Day 6 Portofino Italy September 23

Day 5 September 22 Monte Carlo and Menton

St Tropez Day 4 September 21, 2011

My First Scrapbooking page for our Cruise Album

Miss Magooz Jewellery: Steampunk

Miss Magooz Jewellery: Steampunk: Steampunk is a trend based on the combination of technology and romance, or industrial revolution and victorian lace. Visit her great Blog

Hi everyone
Just a quick note to tell everyone that I am doing great.  We just got home from Plattsburg where we met up with the Concert Band of Cobourg.  We watched a great parade and a wonderful Beat Retreat. Saturday evening the band did a wonderful concert.
Also had time for shopping!!!!!!
We are now packing for our Mediterranean cruise.  We leave Sunday and come home on October 3.
I will tell you all about it after Thanksgiving.  My granddaughter Meghan and I are selling our jewellery at the Fair and she has started her own Blog at  missmagoozjewellery.blogspot.com check it out!

Hello everyone! I wanted to tell you that I am doing very well, I had to keep the Imodium handy for awhile but most of that problem has past.
I am all finished my treatments and have about 1/2" of hair on my head!
Life has been very busy as we attended brother Brian's induction as District Governor for Rotary in Halliburton and spent three days in Greeley with Sean and his family to attend his youngest son Stephen's grade 8 graduation and his oldest son Charlie's grade 12 graduation.
We have been to Rama to see Stompin Tom and are going again tomorrow to see Julio Iglaces. Saturday is the Al Hudson Memorial Ball Tournament (proceeds go to Honduran children and Camp Northern Lights) and then we will have our twin grandsons Alexandre and Patrick age 11 for a few days and will deliver them back to their Mom on Thursday in Kingston where we will camp for a few days. In between I go to bed early and have a nap when I can! I am just thankful I can do it all.
I have a follow up appointment on August 2 and will update my Blog again after that.
A lot of my time has been taken up reading as well, and one of my friends is a new grandmother and I will be knitting something for her new granddaughter.
The heat also slows us down but we are lucky enough to have friends near by with a lovely inground pool who are generous enough to let us use it when ever we like.

two weeks to go

The week went slowly this time even with Meghan coming on Wednesday to take me put to lunch. The other girls were saying the same thing. I guess we got spoiled with the short week. Physically my magnesium is creeping up very slowly so they didn't do any intervenes, my skin looks OK but feels a bit tender and I am having a bit of a diarrhea problem but the Imodium works! All in all I don't have much to complain about. I have one more week and a day of external radiation to go. The second week I only have to go Monday(last external), Wednesday and Friday (internal) with the last internal on June 20 and I am done. I am not sure yet if I will commute the last week or stay at the Lodge. I have a possible ride for the Wednesday the 15 so if that works out I will commute if not it is too much for John to drive 3 times so I will stay. We have been very lucky to have friends or my daughter Sharon pick me up on the Fridays and take me home which means John has only done the Mondays. Sharon and her son Paul picked me up last Friday and of course we went to the discount clothing outlet and then they stayed the weekend and helped me do some outdoor clean up and gardening.

Finished my second week

Well it has been awhile! I left home for Kingston two weeks ago and just got back home this weekend as we spent the last one in Cornwall.
Staying at the "Lodge" isn't bad. When I first got there May 10 there were 5 other women there all there to get radiation. 4 for breast cancer and 1 for her brain as a side effect from lung cancer. This week a couple of new ladies came but I haven't had a chance to talk to them yet as they arrived on Wednesday. Monday night is Bingo night and Tuesdays a couple of young men come and play the piano and flute. Wednesday night a couple of more young volunteers made microwave cookies also Wednesday morning someone makes us pancakes. There was a "Look Good Feel Better" session on the first Wednesday and they gave us a box of wonderful name brand cosmetics and showed us how to apply them as well as a talk on wigs. It was a lot of fun. On the Friday a couple of us got into the boxes of free wigs and hats and I got a new wig which I like and I can also wear a hat with as well as several turban like head coverings.
Medically speaking the first week my energy level was not good and my Monday blood test showed my magnesium level was .63 It should be around 1.5. I had a 2 gm 2 hour IV on Thursday to try and give it a boost and I am still taking 1600+ ml daily. I get my blood tested every Monday so they can keep track of things but there was a mix up with paper work on May 17 and when I saw the Dr.'s nurse on Thursday morning they didn't have the results so she scheduled more blood tests and I waited 11/2 hours for the results and it came back at .68 so I had another 2 gm shot of magnesium this week. I wonder where it all goes?? Hope fully it will improve next week. My energy level this week has been much better and I was able to go up the stairs and not take the elevator.
The actual radiation treatments take about 10 minutes and can be scheduled anytime between 8 am and 6 pm. So far I have not had any reactions but week 3 is the usual start for that so we will see what next week brings. They have warned me to expect possible skin problems very similar to a bad sunburn and also diarrhea which is also a side effect of taking magnesium. I have been taking Metimusel every day and if things get worse I have the Imodium ready! I also am watching my diet and avoiding high fibre foods. We will hope for the best.
Last weekend we went to Cornwall and camped in our sons driveway. The weather was terrible rain and cold. We attended the Sea Cadet Annual Inspection on the Saturday and I wore my wig and my hat so all went well. Lori had a lovely supper ready for us when it was over.
This weekend John and I went to garage sales all morning and he is now working at the Lion's Spaghetti Supper it has been a worm beautiful sunny day. I hope there will be more days like that next week so I can go for walks along the St. Lawrence which is only a block from the Lodge.
Last Thursday John picked me up after waiting for the IV to end and we went to Casino Rama (near Orillia) to meet some friends who had kindly got us tickets to see the Trans Siberian Orchestra. What a wonderful experience! Beethoven with pyrotechnics. I really enjoyed it. Before it started we had a lovely buffet supper and I won $15.00 on the penny machine. We got home at 12:30am. John's sister and her friend Diana took me back to Kingston on Friday for my treatment and then we had a lovely lunch before heading back home.
Thanks for taking the time to read this and for all the good wishes and prayers coming my way They are working!

Radiation

Sharon took the day off work and we left early in the morning. Our first stop was in Brockville at a used book store where I found several books I had been looking for. Sharon then took me to a wonderful bakery called Tait's where we had deli sandwiches, then on to Kingston. We HAD to stop at the ladies discount store where I bought 5 pairs of slacks, (white, purple, gray, gray mix and blue jeans) a striped long sleeve shirt and a black and white T all for $100.00! They carry name brands like Alia and Tan Jay and Nygard.
Then we went to the hospital for my appointment at 2:45. Heather came and got me at 3 and took me to a waiting room and gave me 2 glasses of water to drink because if the bladder is full they can see things better in the catscan. Dr. Shenfield then came and explained the side effects (fatigue is no 1 then diarrhea, nausea and vomiting etc. as they aim at the abdomen which includes the stomach and intestine)he suggested I take Metamuscil before each session. and I signed the consent form. Then another Heather came and explained more about the catscan and treatment and having the bladder full before treatment lessons the side effects. I had the cat scan at 4 and they put tape on you and then do measurements then scan again and more measureing and give you 4 tiny pinprick tattoos. These show the technician where to aim the radiation. My first treatment is May 9 and I will check into Quinte Lodge then and will stay there each week Monday to Friday. I am to have 25 external and 3 internal so it will be 5-7 weeks as they don't do anything on holidays.

Happy Easter Everyone

Just a quick update to say I have an appointment on April 27 for the set up of the Radiology and I will get my treatment schedule then. I am going to visit my children and grandchildren next week and hope to spend a couple of days with each of them. I am not getting my strength back as quickly as I did before but each day is a bit better than the last one.

My granddaughter Meghan and I are doing the "Bead Bop" probably May 2-3 (6 Ottawa area stores will have sales, demonstrations, workshops, trunk shows, or "make-and-takes". "Bead Boppers" can purchase a "Bead Bop Passport" at any participating Bead Store. The Passport entitles you to a 15% discount on most purchases made during the Bead Bop, a beader's loot bag which will include, a beading caliper, a copy of Canadian Beading Magazine and some surprises. Each "bopper" will also have a chance on a draw for a $50 gift certificate at each store visited) Then I will come home or maybe go to Kingston for the start of the treatments who knows!!

Clipart from "Easter" by Bel Vidotti Scraps

I got to ring the bell

My biggest problem is that my Magnesium levels are low and I am now taking two magnesium pills twice a day at least for a month. My weight was back to what it was the first time and I had a new intern a male Dr, Desmond and he gave me an external exam, heart rate and reflects etc. and Dr. Biagi did another internal exam to pass on to the radiologist and he said everything looks good. I got to ring the Bell near the exit of the Chemo Lab yesterday to signal that it was my last Chemotherapy session! They have a (large 10” high by 8” wide and very loud) ship type bell and when you ring it everyone clap’s and cheers. I was in the smaller room this time and it was a bit dull but the nurse Charity was great and my blood pressure only went up (180/81) when the lunch relief nurse took it. I even got as low as 131/70! Highest with Charity the first one was 162/88 Just one more bad weekend to go through. The next challenge will be the radiation sessions. I am to have 25 external and 3 internal treatments. Externals are done Monday to Friday and not on Holidays, and you are in the hospital for less than half an hour. The internal ones are done on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and they are at the end. There are many side effects like nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, fatigue etc. but these are only possible and again everyone is different and I won’t know how I will be effected till I have the treatment. I will be staying at the Quinte Lodge, which is a very short walk away from the hospital. It was once the nursing residence. I had a tour yesterday and it is very nice. The rooms are large and have a single bed, a dresser, a desk a phone, and a sink. There is a women only bathroom with a couple of tubs and showers as well as toilets all with doors that can be locked. The worst thing is you cannot use any electronics in your room as wiring is old and they are worried about fire hazards. That means no laptop. I am seriously thinking of a Blackberry Smart phone (It will connect to the new Play Book which I hope to get in a year or so) and a Kindell or Kobo e-book reader. I also have lots of paperback books to take. I do not have to empty my room when I go home so that is good. They have a wonderful dining kitchen area and provide juice, fruit, cereal etc. And suggest you bring frozen dinners and they provide a big freezer and a fridge (with a bin for each room) they have toasters and microwaves and dishes and cutlery and you must use the dishwasher. There are a 3-4 of lounges some with TV and they have activities like Bingo and arts and crafts in the evenings. When I know more I will post the phone number and room number. After the tour we did a bit of shopping and guess what I bought a hat on the assumption it would match the shoes I had at home. What do you think? Pretty good eh! It looks pink in the photo but they are actually more of a peach. My new Easter Bonnet.

Maple Syrup Time

On the up swing

What a beautiful day we had today! Finally feel like Spring might come till you here the weather report of snow tomorrow :( I had a typical "after chemo weekend" leg pain and fatigue but no other problems. It was great to have my son Christopher and Lori visit and cook us dinner Saturday night. The leg pain is now over and I am getting more energy each day. John took me out for coffee Tuesday as I was getting cabin fever. Today I went for coffee with my sister Joan. Tomorrow we are going to visit my brother Brian and Dorothy and see their Maple Syrup operation. What a great family week I am having! Thanks for looking in.

One more to go

Everything went very well yesterday. We got up at 5 (had taken my 5 star pills at 11 Monday night and took the second 5 at 5am) and were on the road by 6 If you don't get to Kingston by 8 or 8:30 at the latest you just don't find a parking spot. We have a pass for free parking but the spaces are very limited. We stopped for a snack on the way and a coffee for John and were there by 8:15 so parking was not a problem. It is a long walk from the parking to the clinic but it is indoors in the hospital. My appointment wasn't until 10 so we had a long wait but I filled out my EASE (the how do you feel today? form) on the computer and printed it out and I checked in with the chemo room and my appointment was for 10:30 and they marked me as being in the hospital. They had 2 small baskets of wool and some knitting needles in the waiting room with a sign that they wanted 8" squares that they will put together for afghans for patients so I started one of them. Lorne the student nurse came and got me about 9:30 and I was weighed and have lost 2 lbs. I did not have to do more blood work as they were happy with the report on the blood work sent from Campbellford on Monday. after Lorne asked all her questions I asked her how long she had to go and she said she was finished at the end of this week until she writes her RN exam in June. We wished her all the best and good luck in finding a job. We then met Dr. Wong who is interning with Dr. Biagi. She was very nice and asked lots of questions and then did a short physical exam and said all looked good. We had a short wait and then Dr. Biagi came in with Dr. Wong and he went over some of the problems from the last session (constipation so I won't go into details!). He gave me some good advice and said we could have the last Chemo on April 12 (as long as blood work is still OK) which is great. By now it was 10:30 so we went back to the chemo room and told them I was available and after a very short wait I was called in. This time I went to a different room it was a small room with one bed and two chairs. I was afraid it would be very dull with not much going on to pass the time I was wrong. The nurse was Nancy and she had only this room to look after so we had wonderful care and no delays. She hooked me up right away in my left hand with no problems I had been drinking lots of water so that helped. We did not have long to wait for my cocktail so that was good too. She wanted me to take the bed but I didn't like that idea so she let me have one of the chairs. 4 other people came and went while I was there. The first lady only got an injection in her bottom but we had a nice chat with her husband and her while she was there. Then a man called Thomas came and he was very entertaining. He had rectal cancer and had had chemo and radiation before they removed the tumor (to shrink it)and was now on preventative chemo and this was his last session so he was happy about that. He was there for a couple of hours. We very seldom had 3 patients in the room at the same time. The bed was used briefly for a man to consult with his doctor as he was in a great deal of pain and while that was happening, the was a 70 year old lady in the other chair who was on her 3rd bout with cancer, I think her name was Gwen, her Nancy and I talked about family and I showed them the pictures of my grandchildren. After the sick man left (we never saw him as the bed was the first thing in the room and the curtain was pulled around it) there was just the 2 of us in the chairs until another lady came in for a short treatment with her husband and we had another chat about knitting and things. I had finished the square and was almost finished a pair of slippers that my boss Fr. Reynolds had asked me to do for the altar servers. We were done by 4:45 the earliest yet and we took my daughter Sharon's advice and went to Belleville for supper which we had at Denny's which has a great seniors menu. We were home about 7:30 tired but happy it was over.
Today I am feeling fine it is usually Thursday when the joint pain starts so we will see what happens. It does get less painful each time.
Thank you for all your kind thoughts, prayers and wishes. If you wish to comment on this Blog I would like to hear from you. Hit the comments at the bottom right and do your thing then hit the arrow on the right of comment as (crosstown Google) and a list will appear highlight OpenID or Anonymous and then post comment and that should work. Thanks for taking the time to read this!

Feeling Good

I have been feeling good since last Friday and have gone back to work as my replacement is on 3 weeks holiday. Next week is iffy as if all goes well my 3rd treatment will be on March 22.
This week on Monday I had blood work in Campbellford and in the afternoon had a fun trip to Peterborough with by good friend Carole. We went to Gerry's Crafts and got lots of goodies for the grandkids and then to Value Village where I got a yellow hat and 10 books.
John & I might have another trip to Peterborough after lunch on Friday. Got to do things while I am feeling good and what feels better than spending money!

Fatigue

Now I know what they mean by fatigue! I had to take a rest after my shower! I should have been more active yesterday and am paying the price. I went to work at 10:00 and stayed till 1:45, which included lunch at the Burger Hut. I actually walked there and back ( across the street!) which was a strain but what I needed. I am still wobbly but feel better. I did not recover this time as quickly as I did the last time, but each day is a bit better so I hope we are starting up hill again.
I can't thank everyone enough for all the support, prayers and good wishes I have received. Everyday I get a card or letter or phone call or email or John sees someone downtown who sends their best wishes. I am truly blest.

Side effects and pills

As this is my second time around after a treatment it will be interesting to see if the side effects are the same. So far I have been very lucky and have had no problem with vomiting or nausea. My biggest problem has been joint pain mainly in my knees and feet. This started on the Thursday after my treatment and was very bad on the Friday and Saturday and down to a dull roar on the Sunday and Monday. These 5 days seem to be what I call my "bad days" I feel basically OK but know that everything is not right. I describe it as feeling wobbly.This time the knees started bothering me around suppertime yesterday (Thursday). What a day for pills! After breakfast I took two stars (they are done now till night before next treatment) and a football, a stool softener, a multi vitamin and vitamin D, after lunch Calcium and B12 after supper, another football (only one left now) and stool softener. At 8:30 I took a percocet (oxycocet) for the pain and at 10:30 an Advil nighttime, and two Senokot (for constipation) a total of 16 pills! 10 different kinds. This is the worst day for that. By Saturday I should be back to my normal routine of just vitamins and calcium. The knee pain has been a lot less than last time so hopefully it will be easier this time around. I expect to be feeling normal by Tuesday and I better as I am going to work now and then for the next 3 weeks as Barbara my replacement had this time booked for holidays.

Pictures

Pictues of Chemo Hats

What actually happened yesterday March 1, 2011

Every thing goes smoothly till you get to the hospital at 8 am. It is a long walk to the waiting room. After registering and having blood work and filling out the form you wait. You get weighed and talk to Lorne the nursing student then you wait. You talk to Lou the nurse then you wait. You talk to Dr Biagi I asked him about the leg pain and we discussed options and I asked about my CT scan and he said he would get the results and come to the chemo room to give them to me. Then register at the chemo room and wait. My chemo nurse was Patti I had my footballs and then she had an awful time getting my IV hooked up after two tries on the left hand I ended up with it in a very awkward spot under my baby finger on my right hand. She started the saline but my treatment cocktail did not arrive till 11am my appointment was for 10:30. Got started and through the 2 15 min ones no problem and Patti went for lunch and Janet took over for her. I went to the bathroom, which is very awkward with the IV in your right hand, and you have to navigate between chairs nurses and med carts in the very crowded temporary chemo room where the big easy chairs they use are almost touching each other and people like John have to sit in front of them. The new room opens in June and I hope I never have to use it.When I got back Janet tried to start the Paclitaxel and it wouldn't flow properly. After checking here and there for about 20 min she discovered the needle had a kink in it so she straitened it out and re taped it and it started to work blood pressure very high here! I managed to do some knitting but after about an hour an a half and another bathroom trip every time I moved my right hand everything got messed up and the flow was interrupted and would start to beep so I gave up on the knitting and did a bit of reading. The nurses have more than one patient so there is often time when nothing is happening between bags. They started the last bag at 3:30 and we were finished at about 4:45 as they do a saline flush at the end. We went to Smittys and had a great supper and were home at 7:30 pm. Dr. Biagii never showed but he called to apologize before we got home and then called at 8:30 Wednesday morning to say that the CT scan was clear hurray!

Went for my second treatment in Kingston here is the routine

On the day before a treatment I have blood tests in Campbellford if every thing is OK I start my pill routine at 11 pm with 5 small white pills taken with a snack called Dexamethasone (an anti nausea pill). I will call them stars.
On the treatment day at 5 am I take 5 more stars with breakfast. have my shower and pack a lunch and my knitting and leave for Kingston at 6 am. If you don't get there by 8 you can't find a place to park.
I register and get the forms for more blood work which is done in a small room off the waiting room. Also get a card which tells you how to fill out and print an ESAE form on the computer in the waiting room. This is a "How do you feel today" quick rate with 0-10 answers to about 10 questions eg fatige level depression, pain anxiety etc. anxiety was my highest at 4 as I suffer from "white coat syndrum". Then a nurseing student gets you and they take your weight and she asks some general questions and looks at the ESAE. Then the Oncologist nurse Lou comes and asks more detailed questions. Then you see the Oncologist Dr. Biagi who reports on the blood tests (all good) and answers questions and adviseds on treatment of side effects. Then there is usually time after checking in at the chemo room for a quick coffee break (I have a bananna and a drink John has coffee) before your chemo nurse comes to get you.
She gives you two Ondansecton pills (anti nausea) which are small ovel light brown pills the nurses call footballs. She then hooks up an IV of saline solution and then a 15 min bag of Prochlorperazine (more anti nausea drugs) then a 15 min bag of Benadryl to prevent alergic reaction then the big one a 3 hour bag of Paclitaxel cancer drug and lastly a one hour bag of Carboplatin another cancer drug. During this treatment they take your blood preasure about once an hour and I am all over the place from 147 to 190! I knit if I can.

February 2011

February 1st I met Dr. Biagi who recomended 4 chemotherapy treatments as preventative measures. The surgery gave me a 70% cancer free statis. The Dr. did an internal exam and said everything looked clean and good. If I take the recomended treatments of Chemotherapy and Radiation this will give me a 90% chance of staying Cancer free. Treatments will start on February 8 and I will see the Radiologist then too. Got my hair cut in anticipation of it falling out and started to knit hats!

February 8 I saw Dr. Biagi again and he said if my blood tests are good between treatments we can shorten the time to 3 weeks. I met and saw Dr. Shenfield the radiologist whose intern did an internal which he also said looked good. Dr. S ordered a CT scan which will be done in Campbellford to check and see if there are any hot spots where lymph nodes are swollen. He recomended 25 external radiation treatments which will be done on a Monday to Friday scedule but not on holidays then a one week internal treatment on Monday Wedneasday and Friday. treatments will start about a month after Chemo is done. I have taken a medical leave from work which goes to October 4. I then had my first 5 hour chemo treatment. It was a very long day.

February 14 had the CT Scan in Campbellford and results will be sent to Kingston

February 22 Went to Campbellford for blood work. Which is also sent to Kingston

February 28 Went to campbellford for blood work also sent to Kingston

January 2011

Got the reports back from Kingston and have my first appointment to see the Oncologist on February 1

My Medical Journey July 2010 to December 2011

It all started in late July with periodic heavy vaginal bleeding.
August 2010 -Saw my GP
September 2010 -saw the Gynaecologist
October 2010 -D & C found Uterin Cancer
November 2010 -Complete Historectomy
December 2010 - get results and cancer penetrated 70% of uterin lining Results being sent to a panel of Doctors in Kingston for recomendations
December 2010 over Christmas my lright arm muscels in the upper arm and shoulder froze up and I couldn't move the arm This lasted two weeks and was fixed with over the counter meds