Festival of Trees

After Thursday’s great scan results, D and I thought we’d celebrate by going to the annual Christmas Festival of Trees, for charity and all indoors at the Conference Center. For sale were hundreds of beautifully decorated trees along with 50 gingerbread houses all designed, built and donated by local businesses. All were very elaborate and beautiful. There was even a separate area for one-a-kind ornaments for both under and on the tree and mantel. At the end of it all, everyone voted their choice for the best gingerbread house.

After we walked about half way thru, D went for a couple of coffees and we sat in front of the stage where school children sang and played Christmas music. Those young sweet voices add so much to the magic of what was going on.

Since its inception in 1985, the Festival of Trees has risen over $12M, all donated to the University of Alberta Hospital and the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute.

Below are some pics we took ...

BC Video

This ad was created for NBCC in Australia. It's kind of cute, 45 seconds.

My CT Results Are In

The receptionist called out my name and I was ushered into the examining room. As I’m sitting there, I’m still thinking of how I was going to apologize about not fasting for the CT scan last week. Then it occurred to me … wow this is my first CT scan since the start of my new chemo six weeks ago. What’s it gonna to show?

Well my Onc and the trials nurse came in together which is always a bit overwhelming. Onc sat down in a chair beside me, leaned over and showed me the radiologist’s report that compares today’s scan to the October 15th scan. My eyes darted down to the two tumor sizes they use to monitor my liver. … 3.6 x 2.5 cm and 3.0 x 2.2 cm. Together they shrunk 33.7 %. I could hardly believe it; when I looked up, both the Onc and the nurse were just smiling at me. What a surprise for me!!! What a surprise!!!

The Onc said these results are very good indeed and that your total liver volume has shrunk by 5% but added that is still quite swollen. He also said that the tumor makeup has changed from a hard lesion to a softer lesion and that it’s more watery like. Another surprise!!!

Pretty well anything said after that was muffled in my brain: I couldn’t process what was coming in fast enough. It felt like I was floating off my chair… like having an out of body experience. Were they really talking to me or was I dreaming?

With the radiologist report in hand, I headed home. I wondered what the tumor size back when I first started this whole deal in August of 2008. My blog notes that the largest tumor was 4.0 x 4.0 cm. So thru the four chemo’s that I’ve been on since then, my tumor size has yo-yo’d a lot.

Still not believing the news, I checked to make sure that it was my name on the report.

CT Scan Redo

Yesterday I redid a CT scan that I had done last week and this time I didn’t forget to fast. As I was going through the motions, I couldn’t believe I was back again, removing my clothing and changing into that breezy hospital gown. I thought, it is cold everywhere and sure would have been happier snuggling in bed instead of going through this again.

My name was called … time for the IV. The nurse found a good vein on the second attempt … I was so happy with only two sticks. She then mixed my 2 liter cocktail asking if I wanted her to use cold or lukewarm water, lukewarm I said. Then she asked if I wanted flavoring, I said yes, I’ll take iced tea. Great ... then she sat me at a table in the waiting room with my two drinks; I quickly got up and got a heated blanket to wrap around myself. Drinking all that fluid and waiting the required 45 minutes sure does make me feel cold.

I ended up sitting by a sweet older lady who was having her first CT scan ever. She said she made the mistake of ordering a cold drink because she thought it would be more like a glass of water not the two liters they gave her. She was shivering like a leaf. I said there were warm blankets but she said my fur coat should warm me up. I said you can ask for a warm blanket when you lay down for your scan. After her scan she came out with two warm blankets and still shivering. She sat down in the waiting room for about ten minutes until she warmed up enough to go and change back into her street clothes.

Anyways, after my scan was done, I headed home to bed and wrapped myself in a couple cozy blankets and an electric heating pad at my feet.

I get the results of my scan later today.

Noreen Fraser Talking Stage 4 B C

As per Wiki ...

Noreen Fraser was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001.By 2003, her cancer had metastasized to her bones. After years of fighting, Noreen pledged to devote herself to raising money for focused research to find new techniques to prevent and fight cancer.

She started the Noreen Fraser Foundation in 2006 and recruited other survivors and prominent figures in the medical, entertainment, and business industries to join the organization.

Prior to starting the Noreen Fraser Foundation, Noreen produced other award winning television shows including, Entertainment Tonight, ABC's Home Show, and The Richard Simmons Show. Recently, Noreen has started working on producing a documentary about cancer’s effects and developing a television project that will serve to raise awareness for women’s cancers.

Here is a five minute video of Noreen Fraser talking about her cancer and The Power of Comedy fundraiser in LA this Saturday, December 4th.

Using your Support System

Yesterday we had our fifth Woman’s Metastatic Cancer Support Group meeting and the discussion centered on support by family and friends. We talked about how you have to put some thought into asking for what you need. Also, unless we are open to accepting help, we may lose out on offers of help.

So G said her freezer is full of casseroles brought by friends and family. The problem is, her appetite is terrible and so the food just sits. Now she says, when someone offers to bring food over, she’ll ask what they are having for supper. If it’s not something that interests her right there and then, she’ll say thank you but not tonite. Of course everyone’s personal situation is different. I don’t think she has a spouse or children at home who might otherwise appreciate a home cooked meal.

At this point G was on a roll … She told the story of how an acquaintance called and said she was coming over with flowers. G said instead of flowers, what I really could use is a coupon for an inside and out car wash. There were a few chuckles and we all agreed that was a great idea … she then said, now, if I could only find someone to go with me and stand at the pump and fill my car with gas, I’d really be happy.

Now there is one woman who is using her support system very well.

What am I going to eat today?

Each day brings with it a slightly different challenge when it comes to my stomach. I wake up every morning and think what am I going to eat today and how much? And I’m still sticking to simple foods that lessen the cramps in my stomach.

For two weeks now I’m either trotting or stopped up for two or three days at a time. Last week, it was day two without a bm and I said to D should I take something for constipation? He thought no, you haven’t eaten enough to be constipated, wait one more day.

The next day I felt so good that I ate a very plain 6 inch sub sandwich. I guess I wasn’t that good because the trots came shortly afterwards. It was probably too much at one sitting but I was just so hungry for normal food that I didn’t want to stop.

For BC Survivors Traveling by Air

If you have any hidden medical devices like a breast prostheses or a port and are planning to fly, you may want to read this post. Canadian airports have full body scanners and pat-downs but not the issues found in the US. So when you’re traveling south of our border, beware of what’s happening and prepare yourself.

The buzz about the TSA passenger screening at U.S. airports all started after a woman declined to do the full-body scan because of radiation concerns. She was then given the option of a body search instead. Things got uncomfortable when the female agent discovered her breast prosthesis and asked her to pull it out. Another case was where an agent poked and prodded around lady’s port so aggressively, it made it sore and uncomfortable for days.

So to help make air travel just a bit easier, Susan G Komen for the Cure put together some steps you can take as you head to the airport.

CT Scan Do-Over

I had a CT scan on Friday and all when well except that I forgot to fast in the morning. I called and the receptionist and she said to come in anyway. Mid afternoon, after it was all done, I was feeling like everything was going to end up ok.

But noper - I got an email late in the day from my trials nurse telling me I have to do-over my CT scan next week. Darn it; I sort of suspected that they’d want a perfect scan because of the clinical trial drug I’m on. They’re more particular about what they want and how they get it.

I’m quite annoyed with myself for screwing this up. Trying to think back on what I could have done different. All I can say is that it’s been a busy week for me and I truly thought I had nothing scheduled after Thursday … obviously I was wrong. 

So now I’m gonna put notes all over the house reminding me that I need to fast the morning of my scan. Hope that helps this silly brain of mine to remember. I sometimes think I could sure use a personal assistant to help me stay on track with appointments and meds and such.