Hmmmmmm........where did I leave off? Oh right, this is supposed to be a blog about my cancer adventures so I guess I will leave Belgium behind for a bit and think about cancer.
I had a CT scan in February. I was a little stressed but the fantastic news was that I continued to be stable!!
During the month of March I suffered from cyclical feel like total crap syndrome. I would be totally sick for about a day and then start feeling better to the point that I was pretty much normal then the next day I would be totally sick again. It was a couple weeks before we left for Belgium that I decided it was time to get it checked out. Good thing I did, turns out I had a rampant C. diff infection. Huh.
C. diff is a bacteria that is normally found in hospitals or retirement homes and can kill people with lowered immune systems. No idea where I got it from but fortunately it was easily treated with antibiotics.
C. diff is a bacteria that is normally found in hospitals or retirement homes and can kill people with lowered immune systems. No idea where I got it from but fortunately it was easily treated with antibiotics.
Just as we were leaving for Belgium we put our condo up for sale. Ian had the opportunity to transfer to the Victoria office and we decided it was time for a change. Our condo is now sold and we leave Vancouver in a week!
We haven't found our new home yet so my parents have generously opened their condo to us as a home base while we do our search. We want to try out house living and have actual space to do things and not risk pissing off the neighbours with Ian's smoker.
We haven't found our new home yet so my parents have generously opened their condo to us as a home base while we do our search. We want to try out house living and have actual space to do things and not risk pissing off the neighbours with Ian's smoker.
We are pretty sure Jasper wants a pond and his own room.
Orchid just wants to go back to the kitty kennel.
As a part of the planning for the move, my oncologist has been organizing who my new oncologist will be. We also decided I was due for another CT scan. I have a small bump right above my surgery scar that appeared suddenly not long before my last CT. It shrank a bit a couple days after I first noticed it and it hasn't changed since. It did not show up on my last CT so it is just being monitored.
This time around when I went in for my CT I was surprisingly calm. It has been almost 2 years since my original diagnosis and things have been going so smoothly that anything could happen.
And something did happen, 2 enlarged lymph nodes were noted in my right armpit while everything else remained stable. The nodes were only about 1 cm each but my oncologist thought that it was worth doing further investigation just in case. We had a discussion about possible treatment changes as it is possible that any recurrence will not have the same genetic markers as my original tumour.
I was put in the queue for an ultrasound and biopsy, and I was expecting it to be at the end of June. Instead, I only had to wait about a week.
I managed to remain calm while the tech was doing the initial scanning. She took some pictures and told me that based on what she saw nothing appeared to very abnormal. She left the room with the pictures and a report to consult with the radiologist and I waited about 10 minutes. The tech and the radiologist returned and the radiologist told me that the lymph nodes, while appearing slightly enlarged, did not appear abnormal. There wasn't even a suspicious area for him to target, so........No biopsy!!!
Yay!!!!
I went to Victoria for a few days last week to hang out with my mom, to meet my new oncologist, and to check out a few properties. I had some wonderful weather for the ferry trip
My current oncologist picked my new one for me and she did a fantastic job! I already love my new one.
I scouted out a few properties for Ian and I to go look out once we are actually in Victoria but I didn't do any spontaneous offers on anything.
Now that the move to Victoria is completely official I have started to tick off my list off things that I am doing for the last time as a Vancouverite. I had my last Medina Cafe brunch with Grace a couple of weeks ago,
the week before she participated in the Ride to Conquer Cancer, a 200 km bicycle trip to fund raise for the BC Cancer Foundation, the fundraising arm of the BC Cancer Agency where I received all my treatments.
I had my last lunch with my friend Donna today, and tomorrow is my last volunteer shift at the Canadian Cancer Society, another fantastic organization to support. I have felt such a wonderful sense of family while I have been volunteering there and it will be sad to say goodbye tomorrow. Friday is my last Kadoya day......might have to get a volcano roll, it has been a while.
The move to Victoria is one that I truly make with mixed emotions. I moved to Vancouver in June of 2002 and I have had an amazing 12 years here. I met my wonderful husband and I have gained one of the most spectacular and supportive circle of friends. Without the people I have met in Vancouver I don't know how I would have made it to the point I am at now. So many people tell me how amazing or inspirational or strong I am. I am that way because of the support of the people around me. It is like all the endless condos being built in Vancouver, I can only stand tall if I have a strong foundation.
At the same time Vancouver is where I was diagnosed and Ian and I are both ready to make the next step with the hope that my stable status will continue for a long time. Leaving Vancouver helps us to close the door on all that initial shock and fear and open another door to whatever our future is. I know that I will be back in Vancouver on a regular basis, but visiting is very different from living.
Alright, enough with the heavy stuff. Here are a few more pictures from Belgium:
Baby ducks in Oudenburg
The Saint Niklaas statue in Sint Niklaas
The Antwerp train station
And something did happen, 2 enlarged lymph nodes were noted in my right armpit while everything else remained stable. The nodes were only about 1 cm each but my oncologist thought that it was worth doing further investigation just in case. We had a discussion about possible treatment changes as it is possible that any recurrence will not have the same genetic markers as my original tumour.
I was put in the queue for an ultrasound and biopsy, and I was expecting it to be at the end of June. Instead, I only had to wait about a week.
I managed to remain calm while the tech was doing the initial scanning. She took some pictures and told me that based on what she saw nothing appeared to very abnormal. She left the room with the pictures and a report to consult with the radiologist and I waited about 10 minutes. The tech and the radiologist returned and the radiologist told me that the lymph nodes, while appearing slightly enlarged, did not appear abnormal. There wasn't even a suspicious area for him to target, so........No biopsy!!!
Yay!!!!
I went to Victoria for a few days last week to hang out with my mom, to meet my new oncologist, and to check out a few properties. I had some wonderful weather for the ferry trip
My current oncologist picked my new one for me and she did a fantastic job! I already love my new one.
I scouted out a few properties for Ian and I to go look out once we are actually in Victoria but I didn't do any spontaneous offers on anything.
Now that the move to Victoria is completely official I have started to tick off my list off things that I am doing for the last time as a Vancouverite. I had my last Medina Cafe brunch with Grace a couple of weeks ago,
the week before she participated in the Ride to Conquer Cancer, a 200 km bicycle trip to fund raise for the BC Cancer Foundation, the fundraising arm of the BC Cancer Agency where I received all my treatments.
I had my last lunch with my friend Donna today, and tomorrow is my last volunteer shift at the Canadian Cancer Society, another fantastic organization to support. I have felt such a wonderful sense of family while I have been volunteering there and it will be sad to say goodbye tomorrow. Friday is my last Kadoya day......might have to get a volcano roll, it has been a while.
The move to Victoria is one that I truly make with mixed emotions. I moved to Vancouver in June of 2002 and I have had an amazing 12 years here. I met my wonderful husband and I have gained one of the most spectacular and supportive circle of friends. Without the people I have met in Vancouver I don't know how I would have made it to the point I am at now. So many people tell me how amazing or inspirational or strong I am. I am that way because of the support of the people around me. It is like all the endless condos being built in Vancouver, I can only stand tall if I have a strong foundation.
At the same time Vancouver is where I was diagnosed and Ian and I are both ready to make the next step with the hope that my stable status will continue for a long time. Leaving Vancouver helps us to close the door on all that initial shock and fear and open another door to whatever our future is. I know that I will be back in Vancouver on a regular basis, but visiting is very different from living.
Alright, enough with the heavy stuff. Here are a few more pictures from Belgium:
Baby ducks in Oudenburg
The Saint Niklaas statue in Sint Niklaas
The Antwerp train station
You deserve a smooth calm happy transition - and that was a nice pleasant start, huh? Yay!
ReplyDeleteBtw, did you hear that Medina was going to be moving soon? Closer to Library Square. Bigger space - no more waiting for a table?
ReplyDeleteAll the best on your new adventure. Hope we can have a coffee or …..next time I am over in Victoria.
ReplyDeleteOr the next time after, totally open!
Suz