Thursday, May 11, 2023

My treatment today wasn’t until the afternoon so I had time this morning to join an online bra and prosthetics workshop. Lots of options and lots of choices provided one can find a shop that caters to mastectomy surgeries. Ideally I would like to go to Kelowna to go to the shop that is owned by the workshop presenter. I thought from the video that a fitting was something that could be done here at the Lodge so I’ll check into that tomorrow. Failing that I’m sure we can find a shop somewhere in Vancouver.

No issues with my treatment today except for a coughing fit on the last zap; it took longer for that one but I was still done within 15 minutes. I was to see the doctor afterwards although I doubt we were with her for more than ten minutes. I asked what the radiation actually does – it breaks down the DNA of the cancer cells. You have multiple treatments because some of the cells are smart enough to recover so they zap them more than once to be sure they have got them all – even the smart ones.

Pat went out tonight for a open mic so I’m on my own for dinner. I had a half-hour walk today – up only one hill. I guess my treat would be stopping at a dollar store – so many things that I have no use for!

Wednesday, May 10, 2023

I went off to my appointment today all on my own – and I managed just fine. It is a quick trip and there are more comfortable places for Pat to sit than in the waiting room at the Cancer Clinic. I was there early but only had time to read a page and a half of my book before they called me in. My appointment tomorrow is in the afternoon so it will be interesting to see if they fall behind later in the day.

I was a bit flustered when I got to the treatment room. You have to strip from the waist up and I always remove my glasses and my mask. I was already on the treatment table when I realized I still had my glasses on. I asked if they could take them and they did – there is no way I want to see clearly what those machines, buzzes and beeps are doing. As I settled down I then realized I had forgotten to take off my mask – no way I wanted to be trying to hold my breath with a mask on. Once I got settled the treatment was quick.

I asked particularly about how much radiation I was getting. I get one dose from the top, one from the bottom of the table (although I don’t know how that works) and two doses on each side. There are two x-rays at the beginning that tell them whether or not I’m in the right position – that is what the tattoos were for.

My treat for the day was a trip down the hill to the Book Warehouse. Neither Pat nor I wanted anything and the store didn’t interest me much. The only thing I saw was the last book by Harper Lee but I’ll order that from the library or Libby (where I download books). We hadn’t had a very long walk so we crossed to the sunny side of the street and walked another block, then down another block and found a really nice grocery store – Whole Foods. We did a quick trip around the store, stopped at the bakery and picked up a couple of muffins.

When we got back “home” we sat outside on a bench for a bit. My stamina is pretty good on the flat sections but I really struggle with the hills (and we had two to climb back up).

I had a good long nap this afternoon and when Pat texted me that the Toronto game was starting I decided to stay where I was. I’ll probably join him later for the Calgary game.

Tuesday, May 9, 2023

It took me awhile this morning to convince Pat that there was no need for him to tag along with me to my treatment. But I had second thoughts when we were having breakfast and he had no problem coming with me. He remarked that he knew I was nervous when I had trouble peeling my boiled egg. It was nice to have someone waiting for me when I finished.

Everything went very smoothly; we were later than I would have liked leaving the Lodge but we were checking in with a couple of minutes to spare (it is only a two minute walk but I like to be there early so I can sit and wait). I went to the washroom and before I even had time to sit down and open my book they were calling me in for my treatment. And 15 minutes later I was all done.

Holding my breath is still hard, particularly when I take a really big breath in and then they tell me to let some out. I must be unconsciously holding on to some of that breath because a couple of times when I was able to breathe again then reminded me to let out all the air. I think they did fewer x-rays this time and I think I had four, maybe five, shots of radiation (if they call them shots). I only say that because of the times when I had to hold my breath longer than a few seconds. I could be completely wrong though as whether it is an x-ray or the radiation I don’t feel or see anything.

My treat today was a trip to VanDusen Gardens. We didn’t see the entire grounds but Pat thinks we did about 5000 steps. I know I was pretty much done before we were actually finished but it was nice to be out in the fresh air.

Monday, May 8, 2023

We had a good trip down to Vancouver yesterday. Rain had been predicted but except for a few sprinkles a couple of times along the way we were fine. Pat maneuvered us around all of the detours created by the BMO Marathon and we were at our accommodation in time for lunch.

The Lodge is fine. Our room is large enough for a table and a couple of chairs, two twin beds, lots of drawer space in both our room and the bathroom. The rooms are set up for sharing and I’m so glad I didn’t have to share with a stranger. We are just down the hall from the dining room and right across the hall from the media room (TV room), the Rec Room (puzzles, games), the laundry room (lots of machines that dispense their own soap) and the kitchen that is meant for our use if we want to do our own cooking (I don’t see that happening).

Everything is not as spacious as they seemed in the video. Not as many comfortable chairs – so far I’ve only found a couple of places that really work for sitting and stitching. There are two TVs on our floor – one in the kitchen and one in the media room. Problem is that if someone beats you to the rooms you don’t get to choose what you watch. We saw the Toronto hockey game from the kitchen and the Kraken game from the larger demo kitchen where tea and coffee are always available and where we get our afternoon and evening snacks.

There are a lot of people here – apparently it is at 100% capacity all the time and many are here for long-term stays (100+ days). I’m very lucky that I was able to do my chemo in Powell River. There are lots of couples and quite a few men; in some cases it is hard to know who in the pair are getting treatment. From the dining room you hear people talking to one another and it sounds like many are too sick to leave their rooms. The only people who have approached us (we aren’t very outgoing I guess) are also from Powell River but we didn’t look at all familiar to one another.

I was a wreck concerning the radiation treatments for the past week so you can imagine how I was feeling this morning. Treatments are scheduled for 20 minutes but I was 20 minutes late getting in and it was 30 minutes before I was on my way out. I understood that my treatments would be at the same time every day but I got my schedule for the week – a couple of earlier morning appointments, an afternoon one where I see the doctor after, and one in the late morning (we’ll likely miss our lunch call that day). At my appointment on Friday I’ll get my times for the next week.

I gave myself a stern talking to as I settled in to the treatment table – no crying, no wanting to use the bathroom and no shaking no matter how much my arms ached in the one position. There were six X-rays done before the treatment started but the machine was attached to the bed so I didn’t need to move. I did, however, have to hold my breath for each one. I lost count of how many shots of radiation I got but they were a longer duration and I also had to hold my breath for each one of those. One thing I missed in my lecture to myself was don’t get a tickle in your throat. I had a bit of a coughing fit but the ladies were really nice and got me settled and back into the treatment. I was so worried that they might have to start over or that I would cough my way out of position but it all worked fine.

We went for a short walk last night after supper – long enough to find a Michael’s store and a Book Warehouse. A trip to Michael’s was my treat today after my treatment. Their shelves were pretty empty and I couldn’t even get all the floss colours I was looking for. We also stopped at London Drugs; I needed some more of my special moisturizing cream and some kleenex (not supplied in the room).

Enough for today. I told Pat when he asked that I will still be nervous tomorrow but won’t be scared.