Adventures In Chemo Land

Another treatment down. My treatment Monday was a long day. But before we go there, let's talk about my CT Scan on Thursday. When I saw the doctor on Friday for my pre-treatment visit, they already had the results, and the news was good. The previously treated lesions on my spine all show indications of healing, and there is nothing new. So Good News there.

I was accompanied by my friend Linda to this treatment, as Kyle is up at the cottage for the week. The visit was pretty uneventful, right up to the point where the nurse came to disconnect me. She picked up the orders and read through them. She got to the bottom and asked me if I knew anything about pamidronate. I asked what is was for and she explained it was used following treatments for bone cancer to minimize and help bind calcium.

Of course I knew what it was then, and I explained the problem I had with the BoneFos. Now the nurses were conferring among themselves, and out loud. Why didn't the pharmacy send it up, and why did the first 2 or 3 nurses catch the order. So they paged Dr. Z and the the doctor that I say on Friday. No reply from either of them. The Pharmacist arrived and they conferred again. The nurse finally found a note in my chart, from October 27th by Dr. Z stating that I would be receiving it so the Pharmacist set off to prepare it.

In the meantime, they brought the orders back to my chair, and I had a chance to read them. The very 1st line referred to the pamidronate. So 3 or 4 nurses managed to miss the order, along with the Pharmacy. What if it had of been something that could have cause drastic results if missed.

I have placed a call to my primary care nurse and the Manager of Systemic Therapies. I am concerned that an error like this could have life affecting results in other circumstances, and it is not for me, as the patient to be reading the orders and making sure they get it right. Anyway, this cycle is done and now I wait to see if I need another treatment. I see Dr. Z on the 26th so I will know more then.

chemo Update

I guess it is about time I update everyone. My last chemo treatment was a week ago. And it was generally uneventful, hence the lack of updates. (Block friends will love that reference at this point in their course of studies).

That aside, I had another infection in the port site, so in the 5 days before treatment, Dr. Z had me on another course of antibiotics. And it cleared up, so that they were able to access my port for my treatment. And as I said, it was uneventful. The port was easily accessed and the treatment was quick and easy.

I am currently at home without my own wheels for the next couple of weeks while Kyle and Greg take part in the annual male bonding exercise known as deer hunting. I have Mandy's car to use when she is not in school and her BF even offered me his truck, so I am not stranded.

So until something interesting happens, I quess that is all for now, Bye

~Inez

Gone Again

So it has come to pass that my hair is falling out again.

Yesterday, I was constantly picking hair off my shirt, but it did not dawn on me that it was falling out. Last night while having coffee at Linda's, we were talking about my nails and how they seemed to be in good condition, when I ran my fingers through my hair and was left holding a handful of it.

So, the plan this morning is to shave my head again, get it all over with in one fell swoop. Having it fall out on it's own just is not an attractive look. Now all I have to do is find all my hats from last time.

~Inez

Back Into The Fray

I guess it is time to update everyone on the last week. Saturday passed uneventful. Sherry and I went out for breakfast. The nurse arrived around 1 o’clock and started a new IV, as the one they started Friday at the Cancer Centre won’t work. She hooked me up to my IV pump, which I would be toting around for the next 26 or so hours. I spent a quite day, as my right hand was bandaged up like a prize fighter, and there was not much I could do.

Sunday arrived and I was going nuts. I found a large pair of rubber gloves, so that I could at least do the dishes. Afterwards, I noticed a wet spot on the dressing, and saw that the IV line had come undone. I was able to do it back up. I called in to the agency and let them know what had happened. The nurse called and said that since I had done it back up there was nothing to worry about.

I watched a little tv and decided to make myself some lunch. As I was opening my can of soup, and was shaking it into the pot, I noticed water spraying all over the place. My IV had come loss, just as the pump entered its’ active phase. It was splashing all over, in my soup so I poured it down the sink, so much for lunch. I turned the pump off, and called the agency again. They said they would notify the nurse. She called in about an hour saying she would be there soon. When she arrived she was surprised to hear that my IV was not finished, since the office had not called her. Her call had just been to let me know she was on the way.

She attempted to restart my IV (4 times) and finally admitted defeat. She sent me off the Emerg, again, for them to restart the IV, or to reassess me. Luckily Sherry was nearby and she drove me to the hospital. She seemed hesitant to leave me, but I anticipated another long wait and convinced her I would call if I needed a ride.

This visit was much more pleasant than the last one. After my initial interview with the triage nurse, I was ushered inside were I was seen by the doctor within 5 minutes. Almost immediately, Adam, the nurse was in and on the 2nd attempt got my IV started. He used a new style of IV and clamp. They ran the full course of antibiotics and he wrapped me up with IV in place ready for Monday.

Monday morning we saw Dr. Zalewski, and he was pleased with the process of my port infection. He ordered another week of antibiotics, oral to make sure we got it all. He decided that my treatment would take place, so off to the chemo suite we went. When we got in, the nurse was questioning whether to use the IV or port, as the orders did not indicate either. After a wait of almost 45 minutes, the doctor confirmed that she should NOT use the port and to use the IV. But guess what, she could not draw any blood through it. She had to run another IV. I think that by now I up to about 9 attempts/or accesses in my hand. Anyway, she starts another IV and it was off to the races.

This chemo drug is extremely hard on your nails, so in order to slow down the circulation in your hands and feet, they wrap them in freezer packs, imploring you to keep them on as long as possible. You are courting frostbite in an effort to protect your nails. Kyle spent the whole period jumping up and down either taking the ice packs off or putting them back on my feet, my hero. Anyway, I survived the freezing and the treatment was soon over.

Tuesday started a new adventure. We started with a 10 am visit to Sunnybrook, for Mandy’s 4-month check-up. We ended up10 minutes late, as the 401 was at a stand still and the arterial roads were not much better. We made it and her doctor was pleased and she received the good news that her check-ups were now going to be every 6 months. We stopped at IKEA on the way home and did a little shopping and had lunch.

After a short rest at home, we headed out again, this time to Toronto General Hospital for Kyle’s CT Scan. We left at 4:30 for a 6:30 appointment as you never know what kind of trouble you are going to run into driving into downtown Toronto, given the mornings adventure. We arrived at the doors of Toronto General in 38 minutes. Now he was almost 90 minutes early for his appointment. He decided to go in early, get his hospital id card (figures, they closed at 4 pm) and headed down to imaging. The technician came out, asked if he could drink that yummy water is 30 minutes, and they took him in early. He was done and out before his 6:30 appointment time. And we were home before he should have been done.

Wednesday was my post treatment nursing visit. My blood pressure was fine and she took off my port dressing. And of course that meant I would get to have my first shower in a week. Yippee. She did not have a suture removal kit, so will have to wait until next week to have my stitch in my neck removed.

Kyle and went to the cottage alone for Thanksgiving. Greg wanted to go paintballing and Mandy was going with Luke to his Nan's.

We spent a pretty quite weekend, we had Thanksgiving Dinner with John and Nancy and Jay on Sunday night. It was the first time since we have owned the cottage, that I did not do Thanksgiving at our place. On Monday we went into Pine Valley and had another Thanksgiving Dinner.

Today was Kyle's visit to see the surgeon at Princess Margaret Hospital. Good News, he does not have cancer.

Anyway, That is all for now.

~Inez

Still At It Part 2

So I saw the doctor again this morning and he is pleased with the progress being made on the port site. The infection is breaking up and looking better. I had another course of antibiotics this morning. He also ordered 2 more courses for Saturday and Sunday, to be done through home care.

So I am home this weekend, having sent Kyle and Greg off to the cottage.

I plan on reading, sleeping and treating myself.

On Monday morning, I see Dr. Zalewski again and if all is well, I start my chemo on Monday.

So, til then, ciao

~Inez

Still At It

I guess a lot has happened since June.

First issue was the biopsy request from mammography. Even though Dr. Zalewski did not feel I should bother with it, they scheduled it anyway. When I went in, I met with the nurse and did all the pre-procedure stuff. We were planning on heading to the cottage afterwards, so I was not thrilled that I would not be able to get the incision wet for 7 to 10 days. Next I met with the surgeon. As he was reading the report, he told me that since I had had surgery (the lumpectomy) that what was on the film was in all likelihood calcium and had he done the original reading, he would have asked for the films to be repeated in 6 months, not for a biopsy. So, I ended up not doing it, electing instead to have the films redone in 6 months. (that will be December).


I had a scare following my Bone Scan. The scan taken 6 weeks after treatment showed increased activity. How can this be - I felt great - no pain for over a month. I spent a stress filled weekend worrying about this. When I say him,Dr. Koll explained that the scan was compared to the one done in April almost 2 months before the treatments, and that when they did the radiation plan, they based on the MRI, and treated all the areas indicated in the current bone scan, and that the activity was consistent with the after effects of radiation. Again he said, the number one indicator was that I felt good, no pain at all. As part of the followup, they did however schedule me for another CT Scan.


So, following my latest round of tests (bone scan and CT) it was discovered that there was a 2ND lesion on my back. Good news was that it was not yet causing me any pain so it was quickly treated with 1 session of radiation (on September 21). I also had another reaction to the bonefos, so that coupled with the lack of effectiveness with either the Arimidex or the Tamoxifin, Dr. Zalewski decided that I needed another round of chemo. So to that end, I had a new port put in on Tuesday (Sept 28).

And that is when the fun started. Tuesday was pretty uneventful. I arrived at the hospital, got an iv and prepped for the procedure. I explained the problems I experienced with the last port and and nurse accused me of sleeping on it wrong, and they decided leaving my bra would probably work. The procedure was done, and recovery of 60 minutes and then home.

The next day I waited patiently for home care. There seemed to be a little bruising under the dressing but nothing I was overly concerned about. About 3:45, I started to be concerned as I had yet to here from anyone regarding when the Nurse would be there. I called the woman who had set it up on Monday and explained my concern. She gave me the number to call and within 20 minutes I heard back and the nurse was on her way. After about 30 minutes of history and paper work, she checked the incision and dressing.

While the incision looked good, for an incision, the area around it was red and hot. You need to go up to the hospital, she said. She replaced the dressing, traced the red area and off to the hospital I went. After a wait of more than 3 hours, I was finally seen by the doctor. I had and infection and was going to need a course of IV antibiotics, and the next day, he had asked for the port to be removed and a new one to be inserted. While this made no sense to me, off we went for the IV. I got home at almost midnight, after nothing to eat or drink for over 7 hours except for half a glass of ice water at 10:30.

One of the things I had been told was not to eat or drink anything when I got up until the hospital called. Not being into fasting at the best of times, at 10 am I called the hospital to see if I had been scheduled, and after being transferred hither and yon, some one finally took the care to listen to my tale. she physically tracked down the orders, got hold of my primary care nurse. She, Kelly, called me right away and and had me come into the Cancer Centre. I saw Dr. Zalewski. He ordered another course of IV antibiotics and I am to return later today (Friday).

Above is a picture of my bunny infection. Believe it or not, this is actually looking better than yesterday.

So that is where I stand right now. I am due to the hospital withing the next hour and will know what is happening then.

~Inez

It has been almost 3 weeks since I last posted. A lot has happened.

First, I have had all my radiation treatments. I am still experiencing back pain, in fact most days are worst than before I started the treatments.

Next, last week, I developed hives, probably a reaction to the Bonefos medication. They have since cleared up, and I am ready to go back on the Bonefos, but at a much lower dosage to build up a tolerance.

Finally, from my mammogram last week, they have requested a biopsy, but Dr. Z is advising against it, since I am already being treated for the lesions on my spine. When I questioned my nurse about it, and the possibility of a mastectomy, she said it was way too much to go through when I was already being treated for the spinal lesion.

So I guess until I see the Oncologist again at the end of August there is nothing to do but continue living. Life is going on as usual. Warts and all.

~Inez

Kicking Cancer's Ass - Part 2

This past winter and spring, I found myself suffering from a lot of back pain. I have suffered from this before, and really did not give it a lot of thought.

Anyway, April comes, and one Friday, I am in so much pain, nothing is helping it. I leave work at Noon, pick Kyle up and head to urgent care. They do a series of back x-rays and prescribe T3s. Fast forward to the next week.

Dr. P has the results. It shows a little arthritis in my lower back (L4). Because of my history, he orders a bone scan to rule out anything else (the c word). Bone scan completed and confirms L4/5 abnormality. Next step, MRI.

When we go in to get the results. MRI confirms a growth. Dr. P tells me to get a hold of my doctors at the cancer centre right away and book appointments. We fax all the reports, x-rays, scan and MRI. I get in to see both of them within the week.

Yesterday I saw both Doctors, Zalewski, who deals with medications and chemo, and Koll who is in charge of radiation.

They confirm, given the lack of any back trauma, and the absence of anything on prior scans, in all likeliness, this is cancerous. So the plan is 5 sessions of radiation, starting the 16th of June. Planning session was taken care of within an hour of seeing Dr. Koll.

Dr. Zalewski has changed my medications, switching me from Arimidex to Tamoxifen and adding Bonefos - a bone strengthening medication. I will be taking it in capsule form, although it is available as an infused product.

So that is where we are today. I am still a little raw, trying to absorb all of this. Doctor Koll says the prognosis is good, and that he has many patients that come in every 6 - 9 months - 2 years to get another spot blasted. So until I have the full CT Scan and the results from that, we are in a holding pattern.

Right now I need your support, I already feel shitty enough.

I will be talking to you all again soon.

~Inez