Thursday 25 August 2011

Aug 25

Just a quick update


My third chemo treatment on Wed Aug 17th went well. Thanks to Cindy to coming down for the treatment. We went out for a nice lunch on a tree covered back patio a few steps from Mt Sinai. 


My side effects are still very low. Most of them have to do with bowel movements. Too much or too little. It's best managed with eating right and getting out and walking around. Just knowing this also helps manage some of the stress. The home grown tomatoes and veggies from my in-laws garden also came at the right time. For now I'll just have to dream about adding few thick slices of crispy bacon on the tomato sandwiches.


The only other side effect is the need for extra sleep. It's an odd sort of sleep. On Friday I was able to get in some exercise but right afterwards I needed to slept for a few hours. My energy level was still high from working out but my body was saying sleep. Not going to fight it but it's odd to feel energetic and to fall asleep at the same time. Once I woke up I was fine but a few hrs later it was back to bed for another nap. So far this only lasts a few days after the chemo treatment.


My next chemo treatment is on Aug 31. Followed by a catscan the week of Sept 5th. The results of the catscan take 5 days. This will be the first opportunity to see if the treatment is working or not. Not sure what to expect. Based on case history there should be some improvement but everyone's cancer is unique. There is no standard road-map that covers all cases. I've been in touch with several people on next steps based on different results  ... again you can take the boy out of project management but not .....


On Monday Aug 22th I attended my first group session at the Ellicsr center at Toronto General. This is a brand new center in the hospital basement. After passing by a boiler room, some dusty old boxes and a scowling security guard, you enter a bright and warm conference center with modern meeting rooms, leather chairs and a kitchen fit for a TV show. I half expected to see some sleep deprived developers playing foosball in a corner. I'm looking forward to attending on a regular basis. Shaniah Leduc, is leading the sessions. She is a wealth of knowledge and contacts.


Want to thank Colleen, Sandra and Karen for coming into town for lunch today. It was very nice and the food was great. Next time we will need to go for Thai. Sorry for making everyone go for a bit of a walk but the weather was so nice. Gerard and I will need to meet up another day for lunch or I'll bring the boys to Burlington for a swim. 


Thanks for the comment on the last posting from Mike and Pierre. The rant was longer than expected. I was glad to see that people got through it and still had time / energy to comment. Let me know if you are having problems with posting comments or just send them to me and I'll post them. 


Anyways, so much for the quick update. Need to get my sleep, tomorrow I'm off to the CNE on my own to see if I should take the boys or not. I'm thinking no but we will see, the kids have been on enough rides this summer. In the afternoon I'm attending Cameron's Art Exhibit after a week at AGO camp. Not sure how much ability any eight year old boy can have but I'm sure he will make this up with enthusiasm. 


Sorry if I forgot anyone over the past few days. Thanks to everyone for your support. 


Later, 
Stephen