Sheryl's Specimens

Today was the Run for the Cure.
Thank you to everyone who donated, we have raised over $11,000!!!
Thank you Abby, you were a wonderful team captain! You did a great job getting the team off the ground and keeping us all organized:)
Thank you to all of my fabulous teammates, your support while I travel the road of a cancer patient means so much to me and it has really made the journey a little bit easier.

And thank you to all of my unofficial teammates who could not make it out today and to my family, I couldn't do this without you.

And here is the picture you have all been waiting for:

Unfortunately the cape and the feather boa hide the coconut bra, but I am sure you get the idea.

It was a fun day finished off with pancakes.  I think I did an okay job of mascot even though I did not actually walk the route.  But now I have a goal for next year to run the 5k.

Tomorrow being Monday, and pending my neutrophil count, it is time for chemo #4.  The all exciting half way point!

Thursday.

It is Thursday, it is sunny, and I'm listening to "I will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor.  Purely coincidence but it is an appropriate song.

I did a little seawall people watching today.  Stripes with plaid were popular as were beard braids.  It is true, Vancouver is not exactly known as a fashion capital of the world, or Canada, or possibly even BC.

The last week and a half has been action packed again.  Aside from the short detour through the VGH emerg, I have had some excellent coffee dates and breakfast dates and lunch dates.  That is what lead to the seawall people watching today, I needed a few extra hours of downtime and the seawall was the closest sunny spot that I could find to sit.  All my fun dates definitely make me tired.

I am almost ready for the next round of chemo.  My next chemo date is #4 and that means I am half way there!!!!

The music is now the James Bond theme.  Eclectic if nothing else.

So, as I was sitting on the seawall contemplating my navel, or maybe contemplating everyone else's navels, there was this little piece of my brain that was already thinking about Monday and positively dreading it.  I know that chemo is necessary and really, on the whole scale of all the chemo stories I have now read or heard about, my chemo adventure has been shockingly uneventful so far.  At the same time that little piece of my brain is still dreading Monday.
Chemo really sucks.  It doesn't suck more than cancer, but it still sucks.

At the same time, with all the suckiness, I am so thankful for chemo.  It is difficult to wrap my head around the whole idea that something that feels so inherently wrong, after all I have spent such a large chunk of my life trying to put as few chemicals in my body as possible, is so good for me.  Maybe all those people eating all that fake chemical filled processed food actually had it right, maybe the chemicals keep the bad stuff away.  Probably not.

At least I still have 3 more days until my next chemo day.  I have one more breakfast date to fit in and the run for the cure is on Sunday.
Thank you to everyone who has donated and thank you to all of my fabulous teammates for being such great friends and doing such an excellent job of fundraising!

Saturday Night Fever

Ha ha! Until I wrote the title I hadn't even thought of the movie.

Yay, lucky me.  I spent Saturday night in Emerg because I had a fever.  The VGH Emerg waiting room definitely smells better than St. Paul's!

I had a fever off and on throughout the afternoon, then it settled in at just over 38 degrees and increased slightly over the next hour or so.  I admit it, Ian was making pizza for dinner so I refused to leave until after I ate.  I actually felt fine other than the fact that my brain was melting.
The Emerg staff was great.  It was Saturday night so it was pretty busy but they did their best to make sure I had prompt service.  And as I bounced around the Emerg.....I think I saw the whole area twice......I even got a private room.

I wasn't keen on it but the triage nurse gave me a mask to wear if I thought I needed it.  It made him feel better.  While another nurse was directing me to my second or third room he told me to put on the mask on and glared at me until I did it.  The only probably wearing the mask was it made my fever feel worse.  Oh well, I didn't need anymore glares.

I went through the sepsis protocol, blood cultures....all 4 bottles were collected with one poke, I thought that was weird but maybe the policy has changed since I last collected blood and I didn't mind one less poke......other bloodwork, ECG followed by chest X-ray.  I have an inverted T-wave due a slight reversal of the axis of my heart.  I suspect they just wanted to see proof of my story before they dismissed angina.

So, at the end of 3 hours I was given 2 antibiotic prescriptions and a starter dose of each and sent on my way.  My neutrophils were a whopping 0.3 but at least my hemoglobin was ok.

And now, for the first time in my life I am on a course of antibiotics.  Joy.  I love chemo.
One drug doesn't mix well with dairy or iron pills or calcium pills or something else but I don't take the something else so I don't care about that.  To be able to eat dairy it has to be 2 hours before a dose or 6 hours after the dose.  Fortunately it is the pill I take every 12 hours and not the one I have take every 8 hours so I can still fit yogurt into my day.

My fever is gone now and I feel totally fine.  The Emerg doc did ask if I had had previous fevers which makes me think I may get to this again some time.  Hopefully not, but if it does maybe it won't be on a Saturday at dinner time during the football game.  At least the Lions won:)

Back to Humanity

Ah, it's amazing what a difference a few days can make!  No more pain, no more heart burn, no more feeling sorry for myself:)

It has continued to be beautiful and sunny in Vancouver so over the last couple of days I have been doing my best to take advantage in my own small way, sitting outside on the patio, or enjoying coffee and the fresh air with Keetah.  Hopefully the rainy season won't start for a couple more weeks!

Fundraising for the Run for the Cure is continuing at a rapid rate, Sheryl's Specimens is one of the top 10 teams!!!!
Great job everyone, and thank you to all of our donors!
I am curious to see what kind of outfit I will be wearing.  I promise to post a picture for all of you that are not at the run on the day.

Have a lovely afternoon everyone!

Round 3

Wow.  Just as I got used to exhausted, exhausting, exhaustion, tired, and fatigue followed by more exhausted, the chemo knocked me on my butt.  Yippee, heartburn and insomnia.  Not a great combo.
My energy level has not been good but the heartburn all day long was much worse than just being stuck on the couch.  And insomnia and I are just are not a good match.  At the best of times I need my sleep, but during chemo......come on, it's only fair that I can still sleep to pass the time.

The consolation was that at least I was still able to eat.  In fact, pretty much the only time I was not suffering from heart burn was when I was eating.  Hmm, that seems healthy!
Fortunately the heartburn seemed to start settling down on Friday evening.

Then 9 pm Friday night rolled around and bam the bone pain in my jaw.  Seriously, I don't need an alarm clock any more.
This time it moved into my teeth, that was odd.  It felt like my teeth might fall out...fortunately it hasn't happened yet:)
When I went to bed my neck hurt so even the pillow was uncomfortable.  Throughout the night the pain slowly worked its way down to hips, and knees, and shins.  Now that it is Saturday afternoon there is just some residual pain in my jaw and that is it.  Thank goodness the pain has decreased each time.

For Saturday morning breakfast I ventured out into the world of bacon and egg sandwiches.....Mom and Dad were visiting this week so more fresh buns!!  I know, no pancakes, but some times you just have to live dangerously.

On the pancake theme, I had mentioned previously that we should have a brunch after the Run for the Cure.  There is a new IHOP located on Broadway near Oak that might be a good location.  I know, it is no Medina Cafe, but it does match my pancake theme nicely.  The restaurant should be large so it should be able to hold lots of people and it is kid friendly.
I have had some positive responses about this idea from a few people already.  If I can get a general idea of the number of people that would be interested I can contact the restaurant to see if it would be feasible.

Oh, and to answer Angela's question about cancelling chemo, yes, it is done.  If a patient's neutrophil count is too low it happens.  I don't know the exact reason, but I suspect the reason is because an increasing neut count indicates that the bone marrow is starting to recover from the chemo shock.  If chemo is given again before the marrow starts to recover there may be a longer delay the next time before the marrow begins to respond which means an extended period with no neutrophils.  And no neutrophils is bad.

So, the worst part of round 3 is over now.  There is one more round of my current treatment to go before the drugs are switched up.  Then it is 4 rounds of the new drugs.  In a way it is hard to believe I have been living the life of a chemo patient for a month and a half already, at the same time it feels like it may never end.  But, it will eventually end, in about another 17 weeks.

Chemo A Go Go

2.1!!!!
I can't complain about that.  Maybe the wheat grass really does help.  Or maybe the vitamin C.  Or maybe it's just nature:)

It was a beautiful day.  I had a seawall stroll with Carly before I went for blood work.  Then it was off for coffee with Marian while hoping the Cancer Agency didn't call to tell me chemo was cancelled.  Thanks for the coffee, Judi!! It is too bad you weren't there, but definitely next time!

The Cancer Agency didn't call so after coffee it was off to the chemo unit.  It was a busy place this afternoon.  And once again I was very thankful that I have big, happy veins.  There was another patient about my age in my room and it took 3 tries and a lot of pain and tears before the IV was in.  And it was her birthday.  I think all the nurses are hoping she gets a port put in before her next treatment is due.
I am still a little amazed that my neutrophils made it all the way up to 2.1.  It is such a relief that I got chemo and a full dose to boot.

The room I was in had a fabulous view.

Ok, that's enough, time to be one with the couch for a little while.

Random Thoughts, Otherwise Known as Mindless Blather

Before the mindless blathering (apparently that really is a word since it wasn't flagged by my spell check) starts, the bad news is that on Friday morning my neutrophil count was 0.1.
That means possibly a delay in my next round of chemo or at best a decreased next dose if there isn't a dramatic increase by Monday afternoon.  It seems the nasty tasting wheat grass juice is not helping, but I don't have any other options so I will continue to drink it.

Now onto the random thoughts that have occurred to me while I have spent too much time sitting on my couch:

Do not stand in a customs line at an airport 40 hours after having a biopsy done.  The odds of wanting to either vomit or pass out are pretty high and somewhat unpleasant.  At the same time travelling is a marvelous way of distracting one's self from potential bad stuff so maybe sucking it up and standing in the line is not such a bad idea after all.

Eat pancakes regularly.  They are even recommended by the BC Cancer Agency as a food to eat.  Add bacon and maple syrup and they are even better.  Although bacon and maple syrup are not recommended by the Cancer Agency sometimes living risky is the better course of action.

When playing Settlers of Catan it is really unfair if all the other players gang up on the cancer patient.

Hand hygiene is really important.

Hard boiled eggs are tasty, even without salt and pepper.

Friends and family are really important to one's mental well being.

Text messaging is an excellent method of communication when computers are not conveniently located next to the couch and talking is too exhausting.

I think I have used the word exhausting more times in the last 6 weeks than I had used it in my entire life BC.

I have a really cute dog, and a really cute cat.  And an awesome husband:)

Having an overactive sense of smell is not a positive thing.

Boating is exhausting (see, there's that word again, I think I need a thesaurus).  But it is fun and the scenery is beautiful.  No fish though.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, especially when it is out with friends.

Friends and family are really important to one's mental well being and I have an awesome husband.  I know I am repeating myself, it's not chemo brain, they are just the 2 most important things:)

4 Days and Counting

These days my life revolves around my chemo schedule.  Every third Monday I trek off to the Cancer Agency for my next round of chemo and next Monday is one of those Mondays.  It is currently Thursday so I have 4 days left.  The question is how much fun stuff can I pack into 4 days?  Or more importantly, how much energy do I have to do some fun stuff???

Yesterday I decided to be really adventurous and I walked to St. Paul's for a visit.  In the good old days, or maybe I should say BC (before cancer, but I'm sure you all figured that out) the 2.5 k walk took me 30 minutes on a bad day, this time around it was 50 minutes.  But, I made it and best of all I didn't have to sit down part way.  I am doing way better than the first round!!

It was marvelous to see everyone:)

After the visiting was over I called Ian to pick me up.  I may have walked there but I had no hope of making it home again on my own.  And the rest of the day was a write off, all of my energy was spent.  At least it was fun.

As some of you know, I started a new job in the middle of May.  And yes, cancer has really put a damper on my training and working, fortunately I was eligible for short term disability while a cope with chemo.  I had the pleasure of talking to my boss today and even though I can feel my oncologist glaring at me as I say it, I REALLY want to go back to work!  If only my brain cells were working fully and I was focussed enough to drive and I could walk and carry stuff at the same time........I discovered a few days ago that carrying 2 liters of milk 3 blocks requires 2 hours of couch time to recover.  I don't think I will be carting a laptop anywhere for the next few months:(

Since it was yet another beautiful day today (yippee!) I met my fabulous pal, Alison, for coffee and a short stroll on the seawall.  And now I am home again and totally flaked out.  I probably should not have stayed out so long but it was so sunny and the company was nice I guess I pushed my limits just a bit.  Oh well, I'll be glued to the couch again in no time.


The Run for the Cure:

Thank you to everyone who has signed up to run or has donated so far!!!!

I have promised Laura that for my role as mascot she can dress me up however she sees fit for the day.  So, if you are up for some entertainment don't forget to sign up and join us on September 30th:)
I don't know if there is a deadline for registering, but if you want a team shirt the shirt request has to be in by September 14th so try to sign up before then.

I am also looking for brunch ideas for after the run for anyone that can join.  As it may be a fairly large group I think we will have to move outside the downtown core so any suggestions are welcome (unfortunately Medina Cafe does not take reservations so it isn't an option).
I am so glad the run organizers picked the last day of September, it is the day before round 4 of chemo so it is my absolute best day.

Home Time

Alas, two weeks are up and it is time to return to the city.

It was a successful two weeks though.  I have recovered from round 2 of my chemo, Jasper is exhausted, Orchid is a master mouse hunter, and Ian has caught pounds of ling cod for our freezer.

For those of you have not had the joy of looking at a ling cod, here is a picture:

Not the prettiest fish, but very tasty eats!  This guy weighed in at 16 pounds and was actually hooked twice. Ian hooked him and the line broke then Nick landed him on the next go round in the area. Not bad, they even got the hook back.

Have a great Labour Day everyone:)