Chinese herbs

Jessica and I had a really nice trip to Edmonton. Visited with friends and had a relaxing weekend. On Monday before going home I saw a Chinese doctor specializing in herbs/acupuncture/acupressure who was recommended to me. He did a "pulse reading" and said that my kidneys were weak. Could be a reason that I am retaining so much water. Then he continued to say that what we eat is what is causing cancer. He recommended only drinking spring water because that is the only kind of water a goldfish could live in and that it would die in distilled and filtered water. Also that we should wash all our fruits and vegetables in salt water as the pesticides are harmful. He also had some opinions on dairy, conventional cancer treatments and the amount of acidity in our bodies. In the end he offered some herbs to be made into tea and that I was to drink it during radiation to removed the toxins from my body. As well he offered some herb pills to be taken for a few weeks when I am complete radiation that will kill any remaining cancer cells in my body.
Although many people balk at this kind of stuff I figure that once I am complete the chemo and radiation that some herb certainly can't hurt. It will also give me peace of mind that I have tried everything to rid my body of cancer.

Tomorrow we're going to forget about today

Tomorrow we're going skiing in the middle of the week. It'll be the last trip of the season and a good memory for the three of us. Better than today.

We saw Carolin's main oncologist this afternoon. We like her even when she's running an hour and a half late. She had some ideas to help with hot flashes, got updated on the radiation plan, advised on where to go to get the incipient lymphodema (bloating left arm) looked after, and scheduled the Zolidex shot (anti-estrogen) for Thursday. Busy enough but not the unpleasant part.

She told us that the ultrasound found a lot of lumpy lymphnodes above the collar bone, not just the 8mm one the ultrasound tech mentioned. As they are in the near-neck region they cannot be taken out. Too many nerves and they're hard to see. We don't know if these lumpy nodes are cancerous. So the plan is to get the 5 weeks of radiation and see if they shrink. If they don't shrink then Dr. Hicks says we'll look at them some more. Maybe do some more chemo.

She must like Carolin bald.

Another day another doctor

Today I saw the OB/Gyn about removing my ovaries. He was a nice doctor. It will be done with 3 small incisions in my abdomen. One for the camera and as he put it the other 2 for the fork and knive. It is an hour operation and I go home the same day. A one or two day recovery. He was willing to do it next week but we decided to wait until radiation was over before taking this little project on. The major side effect of having no estrogen is hot flashes. Unfortunatley for me hormone replacement is not an option. The 2 hormones that they use - estrogen and progestern are what makes my cancer grow. He suggested that as I get use to them they won't bother me so much. Tell my husband that as all the blankets get thrown off throughout the night!! I will look into some natural alternatives when I get closer to that date.

So the next thing will the the Zoladex shot on the 29th. The doctor said that it is a very large needle with a pellet on the end that they put into my stomach. He suggest that I get patch that is put on 1 hour before the shot to numb the area.

So that is it for medical news for now. I am taking the weekend off from thinking and talking about cancer and enjoying the weekend in Edmonton. I'll be back on Monday hopefully rested and ready for next week of doctor appoinments.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter!!

Love Carolin

Radiation Marking

Well today was a long day. I arrived at my appointment at 1:15 to find out that the receptionist gave me the wrong time and it was actually at 3:15. They told me to put on a gown and housecoat and wait and they would see if they could fit me in. Well they didn't and they were even behind schedule. So after waiting for 2 1/2 hours they finally took me in. We had a little information session first. I learned things like I cannot use soap or lotion on the radiated area, I must put baby powder on it every day, can only wear cotton clothing directly against the skin and other little do's and don'ts. Then they took me into a radiation marking room. I had to lay on a cold hard table with a rotating X-ray machine above me. They put my arm in a cradle like thing that supported my arm above my head and wouldn't let it move. They start making lines with a Sharpie pen and taking mearsurments and lining up the X-ray machine to get all the beams lined up to where they want to do the radiation. It took about 45 minutes of 4 people working out all the measurements. Half way through my hand and arm were asleep. When they were complete my chest, neck and shoulder look a lot like Frankenstein. These balck lines need to stay on until the whole radiation process is complete - did I mention that that was 5 weeks. No T-shirt is going to hide all these lines. Then they had to make 4 points even more permanent by tattoo them. This was done by putting some dark brown dye on my skin and then taking a needle, poking the skin and lifting it up so that the die could run under the skin. The first 3 were OK but the last one hurt and I cried. Once I started crying I couldn't stop. It was a build up of waiting so long, a tingling arm, pain from the needle and the unknowness of the node.

After they were done I had a chance to talk to the radiation oncologist. I ask about doing a biopsy on the node. He said it was too small to do with a needle and that they would have to do it surgically. He suggested waiting to see if there was a change in the size after the radiation. I was too exhausted to argue but will take it up with my medical oncolgist on the 29th.

A long day with few high points.

Those darn nodes

Well I had my untrasound this afternoon of my clavical (collar bone) area. They found one node that is 8mm big. It showed black on the screen. The ultrasound technician got the ultrasound doctor (I don't know his technical term) to come look. He agreed with what she found. He will write a letter to my medical oncologist and my radiation oncologist. They will do one of two things: biopsy it or watch and sees if it goes away or grows after radiation. It is a bit unsettling that with all the chemo that I have had I could still have stuff growing in me. Did the chemo even work? It makes me wonder if I have cancer other places too. Always so may questions and so few answers.

Well I will see the radiation oncologist tomorrow and my medical oncologist on the 29th. So by the end of March I should have some answers. I think I may ask them to biopsy the node to see if it is cancer or not and then I know what I am dealing with.

A bit of a down day.

Love Carolin

The body is an amazing thing...

I just received a phone call from my very devoted doctor's colleague (my doctor is way for a family emergency). It was supper time and much past the end of his day. Thank you to all those who work at Valley Ridge Family Physicians. The doctor took the time to call me about my blood test I had taken on Saturday.
My white count is up to 7.5 and my neutrophils are 4.8. It is amazing how the body can repair itself. I still have some minor cold symptoms. Just enough to be annoying (the symptoms are annoying, not me). I did get out for a bit of a walk today and hope to get back to the gym tomorrow.

It is a busy week of doctor appointments. As Sandy has said we saw the radiation oncologist today, I have an ultrasound of my upper chest and clavical area tomorrow, Wednesday is back to the radiation oncologist for radiation marking (tattoos) and Thursday is an appointment with the OB/Gyn. But at last I get a break over Easter. Jessica and I will be leaving on Friday to Edmonton until Monday.

I'll write again when I get results of tomorrow's test.

Love Carolin

Radiation is our friend

We went for our first radiation consult today. Lots of waiting but then it's not like you're going to go elsewhere to collect your doseage. We came away knowing that Carolin will get 5 weeks of treatment (on every weekday) with four guns. A treatment is 2-3 minutes long but the positioning ahead of time takes a while. For her trouble she gets a reduced chance of reoccurence. She also gets one or more of: harder soft tissue, darker skin in that area, burns ("we'll give you some cream"), fatigue (1 in 3 get it), lung scarring (you don't use your upper lung much to breath so you won't notice it, he said), but she won't glow in the dark.

This doctor wasn't sure that the collar bone area had been checked sufficiently for cancer. He's requiring an ultra sound before the radiation can start. That's tomorrow.

A normal Calgary weekend

This weekend Carolin, Jess and I went to an indoor rodeo. Before it started we toured the Aggie show and saw animals galore. Smallest were the chicks that are turned into McNuggets in 6 weeks (!). Largest was a buffalo that towered over us common folk. In between were pigs, horses, goats and the odd old macdonald type. Jessica enjoyed herself and it was nice to do a family outing.

For Jess the highlight of the Aggie show were the chicks and a duck-herding-dog. For the Rodeo portion the highlight was the spit that bulls seem full of when they start bucking. It flies all over. Low point for her was the calf roping that seemed mean.

We headed home afterwards with a good memory, and no bull spit. Sign us up for next year.

More cold symptoms

Well my throat was very sore yesterday and last night. It feels better this morning but now the cold moved into my head. The doctor called me last night and said that my counts are very low. (I expected that). My white count was 2.9 (range is 4.0-11.0) and my neutrophils (new white cells) was 0.5 (range is 2.0-9.0). I need to have another count done on Saturday to make sure that they are rising. If not, that could mean that I am bone marrow supressed. I don't know what happens if that is the case. I don't think it is. I just think I have a cold at a bad time.

So while Jessica is at school today I will take things easy and maybe have a nap. I had a very restless sleep last night. My eyes are still tearing and I am still very bloated from the steriods. Yuck!! I haven't been to the gym or walking since Monday and that is making me feel guilty. My cold better be gone by Monday.

So that is it for news here.

Have a good weekend.

Love Carolin

I'm sick

Yesterday I was very tired. I did a few jobs but rested on the couch between each one. I had an early evening that started with a hot bath and I was asleep by 8 pm. But I woke up in the middle of the night with a sore throat. I figure that it is just a cold but Sandy and the nurse at the Tom Baker insisted that I see a doctor. So I went to the doctor at 3:30 this afternoon. He was very cautious. He did a throat swab and sent me for blood work. He said that we have to watch for all little signs that an infection could be brewing when my immune system is compromised. I will get the results tomorrow if there is something of concern. My throat is quite scratchy and painful. My blood count should be starting to come up now but may be hindered when it is having to fight a sore throat. For all those who so kindly will scold me for doing too much will be happy to know that I spent the whole day on the couch watching TV and had an hour nap this afternoon. I will keep sipping hot tea and will again go to bed early tonight. Hopefully I will be feeling better tomorrow.

Love for now.

Carolin

Plastic surgery lecture

Carolin had her heart set on hearing a local doctor talk about breast reconstruction but she had been more horizontal than vertical all day. After not being able to talk her out of it, I offered to drive. The presentation was in a smallish room with about 45 other people. As usual for these things, the average age was maybe 55.

The good doctor brought his slide show with many real-life before-and-after pictures. Also included were shots of the actual operation. Very graphic. Only 20% of women that have a masectomy have reconstruction afterwards. The most common procedure done by this doctor's team is a Tram flap that takes tissue from your stomach and puts it on your chest. It's a 10 hour operation and they recommend that you stay home from work for 4 months while your stomach heals. Lots and lots of scars in odd places. There's other options and he described many of them, however I left understanding why 80% of the women decided to not go this route.

Skiing

Sunday morning we woke up to about 3 inches of snow. After our morning coffee we decided that it would be a great day to go skiing as a family. So by 9 am we were off to Nakiska. Nakiska had lots of fresh new snow and the hill wasn't busy. It was fun to watch Jessica ski so well. Near the end of the day she was telling us that the "blue" runs were boring. Yikes!! I made it through the day and only had to sit out one run. My eyes were tearing so much that it was hard to see. Even harder with the snow.

I slept in the van for a bit on the way home and slept for an hour in bed when we got home.

This morning I went to the gym to do my weight class. It went OK but I lacked some of my usual enthusiasm. When I got home at 11:30 I had to go right to bed. I was so tired and Sandy said that I looked pale. I slept 2 1/2 hours. When I woke up I feel like either I am coming down with the flu or 2 days of activity was just too much.

There is a plastic surgeon doing a talk on breast reconstruction tonight at the Canadian Cancer Society. I had planned on going but didn't know if I have the energy. Because of feeling so tired Sandy has offered to go with me so that he can drive. That was nice.

That's all that is going on here.

Bye for now.

Love Carolin

Pretty much back to normal

Well after a few tough days of being tired I am feeling good again. I still have sore fingernails and although my tongue doesn't hurt I still have no tastebuds. Hopefully they will return soon.

This afternoon I had 3 friends over for my second "shaving of the head". Ruth was so kind to come to my house with her hairstyling tools in tow to shave off the remaining hair that I have. Fiona and Tammy came to watch. Now when it starts to grow back in over the next few weeks it will grow in evenly. I have some very expensive shampoo, condition and tonic that is supposed to promote hair growth as well as make it thicker and stronger. I am looking forward to it coming back - and this time for good.

I did a 4.5 km training walk yesterday. My legs felt very heavy and my shins are a bit sore but I toughed it out. Today I didn't go to the gym. I woke up with a bit of a sore throat. It didn't amount to anything and I feel fine right now. I worked out instead by cleaning my house and going to Superstore. That's enough work for anyone.

Not much planned for the weekend. Jessica has diving tomorrow morning and then we are getting together with a group of friends in the afternoon. Nothing on for Sunday yet.

Hope everyone has a nice weekend.

Carolin

Tuesday PM TV Program

Remember “Don’t Stand Still,” the documentary of seven women who walked in last year’s Weekend to End Breast Cancer, is airing tonight on W Network at 10 pm.

Still feeling OK

Things are going fine. Unfortunately the side effects are still with me. They don't seem to be subsiding very quickly this time.

I went to the gym yesterday and did my weight program. I was feeling good in the afternoon so I decided to volunteer in Jessica's classroom. That used up all the energy I had. I had a warm bath at 6:30 and was in bed and asleep at 7 pm. I knew that I had done too much.

This morning Colette and I walked our 3.5 km route. Did a trip to Costco and now I am ready for a bit of an afternoon nap. Jessica has gymnastics after school.

All write again later.

Nap time.

Carolin

Sunday PM update

Well the sleeping pill worked so good on Thursday night that I couldn't go to the gym on Friday morning. I thought that I would end up hitting myself in the head with a weight. I did go for coffee with my friends instead.

I did two training walks this weekend - 3.5 km on Saturday and 4.5 km on Sunday. Rylie is enjoying this training schedule because she gets a lot more walks this way.

I am feeling just OK. My tongue hurts but not as bad as last time, no tastebuds, my eyes are watering and twitching, and I am very very tired. But I don't have the muscle aches and pains this time. I painted my finger nails and when the old polish was off I noticed that they have changed color. They are white and grey. Certainly a good reason to polish them again.

We had a quiet weekend. Sandy made it home on Friday night which made both Jessica and I happy. I stayed in my PJ's all weekend (except when on my walks) and watch quite a bit of TV. Hopefully I will start feeling more like myself tomorrow and then it should be clear sailing after that.

Hopefully everyone had a nice weekend.

Signing off for now.

Love Carolin

Weekend to End Cancer Update

I have had an overwhelming response from friends and family in achieving my goal of $2000. I am up to $3200 now.
AMAZING!!

I'm going to keep raising money to beat this disease. For those who were thinking about donating I hope you still will. The more we raise, the better the chance of finding a cure sooner. And thank you so much to all those who have donated already for this great cause. Together we can make a difference!

Still feeling good..

I am still doing good. I didn't have a very good sleep last night so I will try to take a sleeping pill tonight. But other than that things are good. I am starting to lose my tastebuds so that means the mean white pealing tongue is lurking. No muscle aches yet.

I went to see a very nice plastic surgeon today. I have been put on the list for reconstruction. He thinks I can get in somewhere between 6 or 8 months. That is quite different from what the other doctor said. I would have to stay in the hospital 6 nights and can't drive for 4 weeks (yicks). I'm sure that I can't vaccum either. I also need to give 1 liter of my own blood before surgery.

I did another training walk. 4 km today. Walking uses many different muscles - my quads and shins are hurting but a good hurt.

So that is about it. Sandy is due home tomorrow. Sandy's mom is still here at the house helping me with Jessica.

Bye for now.

Love Carolin

Chemo #4

Well today was the last chemo - I am so grateful that it is over. A few weeks of side effects and I can start growing my hair, running, losing weight and starting feeling like my old self again. Hurray!!

My day started out well. I did another 3.5 km training walk with Rylie. It was a beautiful spring day with blue sky, lots of sun and no clouds. Then to make my day even better Sandy called me from Amsterdam. It was nice to hear his voice. He is doing well but looking forawrd to coming home. Me too. Then my friend Karen drove me to the Tom Baker Cancer center for chemo #4. I had a very good nurse and she got my I.V. in on the first try. Karen took some pictures of my last chemo treatment but I told her that she has to delete them because they make me look puff. And I don't like puffy!!

Sandy's mom picked up Jessica and I had time for a nap before supper. So now I am going to enjoy the rest of the evening and hope that I feel good tomorrow. Tomorrow I go to see my second plastic surgeon for a consult. Based on the healing of the scar and knowing that radiation will end at the end of April maybe he can give me a more definite time frame for when I can start that surgery.

I had a call from the radiation department and I go for a radiation consult on March 21.

Well I need to go kiss Jessica good night.

Love to you all.

Carolin

X-Ray is clear!!

Hi there!! I am home from chemo and wanted to write a quick note before I have a nap. The X-rays are clear. Dr. Hicks doesn't see anything on the chest X-ray that shouldn't be there. She re-examined my ribs and is going to have the radiologist take a look at the X-rays just in case. That is good news and now I can make up for some of the sleep I lost last night. I will write later about today's chemo.

Love Carolin

Dr. Day

Well today was doctor day. My blood count was great. White count was 8.9 and neutrophils 6.4. That is high for me. Last chemo treatment my white count was 7.0 and neutrophils 4.0. Maybe that is why I was feeling so good yesterday and today.

Today I did a 3.5 km walk with my friend Colette and Rylie. Went way faster when I had someone to talk to. I could have gone much further but my day of appoinments did not have room for that.

So the doctor says my side effects, although annoying, are not severe enough to cancel this treatment. So in other words "suck it up". She says my eyes are watering because the chemo is affecting my tear ducts. The nails hurting are a sign that I could lose them - yuck! She says to watch for discoloration (is that even a word) and ridges on them. The white tonuge will be inevitable but only lasts 1 week. As for the hot flashes she says to get use to them - part of having no estrogen.

I will start radiation in 4 weeks. The radiation oncologist will call me with an appointment in the near future.

The doctor wants to give me Zoladex shots between the end of chemo and the removal of my ovaries. This basically shuts down the ovaries and keeps them from producing estrogen. With my type of cancer the estrogen attaches to receptors on the cancer cell walls. That stimulates the cancer cells. Without estrogen, hormone-sensitive tumours starve and often stop dividing and die. So we don't want any estrogen. She asked if we have extended health care. The Cancer Board does not pay for the shots. I asked how much they are thinking that we are talking $35 - $50. She replied with "$600" per shot. Holy Wow!!! But each shot last 3 months. So I should only need 1 or 2 at the most. I will call our health provider tomorrow. If they cover the shot I will get my first one in 4 weeks. That is also when I have my next follow-up appointment with my medical oncologist.

Now the not so good news. I told the doctor that my ribs on the left side hurt. They hurt enough that if I turn on that side while sleeping that it wakes me up. She did not like the sounds of that. She listened to my lungs and felt my ribs and collar bone. She said it was unlikely that it was bone cancer but sent me for an X-ray to rule it out. She asked if I was out of breath - I said no but that I run like crap. I don't know if the 2 are related or not. She also found a small (the size of a pea) lymph node near my collar bone. She said she would just keep an eye on that. When I get my X-ray results I will ask if it showed up on the X-ray. So I should get the results tomorrow when I go in for chemo.

Well it has been a long day so I am signing off. I will update the blog as soon as I get home tomorrow. Chemo is at 11 am.

Bye for now.

Love Carolin

PS All of you are going to be half way through medical school by the time this whole medical crisis in my life in finished.