation" style blog... or else it's just me rambling on. Hahaha... now that is certainly not a surprise! It seems whether I'm on a "bulletin board forum", an "email list", our good old Facebook or here in bloggy-land, rambling and babbling is something I tend to do. The only one that has me limited is Twitter... with only a 140 character maximum then babbling is not a possibility.

So what's there to report in the last month?? Chemo brain sets in and seriously... the last month just becomes one big blurr! I know the term "Chemo brain" is used quite often when someone is getting chemo treatment, no matter what kind of chemo or what kind of cancer. Chemo is sort of all put in one category and all cancers sort of get bundled together, even though we all know they are so very different. Likewise, treatments for all these various conditions are very different.. hence reactions are and can be different. I remember the first chemo treatments I was on (we are going back 4 years now) and although I can't say any of it was a walk in the park, I did feel I handled them all exceptionally well. I remember going down to Theatre Under The Stars every day, then doing the box office for both shows 7 days/week. Oh, the good old days!! Taking all the challenges of handling crowds of 1100 or more, using a computerized system during the day and a manual system at night... and there I was, with a fully functioning (or so I thought) brain, while being on chemo. Yep, I would have my chemo pump attached to my port and kept the small pump (the size of a baby bottle) in a fanny pack around my waist.

It's now 4 years later... this time the chemo is different. I go in to the chemo unit every two weeks and get chemo infused into my port via an IV. It takes about 2 hours and then a couple of extra minutes to get some anti-side affects meds put in. Then I'm free to leave... no pump, nothing to take home with me. But this chemo reacts soooo differently than the stuff I had four years ago. For example... I had the chemo on Tuesday afternoon. For the rest of Tues, Wed and Thurs, I pretty much have to stay home. I'm not necessarily sick or anything (although there are times when I feel a bit on the queasy side), just lack of energy. Just the thought of leaving the apartment and either getting into someone's car and going somewhere or getting into my own car and driving somewhere to meet someone... takes way too much energy. So, the first couple of days I just hang out at home... and thank goodness I have way more to keep me occupied what with theatre work on the computer ;) But even that... I have to really watch... because it's amazing how much energy/concentration computer work actually requires. Which brings us back to the term "Chemo Brain". Chemo is a systemic toxin/drug. It does not just go straight to where you think the cancer problem is (in my case, nodules in my lungs). The chemo goes throughout your whole system, via the blood stream and the lymphatic system. Hence, it does get in the brain... and that's where the fog/memory can be effected. So when one has chemo brain, sometimes the simplest of tasks become quite the challenge. And then other days, when one gets a lot of tasks done, well, we feel we are quite the heroes :D

Today, Friday, May 13th, I had to go first thing in the morning to get my 3 month CAT scan. It's been three months since I started this particular type of chemo. It is this scan that is going to tell us whether the chemo is doing what we are hoping it will do. Obviously, we are hoping the chemo will be shrinking the tumours/nodules in my lungs. The plan is, that if we can shrink them down back to small nodules, then I will be able to have a nice break/period of time off the chemo. Since the tumours are throughout both lungs, it's not like they can go in and just cut them out. If there were only one or two and they were close together, that would be an option... but alas, that's not an option for me because they are throughout both lungs.

Now in the past few weeks, actually maybe longer when I think about it, I've been fighting a bronchial bug. It appears to be a bronchitis bug that a lot of people have gotten and had to fight off. Back in my younger days, when I was a smoker, bronchitis was something I got all the time, so when the symptoms showed up, I knew exactly what it was. What I didn't account for was this weird closing of the bronchi (??) airwaves so that when you inhaled, all was fine but exhaling produces this wheeze/whistle. Some say that is what it's like to have asthma... but I've never had asthma before and highly doubtful I have it now. But I did get the tight chest which is not comfortable. My GP put me on antibiotics and it seemed to take almost the full 10 day cycle but the chest is all clear now. Still got the wheeze but not as bad as when I first got it. Meanwhile, my oncologist ordered a chest xray to rule out pneumonia... phew! That's all I would need.

Soooo this past couple of weeks had been kind of meh! I mean, there's the usual chemo symptoms to deal with and then add on top of that bronchitis, antibiotics, chemo, anti-chemo symptom meds... come on now, a girl can only be so spunky :)

But, spunky I've sort of been... when I've managed to get out and about. I did go out for a wonderful lunch with my friend, Nelli, at Seasons in the Park up at the top of Queen Elizabeth Park. It was one of those gorgeous sunny spring days and they had just finished planing a garden full of hyacynths. OMG!! The smell was divine!! I swear that has got to be one of my most favourite flower smells!! Here are a couple of pics... and I went blonde that day :)

These are planted outside the front of the restaurant in the park. But there are also tons more throughout the park. Such a glorious smell!!

Here I am in my blonde bouffant. I have to admit, I'm not too sure this is a look for me. It will do to be different, but it hasn't really grown on me. And no, I'm not fond of the double chin, which of course I blame on the blonde hair

My friend, Nelli!! Her lovely yellow blouse is PERFECT for this day we had. We were surrounded by yellow flowers and yellow is the perfect colour for spring!! Do you think I have ANYTHING in yellow?? Noooo... hmmm, and I was just shopping today! My bad... I should have been looking for some gorgeous yellow!

This is at the entrance to the restaurant. Lovely daffodils lined the entranceway, even though it is a little late for daffodils now. April is really the month for them... but I like them anywhere, anytime!

And this is the view we had from inside the restaurant. It's views like this, the flowers, being in the middle of a park, and on such a warm, spring day... well, it makes for a nice long lunch! Needless to say, we were there for a couple of hours, just catching up and having a girls' twosome lunch! Ahhh... the life of retirees!! :D

Now let's see... there was another stretch of days... this is while I was fighting the bronchitis in the chest and I really wasn't feeling all that hot. So again, better to be safe than sorry, I stayed around the old homestead. Again, bronchitis, like the chemo, really takes a lot out of the old energy system. So here we were having this stretch of lovely spring weather... the kind of weather you just want to get out and be outside. As we all know, when Vancouver has the good weather, there are so many things one can do outside. Ok, so some of us aren't THAT physical , so going for a run on the seawall, or a bike ride around the city, or taking the dog on a hike... not going to necessarily happen. BUT, one does get the overwhelming urge to just be outside soaking up the Vitamin E, and just feeling good about being in the fresh air.... but alas, I was homebound and feeling a tad on the depressed side. This is so NOT like me not to be out and about. More and more I've been having to stay close to home just to rebuild my energy reserves... and I'm hoping it's all a combination of fighting the bronchial bug along with the ongoing chemo battle... and as soon as I get over this bronchial stuff, I will be back to my usual running around self :)

Sooooo, my friend, Joan called me on one of these gorgeous days to see how I was doing and of course I whined to her about how I was missing our latest days of spring. So, bless her heart, she drove over and picked Bridget and I up and off we went to Spanish Banks to get some fresh air, a bit of sun and just the freedom of getting outside for that afternoon.

Sitting on a log over at the beach at Spanish Banks, looking back at the West End (which is where we came from since we both live in that 'hood). Hahaha... you can almost see my apartment building in this pic, but not really since it is sort of tucked behind one of the buildings on the far right of the picture.

This is showing how the tide is actually coming in (sandbars are getting covered over, but when the tide is out, you can almost (almost) walk out to the freighters sitting in the bay waiting to go into the port of Vancouver). Like I say, a lovely spring afternoon... and one where even just sitting on a log and able to get a few pictures makes for a lovely day. Unfortunately, I couldn't go for a bit of a walk because I was fighting the darn shortness of breath from the bronchitis... so I sat on a log, while Joan took Bridget for a little walk. Then we went off for a White Spot milkshake :D

I know I'm forgetting a few things... we had the big Federal Election. Don't even want to go there... for those of you on Facebook, you know what I think about that. So I won't put you through that again. Meanwhile, there have been a couple of openings of shows, some I made it to, some I didn't. But the ones I did I had a heck of a wonderful time. Fighting Chance Productions, THE WIZ was wonderful!! Metro Theatre opened 42nd STREET and had a very successful run. This past weekend, Metro opened HAUNTED which runs until June 4th, so if you get a chance to see it... please do!! We will then round up our season with the last production HARVEY, which is a play I know a lot of you have seen the movie... the fellow with his imaginary 6-foot rabbit friend?

Ohhhhh... and for those of you in town who have kids who love musical theatre and would like to take some training... have I got news for you!! Metro Theatre and Theatre Adventures (founded by Canada's own JEFF HYSLOP) will be doing two 6-Day MUSICAL THEATRE INTENSIVE WORKSHOPS. Yes, imagine being in a workshop lead by Jeff, as well as other phenomenal instructors - Mark Carter, Artistic Director for DSR Productions and Caitlin Hayes, Musical Director extraordinaire! The first workshop is one that will be 6 half days (mornings) for children 12-15 yrs. The second workshop will be 6 full days (morning/afternoon) for young folk 21 years and under. There will also be invited professional guest instructors. A workshop not to be missed!! PS: Although the starting age is 12 years old, if your child is someone we know who is under the age of 12 but has had theatre performance experience and/or training, then I'm sure we can work something out so they can attend. But you will want to sign up pretty darn quick! Once word gets out that Jeff is doing these workshops here in Vancouver, they will sell out pretty quickly!!

Ok... I think that's enough for tonight. Once again, I say with tongue in cheek... I will try to be a little more regular with the posts ... better than once a month because when I leave it that long, I forget what I've done over the past month!! And really, I think I've been pretty busy... at least, I think I have!! LOL!!

Huggggggs!

Cheryl

Saturday, April 16th, 2011 Just another Saturday :)

Helllllooooo Bloggies!

Hmm... well there hasn't been much to report over the last 2 weeks or so, and when that happens, I guess I get kind of lazy on the Blogging chores. The thing is, I'm sure there IS stuff to report, but unless it is some spectacular event, the mind just doesn't click in to think it's worthy of reporting.

Hehehe... ok, so I'm trying to ignore the elephant in the closet which is our Federal Election that is looming on the horizon. Since so many of you see what I post on Facebook, I'm not about to drag you all through Cheryl's political views and how we need to bring in a new government party :) I am doing my bit to hopefully convince the younger folk (19-30 year olds) why it is so important that they get out there and vote, especially in this current federal election. When I was that age, I seriously didn't understand our Canadian politics and to tell you the truth, couldn't care less about them. Part of that was just the times and part of it was just being young and not that affected by stuff. So, it wouldn't surprise me at all if that's not how a lot of young people feel these days and have probably asked themselves why bother going out to vote when it's always he same old, same old stuff repeating itself. I don't blame them for thinking that way... except it IS important to get out and vote, otherwise we WILL be having to repeat the same old, same old, over and over again. And that is NOT a pretty or safe sight!!

Anywho... moving on. This week is a chemo week. I had my chemo infusion on Tuesday and although Tue, Wed and part of Thurs were "ok", it still is kind of yucky. By yucky, I mean no to low energy and that is very hard for me since I'm used to being able to do stuff. Even if it's stay at home and do stuff, I like to be on the ball and getting things accomplished. But when I have these low energy days, things like getting computer stuff done, or doing some basic chores around the apartment just don't get done. The other stuff like getting laundry done, which means up and down 2 flights of stairs... well, suffice it to say the laundry is piling up and then when I get my energy back, I end up spending hours (or a couple of hours over the course of a few days, just doing laundry.

This week, yesterday (Friday) was the worst day so far. I did get out and about yesterday while the sun was out. I treated myself to a late breakfast at De Dutch, my favourite breakfast restaurant. Then it was off to Fingertips and I got a LONG overdue pedi and eyebrow shaping done. Oh, that felt sooooo good to get that done!!! Seriously, a girl can NOT let a pedi go that long otherwise one's feet just look a total disaster area.... and when you have damaged feet (neuropathy and nerve damage) anyways, well suffice it to say, it's imperative that one keep their feet in good shape. After the pedi, I did stop at Safeway and pick up a few things... and then headed home.

I was not home for more than an hour and all of a sudden a wave of nausea struck! I'm not sure how to describe chemo nausea... in some ways it's similar to when you get a stomach flu, but on the other hand, it is very different in that you may not necessarily get sick to your stomach but have these waves of nausea similar to food poisoning. Make it a combination of food poisoning and stomach flu and you might be close to it. It is NOT pleasant!! The longer those symptoms last, the weaker you feel so even taking Bridget out to the back lane to do her pee is pretty much a tough thing to do. Obviously, if I had to do it, I would... no doubt about it... but I am so lucky to have Toby living across the hall from us and she is a life saver. She is Bridget's "walker" as walking Bridget is not something I can physically do anymore. I keep hoping that when the weather warms up, I'll be able to take her out for short walks, but even that I have to wonder if it's going to be doable. If it's not the walking that is a challenge, it's the lack of physical energy when I am outside because of the chemo/side affect drugs. To tell you the truth, I really and truly don't know what is the cause of all this... is the lack of energy because of the chemo? Or because of the drugs I'm on to prevent the nasty side affects? Or the damage to the nerves/muscles that the combination of chemo/drugs causes? I don't think anyone has the answers since everyone who has to go through chemo reacts differently.

Now the blood work I had done on Monday before the chemo, all blood tests showed fine, that my cells are regenerating so that I could do the round of chemo on Tuesday. So that is a good thing... that my immune system and cell regeneration is still healthy. What I'm not too pleased about (although I suppose it could be worse) is my CEA reading. As I reported in the last couple of blog entries.... it had gone as high as 25.0, then had a nice drop to 15.0, then two weeks later to 13.0. This week it is holding steady at 14.0. The good news, it's holding steady ... but I'm not happy that it's not going down. What does this mean? It's anyone's guess at this point. It could just be it's holding and it will drop in the next reading. Or, it could mean that it's about to start rising. This is that roller coaster right a cancer patient is always on... waiting for the good news and then worrying when the news is not what we want to see.

I have a CAT scan scheduled for May 13th. This is standard procedure, to have a CAT scan after 3 months of chemo. It will be this scan that can tell us that the chemo has been working and whether the tumours in the lungs are shrinking. Soooo, don't be surprised if I'm getting antsy as we get closer to the CAT scan and then it will probably be about a week after the scan before I get the results. Scans are one of the most anxiety ridden procedures for someone with cancer because the either give good news or bad news. Rarely is there anything inbetween because the chemo is either working or it isn't.

But hey... tomorrow is a new day! I'm going to meet a friend for coffee... either get out and meet him in the 'hood, or here if need be. We have a potential project we might be working on together (which I can't mention till all the i's and t's are dotted and crossed) so we need to touch base to see where we are at with it. My participation will be in PR and promoting it online, etc. So this is something I can do from the comfort of home... yet still be involved :) Hahaha... it's not as if I don't have a couple of computer projects on the go! There's the Metro website, the new season which has to be adjusted and then update everywhere on the website, doing the publicity for the last two shows of this season and coming up will be the June 1 eNewsletter. All of these things are projects I can and do do from home... so being organized is something I need to do. Right now, I'm looking around at my desk and I'd say there's a big need for me to tidy up, get new file folders and start organizing the new season/year/summer :D

Ok, if I was really kewl, I'd now insert some photos just to break up the monotony of all this text, but alas... if I wait to do that, it may be days before I post this!! Soooo, I'm going to post this blog entry, then, over the next couple of days I'm sure I'll be feeling a bit more perkier and I can start taking some photos and fun bits :)

Ciao for now!!

Cheryl

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011 Wednesdays, Wednesdays :)

Hiya Blogmates!

Yep, it's me checking in again. This time, I don't have a lot to report on so I guess that is a good thing. Yesterday was a chemo day and the day before, Monday, was blood work and my oncologist appt. The blood work went fine and then I had 1 1/2 hours to kill before my onc appt. So I decided to take the car and getting washed... it was filthy and has been for some time. So off to the car wash I went. Of course, wouldn't you know it when I came back yesterday it was raining! Arrrgh! So my clean car only had 1 day of being clean! But it was about the onc appt... I was not a happy camper. My appt was for 4pm... and wouldn't you know it, Dr. Gill was running behind schedule. Now that doesn't surprise me at the end of a day, and I don't really think it's anyone's fault... stuff happens that you weren't counting on, or an appt. takes longer than you had planned for. They also had interns/students working this week, so that could slow things down as well. I figure a half hour is about the max you should ever keep a patient waiting, no matter what your specialty (this goes for Family Doctors as well). But TWO HOURS??? That is just so totally not acceptable. And as far as I'm concerned, when the nurse comes to the waiting room and calls your name, it should be at that point she/he tells you that the doctor is running very late. If I had known I had 2 hours to wait, I could have left the building, done some running around and then come back. But to sit in the small consultation room for two hours, thinking any minute she's bound to come in... I was a wreck by the time she came in. Before I could say anything and I really was going to give a piece of my mind, she apologized profusely and said that this should never have happened. In future, I am to call the clinic and ask to be put through to ACU and find out if everything is on time... and if it's not, then not come in until it is. I told her that I was so stressed out now because of the wait, and the build up of anxiety... that I couldn't even remember what questions I had and what I wanted to ask her. So we went over some stuff, got prescription refills and was good to go for the Chemo on Tuesday. My blood cells are in the normal range so they obviously bounced back. CEA won't be ready for a day or two so I'm not sure how it is right now, but when she gets it she's going to email me.

Sooooo, yesterday was chemo and today I'm not exhausted but I am tired. So I've just stayed at home and napped and played on the computer. I am totally going to rest at home for today, Thurs, Fri and Saturday because Saturday night is the opening night of 42nd STREET... and I INSIST on being there, no matter how tired I might be! I've worked really hard on this show, getting the word out and filling the theatre for opening night, despite the lack of co-operation with one or two folk.

Now, it's about Miss Bridget! She has given me a scare or two over the last two weeks. The day after my last chemo, Bridget had a flareup (bad one) of colitis. That was really, really scary and I had to rush her to the vet, even though technically I"m not sure I should have been out and about. But there you have it... we do what we have to do for our little darlin's. Well, we had a rough couple of days and eating/drinking was not one of her priorities. But eventually she did start eating/drinking on her own, so I thought we were over the worst of it... but then she had another flareup the next week. Sheesh! This week she's doing great... totally back to normal! So I've started giving her her normal eats... but I guess the tummy is not quite ready for them, even though her eyes tell her she is. So, I'm cutting back again ... and we are just being really careful. Better to err on the careful side. Hahaha... I know she's not doing too badly because she is talking to me and telling me she wants to go to bed BUT she knows she has to be taken outside for a pee before she goes to bed for the night ;) So guess who is telling me she wants to go outside?? I told her to wait just a few more minutes!

Oh, and one more thing before I end off. A shout out to Applause Musicals Society. They are a group who take old musicals that have either not been produced in Vancouver or it's been a long time since they have... and they do them in a concert format. Beautiful productions and a chance of hearing some of this old music sung by talented performers. Well Applause musicals in conjunction with Western Gold Theatre (a group that does shows for older, retired professional performers) and Fighting Chance Productions (a group that does newer, modern shows using the young up and coming performers) put on the most wonderful cabaret on Sunday for World Theatre Day!! It was truly magical and was done at the PAL Theatre, here in Coal Harbour. I loved every minute of it!! Here's a picture that my friend, Alana took of me at the event:

I beez a happy camper... in my element surrounded by magical, wonderful people!

Now I took a heap of pictures and have uploaded them to an album on my Facebook called World Theatre Day 2011. Since most of you are on Facebook, you just have to to to my profile and check on Photos to find the album.

Well, it is going on 10pm so I think I have time to do up the dishes in the sink then take Bridget outside. Hehehe... this is the routine evening pit stop and she has it down pat. She goes out to the back lane, pees, and then wants right back in. No detour, no walk up the lane or around to the front. She has her spot, she does her business and then right back to the back door, thank you very much :D

Hehehe... I WAS going to bake a batch of those Cheese Cookies... have been meaning to for days! But I just haven't gotten around to it... and starting them at 10pm? I don't think so. Maybe tomorrow :D

Until later!!

Cheryl

Saturday, March 19th, 2011 - The ongoing catch up :)

Helloooooo Bloggies!

Yep, it's me back in the blog. I have to confess, I did have to go back to the last entry to see what I wrote and where I left off :) Chemo Fog aka Chemo Brain (not to be confused with Blog Fog)... plays havoc with one's memory! So, it appears that the last entry went into quite some detail about the first round of this new chemo. Still makes me shudder and cringe when I think of the rough time I had with that! Suffice it to say, the second round, went much, MUCH better. Still, not a walk in the park and not something I would choose to do for the fun of it... but compared to Chemo #1, Chemo #2 was much more manageable. The side affects I did get were just not fun... but not deadly like the first round. That is because we are now on half-doses of the chemo and I go in every 2 weeks instead of every 3 weeks... so I end up getting the same amount but spread over more time. Phew! I had Chemo #3 this week, on Tuesday and Tues - Thurs was excellent! No side affects at all! But then the Chemo Fatigue hit on Fri and today (Saturday), which is to be expected. I'm hoping that the fatigue only stays around for 2-3 days maximum... because then that means starting Monday I can build up my energy again before we have to do this again on the following Monday.

But... there is good news that goes with all this chemo nonsense! Some of you know, or have heard me talking about the term CEA. This is just a blood test that they do and for some people, it is a very good tool to help with understanding what's going on. Unfortunately, it doesn't work with everyone, so it's not the be all and end all of tests. I've been very lucky so far in that it's been a very good indicator for me. When everything is stable and there's nothing going on with the cancer nodules in the lungs, my CEA reading hovers around 1.0 - 2.0. But when there's any activity, the CEA readings start to rise. Because it's always been a good indicator for me, when/if it starts to rise, even if it's only rising a small amount, that puts my oncologist on guard and we start doing other tests to see WHY it's starting to rise. The numbers aren't really important... what is important is if the trend is that it's just going up, up, up. Obviously, we want it to come down and stay down. Well, it was going up, so that is why starting chemo. After that horrible first round, which I thought for sure if it was making me that sick, it had to be killing off the cancer too... so you can imagine my disappointment when, the CEA results after the first round went up even higher... to 25.0!! YIKES! Tumours on the loose!?!?! Now we were going to go to half doses? Yes, I was more than a bit concerned, I have to admit.

Well, had to have the blood tests again before I went on Chemo #3. I have to have the blood tests done before EVERY chemo treatment because they need to know how my WBC (White Blood Cells) count is doing. Every time you get chemo, it kills off good cells as well as the bad cells... pretty much kills everything in it's path and since it's systemic, it goes through my whole system (blood, lymph, arteries, veins... everywhere) killing off whatever it can. That is why I have two weeks between treatments... so that the good cells that have been killed off can regenerate, and the bad (cancer) cells that are killed don't regenerate because dead cancer cells can't be brought back to life. So, before they hit me with another round of chemo, they have to check my good blood cells and make sure the counts are up high enough that I am ready to take on another round. When they do that blood work, they also take blood to do the CEA test. Sooooo.... drum roll please.... I had my CEA test done last Monday (before Tuesday's Chemo) and YAYAYAYAYA!! The reading was 15.0!!! In one treatment, it came down 10.0 whole points!!! Well, it may be a combination of the three treatments, but suffice it to say, between tests it came down 10 points which is excellent! What this means is, the chemo is working... obviously it is killing of cancer cells so that hopefully, it has stopped the nodules in my lungs from growing, and if we are really, really lucky, the nodules will now start shrinking. The goal here is... to obviously stop any growth, to stop any new growth, and to shrink any tumours that are already there. The first CT scan that I will be getting will be 3 months after starting this chemo... which will be sometime in mid-May. So I am really keeping my fingers crossed that all these chemo treatments that I will have been taking will show some real shrinkage and change come mid-May :)

Ok... so that's enough about the catch up on Cheryl's health journey! Let's see what else is in Cheryl's world? Oh, I forgot to include a picture in the last blog entry. This goes back to mid-Feb sometime, when 2 friends (Mark and David) and I went to a movie and then out for Chinese food afterwards. Always fun to have a movie/dinner night with friends, but what was different about this is... mid-February in Vancouver, cherry blossoms are thinking of popping out on the trees, daffodil shoots have come up from the ground, and yes the crocuses are up here and there.... AND... we get SNOW??? Hello??? It was snowing on us!!

Left to right: Mark, Cheryl and David in the snow :) I have no idea what was up with the hair... I left the apartment and I had bangs... where they are now is anyone's guess :)

Oh.... and have I mentioned how I love flowers? Be them plants outside in the garden, or indoor plants that blossom, or flowers sent just because someone is thinking of me... I am thrilled with them all! Well, my aunt Cathe sent me this gorgeous plant that is a tropical plant that thrives in Hawaii --

Hehe... ok, I did try to crop out the background since it's on my kitchen table that happened to have a lot of clutter around it the day I took this picture. But it is gorgeous and I just love it!

Ok... moving on... what have I been up to while being home an awful lot of the time. Well, it's kind of twofold in a way. Yes, I must admit that I tend to stick around home a lot more than I used to... back in the days when I was all over the place. Working out of the TUTS office, doing Publicity/website/eNewsletter for Metro, and taking in as many shows as possible because I just love what everyone is doing in theatre these days. Vancouver is so wealthy in creative talent... if ONLY we had a bit more support from both the public and the government. I don't mean just theatre (although that is one of the arts I hold near and dear to my heart) but everything from theatre, dance, music, art, web design, any kind of video/online design... because whether people think the electronic age is just a phase and this too shall pass... I'm afraid that's not the case. If anything, our world is going to go more and more digital, entertainment is going to go more and more digital... and combining the traditional arts with the new digital world is going to be huge and we have the talent here... underpaid and under appreciated, but they are here!

Ok... where the heck did that come from and why was I bringing it up??? Hmmm... there was a reason... but alas, it has slipped into the fog . Oh well, it was going to be a brilliant statement... hold that thought until I have another brilliant one :D

Moving on... film. Hmmm... I'm sure the above had something to do with this next topic, but I have no idea what the connection was going to be. Oh well. A couple of weeks ago, I was at the opening night of a brilliant little show called "The Story Of My Life", a 2-man show, that was done soooo well by two wonderful actors, Stephen Aberle and Jonathan Holmes. I love going to shows like this where I don't really know what I'm going to see, but am going because of friends that are involved and of course, I want to support all my friends. Well, this show was being held at the Revue Stage on Granville Island. When I got there, lucky me found a parking spot right beside the theatre (unheard of)... but when I got out of the car, it was basic chaos ;) There was movie equipment EVERYWHERE! Not just your regular run of the mill movie, which we are used to in Vancouver, since someone is filming somewhere at any given time... but this was obviously a major, major film company, because they had not only taken over the Granville Island Public Market (outside at the back), but the two bridges (Granville and Burrard) as well. Well, sure enough... the movie was Mission Impossible 4. Those aren't my kind of movies but even I know they spend a heck of alot of money on them and since they are on the 4th one, it has basically become a Tom Cruise franchaise!

The following are pictures I took before and after the show that I was there to see. Yes, Tom Cruise was there on set, but no, I didn't get any pics of him. As far as I was concerned, you'd never really see him because he was surrounded by so many people. What I found MORE interesting was... this was an outdoor shoot, at night... and how much lighting equipment they had to light up the area they were shooting in. I mean, the area they used was just a small area outside at the back of the market. BUT, across the water were the buildings and of course, the two bridges... so since these were obviously in the shots, they had them all brightly lit up!! Hahaha... imagine if this was your condo and you are now ready to go to bed... but your windows and condo is lit up with bright movie lights shining in!! So the following pics are the ones I took where I was fascinated that there was so much light for what is probably a couple of seconds of film...

You can see the dock at the market where the "set" is... with one of the huge lights on a crane, and Burrard St. Bridge in the background. I am standing just outside the Arts Club Backstage Lounge door.

Papparazzi... and people trying to catch a glimpse of Tom Cruise (and people just walking around Granville Island checking out what's going on).

See what I mean about equipment everywhere? To the right of the white screen is the front door to the Revue Stage, so to get to the show, you had to climb around equipment. I'm not sure what light this screen was being used to bounce because the action is around the corner of this building and all the way across the dock. YET... 4 of us were talking right at the spot after the show, in normal voices, and one of the PAs came over and asked if we could keep it down since we were being picked up on the mics. Mics?? Where? What mics?? They weren't filming here, but obviously had the whole area wired for sound.

Here's a good example of what I meant about the buildings being lit up at night. Notice the bridge on he right, which is also lit up (and you can see one of the big movie lights on top of the bridge). Now imagine living in one of these condos :) This picture was taken, probably around 11pm at night :)

So striking! I have to admit, it is a very pretty effect to see these buildings lit up like this at night. It's a lovely picture normally, but all lit up, it's quite magical.

Ok, I'm on my way home at this point. Must be getting close to midnight, so I'm now on the other side of the water. If you look across to the brown building (Arts Club), I was taking the above pictures pretty much from under the green sign on the side of the building. I am now over on the side where the lit condo buildings are. From this side, you can see the very brightly lit dock where the filming is taking place. Notice the rather largish boat on the right? This is part of the film... but whether they were using it in the shoot they were doing that night, I have no idea. I didn't stick around to watch, but it looked like it was going to be an all night shoot.

Ok... not sure you can see it, this picture might be too small. But on the wall, behind where the three tents are, there's a sign that says PIER 17. This is no Pier 17, this is the Public Market , but obviously, in the movie they are at Pier 17. So anyone who sees the movie... if you see Pier 17, this is where we are :)

Hehe... I had to take another picture of the lit up bridge. This is the Granville Street Bridge and I'm taking it from the side where all the lit condos are. This is a rather large bridge as far as lighting it and lighting all these condos... and you can see some of the lights that they are using. This is what fascinates me with these big productions... imagine being the lighting designer. It's one thing to say, the size of the stage/sets are XXX but to design lighting two bridges and a heap of condos and the water and the "Pier 17" set for a ... oh who knows, 1-2 minute scene?? I'm sure Tom Cruise will be running off the dock an hopping into a boat... and that will be the scene. I just find the whole technical set up to be the fascinating part of a movie :)

So, a little more recent... this past week has been an interesting and slightly worrisome week. Like I mentioned up above, it was the first week of Chemo #3, so I pretty much stay close to home on the Week 1's. Wouldn't you know it, Chemo on Tuesday and Bridget ends up with a Colitis flareup on Wednesday. Yes, even doggies can get colitis and it is not pretty. No one wants to see their pets suffer and colitis is every bit as painful for dogs/cats as it is for people. Mucho diarrhea that comes with cramping and intestinal spasms. But the worst part is when the output turns to blood. VERY VERY scary! And you know the poor little darling is suffering. Of course, just like people, the last thing you are thinking of or wanting is food or water... so now there's also the worry of dehydration. The smaller the animal the harder it is on their system and dehydration can set in so quickly. When I realized this was not just a little tummy upset, off we went to Dr. Joan's. Luckily, the clinic (which is just up the street from us) is open until 8pm on Wednesdays (at least the timing for this flareup was good). So, at the clinic, she got rehydrated and a shot to stop the nausea. We also got an oral syringe of medicine/paste that I would have to squirt into the back of her mouth morning and evening... and that would help with stopping the blood/diarrhea. Lucky for Bridget (and me), these meds worked pretty quickly. On Thursday, the diarrhea had stopped (there was nothing left in her!!) and by late Thurs afternoon, she was showing interest in drinking water on her own. She wasn't too interested in food, but later in the evening, if I had fed her the special fibre food Dr. Joan gave us to stimulate her appetite, she took it. But she was not interested in eating on her own... she wanted to be hand fed. ;) Yesterday she was eating more on her own, although I was keeping her meals very small. By last night she was letting me know she was much hungrier than what I was feeding her . So today, we are pretty much back to her normal amount of food... but I'm mixing half of her regular food with half of the special food and she gets three small meals/day rather than two larger ones. Needless to say, I'd say she's on the mend and doing fine!

Of course, she was pretty stinky after her ordeal... so today, Toby (friend who lives across the hall and takes her on all her walkies) gave her a bath. Yes, I know she is so long overdue for a grooming and that was on the agenda that I make her an appt. for this week... but then she got sick. Now, I don't want her to go to the groomers around other doglets until I know she is 100% better and won't have a relapse. So she got a bath at home... and the poor ragamuffin looks like an orphan now! She certainly doesn't look like a well-groomed schnauzer!! LOL!

Bath Time:

"I'm really, really not impressed, Mom! You know I don't do water! I don't do rain, I don't do swimming, and I don't do BATHS!!"

Seriously, have you ever seen anything more pathetic?? She looks like a drowned rat and you can tell by her body language that she is NOT a happy dog. Her little back is hunched over... you'd never know by looking at this picture that she has the perfect schnauzer straight back and holds her head up high, with ears sticking straight up. ;)

Ok... this is post-bath. After running around like a tornado, rubbing herself dry all over the apartment, hopping up and off the furniture and wanting to play "Chase me!"... she finally was dry and worn out. Here she is curled up like a cat on her pillow on the couch, as if nothing had happened :)

Hehehe... had to take this one. She is NOT going to pose for the camera no matter what I try to get her to do :) But I wanted a picture to show just how ungroomed she is... hair falling in her eyes, a beard with no shape... but is she ever soft and does she ever smell good!! :D

Ok... I think that's about it. This is not an entry... it's a saga!! But I figured it was time I added a few more pictures to go with the babble. So, until the next time... enjoy the pictures and for those of you who live close by... I THINK we may be seeing our Spring arrive soon! I need a couple of days where it's sunny so I can actually go out with camera in hand and get some proof that Spring is here :D

Ciao for now!

Cheryl

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 - Catch up and update

Hello Blogmates!

Yes, it's me... and in case you are wondering why you haven't heard from me since Feb 12th, there's been a good many reasons! The same reasons I'm way behind in email too... although I have managed to post some Status Updates and links to various things on Facebook, so everyone on Facebook has known I'm alive .

But, the last entry I did here in my blog was Feb 12th... 6 days after my first "Iri" chemo infusion. At that time, I was saying how I had quite the reactions to the chemo and was not well for 6 days, but that I was starting to feel a little more human on Day 6. Well, I was wrong. The worst was still yet to hit me... little did I or my oncologist know. My system, I suppose, is very, very sensitive to this particular kind of chemo... and the schedule/dosage I was on played total havoc with me. The next 6-8 days were horrid! I have never ever been so sick in all my life, and I thought I had had a few adventures with various illnesses, which I'm sure we all have at some point or other. OMG... there are no words in the English language that can describe how horrid the side affects to some chemos can be. Heck, I think they all can produce them, but since everyone is unique and have their own immune system, we all react differently to the chemos and the various dosages/schedules we are given.

For this first one, I was on a 3-week schedule, meaning that I go into the Chemo Unit for 2 hours one day, and then have 3 weeks to let the chemo do it's thing. The idea is that if one does have some side-affects, there are medicines to treat the side affects and hopefully, you only will have mild symptoms and they will only last for 2-3 days where you are fine, you just feel a little off, or you find you are way more tired than usual and have to allow yourself time for naps. That was what I was expecting... WRONG!! I'm not going to go into detail of the symptoms/side affects, but suffice it to say, not only was I apartment-bound, I was pretty much bed-bound for almost 2 weeks. To the point, I knew that something had to change because there is no way I could do this for 8 rounds, meaning I would be deathly ill for 2 weeks out of 3 weeks for 6 months.

During the second week, there was a production of [title of show] that was opening at the Arts Club Revue Stage that my friends had formed a co-op company to put this show on. I soooo wanted to be there for opening night. I'm not sure if this was the wisest idea but mind over matter, I did go. After all, Grandville Island is only a hop, skip and jump away for me and it would do me good to get out of the apartment (this was during the cold snap we had for a couple of days). I drove myself there, but considering I hadn't eaten anything more than a mug of broth here and there for the past week, I was feeling pretty dizzy and lightheaded... and more than likely was somewhat dehydrated ;) But I LOVED the show and for 90 minutes, the magic of musical theatre which I love so much, totally erased any of the symptoms I was experiencing. It was wonderful to feel like a normal person again! After the performance, I could only stay long enough to say hi and get a hug from everyone (and take a couple of pics) but was feeling a little on the weak side, so it was time for me to head home. Here are a couple from that night and although I was a happy camper, you can see where I'm looking a little on the tired side:

This was actually just before the performance... me and my buddy, Jay Brazeau.

The cast of [title of show] a musical about two guys writing a musical about two guys writing a musical! Funny, funny show... very well done by everyone involved!

After two weeks of being horribly sick, not being able to eat and even having a hard time drinking anything, everything magically went away and I was back to my old self. It literally happened overnight!! So I had a full week of no symptoms, not even being tired! But still, no matter how great I was feeling that third week, I was terrified of having to go through another 2 weeks like this again. But my oncologist assured me, now that we know how I react to this chemo, we will change things up.

During this third week the expected happened (although I wasn't really expecting it to happen until the 3rd or 4th treatment). My hair started falling out. When I was on the other chemos, my hair would thin quite a bit, but since I had so much of it, most people didn't even notice. I did... but hey, it didn't come out in clumps... it thinned pretty evenly all over... so I didn't have to do anything other than get it trimmed. But I could tell during this third week that it was coming out a lot more than just "thinning". Luckily, I was prepared... I had an appointment a few weeks back with a wig consultant. I picked out two wigs that I really like the hairstyles and then left it with her and her wigmakers to customize two wigs to fit my head. Yes, these aren't cheap... but in the long run, I think it makes all the difference in the world to have a wig that actually fits and doesn't slide all over. I picked them up this third week since I was not able to leave the apartment... and it's a good thing I did!

Towards the end of the week, I could literally grab a chunk of hair and I wouldn't even have to tug on it... it would come out as a chunk of hair in my fingers. And for any of you who have cats or dogs who shed and it drives you crazy because there is pet hair all over the furniture and everywhere the pet goes? Well, that was what was happening with me only it was MY hair. The final straw came on the weekend when I was in the shower and decided to wash my hair. I knew to be gentle since it was coming out so easily... but I put a little shampoo in and then gently using my fingers, massaged the shampoo onto my hair... and both hands were covered, literally covered in hair. That's when I knew, I could not pretend it was just going to thin. I gently towel dried the hair, just to get the excess water out and my left side was now mostly bald.

On Monday, I had my appt. with the oncologist and to get my blood work done. I wore one of my wigs to the appts. and as soon as I was finished, I went to City Square Mall to the nearest hair salon, and had them shave the remaining hair off. I am now bald, folk... one of my worst nightmares come true. It's not as bad as I had imagined but I think that's because I did prepare ahead of time. I do have two wigs that I like and can feel comfortable going out in public. I also found some hats (caps really) that I have had over the years... and they actually look cute on my bald noggin :) So when it might get too warm for wigs (in the summer), I can wear one of my caps.

Here are some of my looks (warning... not for the squeamish . Imagine me having to warn you all not to get squeamish looking at me!! LOL!)

I really like this one... this is the picture I use as my Profile Picture on Facebook and when my hair does eventually grow back in, it would be wonderful if I could get my own hair cut in this style. But alas, my hair refuses to be tame, so it would be a lot of work of flat ironing it every day.

Me as a blonde! This one, I had a problem with when I wore it over my own hair... it kept slipping and felt uncomfortable. But now, with no hair underneath, it actually fits really well.

Yep... I now resemble an alien!! I don't think there's any way us females can get used to being bald, whether we had long hair, short hair, thick hair or thin hair. I really don't care what strangers think if they were to see me walking the streets bald... if they have a problem with it, it's their problem not mine. On the other hand, I'd just as soon strangers didn't stare at me, or go out of their way NOT to look at me because "she has cancer!!". So, chances are, unless I totally forget... you won't catch me out in public without a hat or one of my wigs :D

Here I am with one of my soft, ever so comfy hats... and I think it's not a bad look at all! :) I can live with it!

Ok... back to the report. So as I mentioned, I had an appt. with my oncologist, Dr. Sharlene Gill, who is the best oncologist in the world :) For those who haven't seen a picture of her... here's one from back when I first went on chemo 4 years ago...
Check out the frizzy mop of hair I had back then... oh the shame, the wild look! :D

Anywho... Sharlene is the head of my medical team and she coordinates everything to do with my treatments, care, etc. Since I had such a horrid time on this first Iri treatment, she says we are going to make a couple of changes. Instead of coming in once every three weeks, she is going to cut the dose in half and I will come in every two weeks instead of every three weeks. I'll end up getting the same amount of chemo but split up so that I don't get it all at once and it bombards my system. That should cut the side affects way back. I also have a different anti-nausea med, that so far has worked wonders. I had my 2nd chemo yesterday (Tues) and have been on the new to me, anti-nausea med (Emmend) and both today and yesterday I'm doing totally fine. So keep your fingers crossed that this is the answer! If I'm still doing fine tomorrow, then it's off to another opening tomorrow night... down at Granville Island. "The Story of My Life" at the Arts Club Revue Stage :)

And yet another reason why this blog update is so long in coming, besides all of the above... I had to get the Metro Theatre Community Theatre eNewsletter created, formatted and sent out. I had totally forgotten March was around the corner so hadn't started on it until last week. I was too sick the previous two weeks so I was busy, busy, busy working on it right up until I sent it out last night :) For anyone interested in seeing what this eNewsletter is all about, you can get it here -- Metro Theatre Community Theatre eNewsletter - March 2011

Hahahaha... lucky for all of you, Chemo Brain Fog has crept in and I'm sure there was going to be lots more that I was going to comment on... but I've totally forgotten what. Besides, I think this update is plenty long enough! I didn't mean for 3/4 of it to be all about the fallout from chemo... on the other hand, unfortunately this past 3 weeks have been hopefully the roughest and it will be clear sailing from here on in.

Ciao for now!

Cheryl

Saturday, February 12, 2011 - Oy vey! This has been a tough week!

Hellooooo Bloggies!

Well, this is almost a record... the last update was Jan 13th so if I waited until tomorrow, it would be a full month between entries . I have to admit, I'm not proud of that accomplishment, on the other hand, it does mean that life has been very busy this past month, so that's a good thing, no?? :D

Ok... let's start with the nasty stuff. Cancer sucks! Chemo sucks! Side affects suck!! There is nothing pretty or fun about battling the beast... on the other hand, one has to always keep in the forefront there's a reason for having to go through all these nasty side affects/toxins. Unfortunately, the chemo toxins do kill off all the good cells (or as many of them as they can kill off and still keep you alive) but the whole reason one does chemo is that the toxins are there to kill off the bad, cancer cells as well. The difference... good cells can regenerate, cancer cells can no regenerate once they have been killed. Of course, cancer cells can be very hardy and don't ALL respond to the chemo, but there's a good chance we can get a whole bunch of them.

So that leads me to this week. I had my first treatment of Irinotecan (Iri for short) which is a new (to me) chemo. It's not a new chemo as far as treatments go, they've been using it for some time and some people respond really well to it. I'm obviously hoping I am going to be one of those people. But, like all chemos, there are side affects that one can expect. Like any drug, they can list the side affects but it doesn't mean everyone is going to get them... just that there is the possibility you might get one or many of them. It was not my lucky week. I started feeling the nausea within hours of getting home. It's kind of hard to explain the nausea, since it is different than when you say have a stomach flu. Chemo nausea can appear to be the same, but it also comes with intestinal pain, and an overall weakness, even though you know you aren't sick with a stomach bug. Now, I did have the confidence that if I was going to get this, the anti-nausea meds I was given were going to work. Oh oh... I wasn't prepared for "they didn't work". So, my wonderful oncologist did keep in touch with me and she upped the anti-nausea meds, not to mention, I have been living on Immodium. One of the meds is a steroid (dexamethasone) which I have to admit, I find to be a wonder drug. I don't know what it is about the steroid's properties but it was the one med that can control the nausea. It didn't get rid of it per se, but controlled it in such a way that I wasn't vomiting and I wasn't in bad pain... just very, very tired (which is weird because the steroid tends to make you hyper). One of the drawbacks of the steroid is that it can (and did with me) cause a headache. So now we are taking meds to combat chemo side affects and meds to combat side affects of the side affects meds. Had this lasted 2-3 days, it would have been nasty but if that's what it means, I'll be out of commission 2-3 days out of every 21, I could handle that. But it was 5 days of total nastiness and today, although I don't feel strong enough to be leaving the apartment, with the help of the steroid and the anti-nausea meds... I am finally feeling more human. But that's 6 days out of 21... not good! The good news (I hope) is that my oncologist is well aware that reacting like this was a possibility and she says that the next treatment on Feb 28, she will be changing my meds and I'll actually be getting some different anti-side affect meds in my IV, so it's put directly into my system. Hey, she's the one who has experience with this and has done me well up to now, so I have no reason to doubt her that the next time will go much easier.

So that was the downer for this week. I thought I had prepared myself, but I was taken by surprise.... I'm just glad I feel much better today. Meanwhile, my dear friend, Kathy, who is also my financial guru and keeps me on track with my little investment portfolio, send me a lovely little flower arrangement which, even though I was feeling like death warmed over, it certainly did pick up my spirits. Isn't this lovely?



In other news, the most marvelous evening on Sunday, January 30th. That was the night of the annual Ovation Awards which is put on every year by Applause Musicals Society. This awards ceremony is to celebrate musical theatre in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. Obviously, it is not a dying genre because there were over 52 productions of musicals throughout 2010. That's not 52 performances, but unique individual musical theatre productions put on by various theatre companies throughout the area. It was a wonderful evening of celebrating with fellow musical theatre folk... and ended up being the most wonderful surprise of an evening for me! I was awarded the 2010 Behind the Scenes achievement award which, needless to say, thrilled me to pieces!



As you can see by the look on my face, this was one very happy camper... and what a great boost, knowing I have a bit of a tough road ahead of me. I so love the musical theatre community so it was a real personal honour to me to be acknowledged in this way :)

Well, I'm sure I could dig up some more photos, and if my brain were functioning a bit more, I know I have oodles more to talk about. But alas, I'm having a blank moment and if I wait until I start thinking again, this entry will never get posted . I am now doing a first for this week... I'm cooking dinner. A real, solid food dinner! It will be a chicken breast with a Cheese/Mushroom/Onion sauce and stuffing. Comfort food at it's best. May be a little rich and I may regret this later tonight, but I think getting a meal of comfort food in me will work wonders... and it's a great sign that the worst of this week is now over.

Sooooo... off I go to wait for dinner to cook.... and while waiting, I am going to watch some of the Olympic Anniversary tributes. I can't believe one year ago today, the world came to Vancouver... and what a heck of a 17 day party we had! I'm not sure we need to rehash the Olympics every year... but on the first anniversary, yes, it's kind of nice to remember how Canada was joined together in celebration :)

Cheryl