Cancer Holidays - The end of week 2 Part 2

September 21

So, this is Part 2 of the previous post - for those of you looking for Part 1 - go to the bottom and click on Older Posts or use the sidebar on the left to do the same thing, it makes more sense if you read Part 1 first. 

Before I begin, I want everyone to know that a group of my friends (and Dom) have put together Team Knight to run in the 5K CIBC Run for the Cure on Sunday, October 5th. They actually put a team together in my honour! So this means that for those of you who can, instead of "liking" the postings on Facebook advertising the run - Please Donate to Team Knight! These are all friends from Ottawa (and Dom) who are taking time out of their weekend to do this in my honour and they've got a goal of raising $1500 and it would be great if they reached that goal and awesome if they exceeded it. Any little bit helps - even $5.00. For those of you who may not be Internet savvy no worries, email me and let me know how much you want to donate and I will do it on your behalf and we can sort of the money details later. 

Here is the direct link to Team Knight http://www.runforthecure.com/site/TR/RunfortheCureFY15/Ontario?team_id=84799&pg=team&fr_id=1878

Now that I am done with the shameless promotion, I'll get down to updating you all on the rest of this week. 

On Thursday I went for a massage and had an appointment to have my PICC line cleaned (gross). The massage was more enjoyable than the PICC line cleaning but I have to admit that the PICC cleaning wasn't bad - I just look away - and it was fast. I was in and out of there in 20 minutes.

On Thursday night my friends Ann and Mike came over for a visit and brought a huge gift basket from work which included a so many great items, a generous gift card to my new, favourite health food store along with more of a book than a card of well wishes.

This picture doesn't do it justice - its packed with tea, books, crossword puzzles, bath products and cream and many other treats. Oh and some of the books are even geeky, urban planner type books which are probably to keep me sharp while on cancer holidays!

The flowers behind it are ones that Courtney bought for me while she was here. 

I also got a great cancer present from my friend Mary Ellen who also visited on Thursday night. Mary Ellen and Rob gave me a nice blanket to cozy up in, a gift card for Kobo and a present that we joked was really to Dom from Rob because it is one of those fancy bluetooth doo-hickeys that you plug into your stereo and wireless-ly play music from your phone, iPod or tablet. Just by me using the term "doo-hickey" and if you know anything about Dom and his love for music, you will understand why Mary Ellen and I joked that it was actually a "To Dom" "From Rob" gift. In fact, Dom spent a good couple of hours using the new doo-hickey on the patio on Saturday afternoon. 

I also received another great cancer present from my friend Trena - another generous gift card for Kobo. Needless to say, I have no excuse to spend my cancer holidays being a zombie in front of the TV. I've got lots of choices of books to read. 


This won't be me:

 

  
Instead this will be me (perhaps I look a bit younger in this, but I will be just as serious, I promise):

Uncle Terry and Aunt Ellen sent me some great products from Aveda which either was a great guess or they knew it was my favourite store to buy everything - hair products (which I won't really need much right now), bath products, lotions etc. I can't wait to try out the bath salts!

Oh and the fasting - it wasn't for nothing this week (SPOILER ALERT: I passed the chemo entry exam Friday) - and it wasn't nearly as difficult as last week and I think that was most likely because my white blood cell count was up.

So Friday morning, I got up early to get my blood tested (entry exam for chemo) and I was thinking that this was one of the benefits (the only one I can think of actually) of having a PICC was that they can take my blood from the PICC - so no more getting stuck with needles. Everyone kept telling me as long as you go to the Cancer Centre then they will take the blood from the PICC. So, I got ready in the chair, took off my baby legwarmer and the lab technician came over and said "sorry honey, we can't take the blood from that, only the nurses in the chemo ward can do that, you have to make an appointment with them."

*sigh* 

So, regular blood test it was...another stick in the arm...oh well.

After that I hopped in the car and headed to the airport to pick up Courtney, Becky and baby Bailey. They arrived on time and we headed to our first wig appointment. This one was in a lady's house in a small village (still technically in the City of Ottawa thanks to amalgamation). Courtney and Becky joked that we were driving back to Toronto because it did seem like a long drive. Anyway, we arrived and the lady was very nice - she already had a number of wigs picked out for me to try on.

Here are the top three that we chose at this place (these are screen shots from videos so not the best pictures but the second one is clearly the best):

  

So after this visit, we headed home to drop Becky and baby Bailey off at home (no kids under 13 years permitted in the chemo unit) so that Courtney and I could head to the Cancer Centre for chemo. My appointment was for 2:00 pm and uncharacteristic of the chemo unit (I'm not joking) they were quite behind schedule. So, I didn't end up getting chemo until almost 4:00 pm but no complaints, the chemo nurse made me an appointment for the Friday morning of my next chemo appointment to get my blood taken there (through my PICC), gave me copies of all of my upcoming appointments and called the home nurse to make sure that she would come by to give me my kryponite shot on Saturday. They treat you so well! Also, I had Courtney take a photo of me since when we were in Toronto earlier that week, Sameer was asking what exactly they do when they "give you chemo" and was thinking maybe others have the same question. Well here is what it looks like:

I have a blanket on me because they have these awesome warmed blankets that no matter if I am not cold, I totally love. Of course, I have my water with me too - gotta keep hydrated!

So after chemo, we came home and I didn't feel too bad - not even close to as bad as I felt last time. I am giving most of this credit to my fasting but my oncologist also gave me an additional anti-nausea pill to take so it may be the combination of the both. Either way, I'm sticking to the fasting and all of the pills they give me. I stayed up until about 8:00 pm with the girls, then retired to watch TV in bed and snooze for the rest of the night. All in all, my chemo hangover has lasted about half the time as last time and I didn't feel nearly as bad as before.

We were all up around 9:00 am on Saturday morning - Dom made the girls breakfast. I was still feeling okay - a bit light headed from the fasting so before we left for the second wig shopping expedition, I cheated on my fast by about 3 hours and ate some of those tasty soda crackers! This made me feel great again and we were away to wig store #2. 

The second wig store was the best place ever! We met with Helen who has worked on wigs for 18 years (and she is British - bonus) and we tried on a number of different wigs but before we did that (and throughout the trying on) she gave us a 101 of wigs. It was very informative.  The one scary fact Helen told us is that you cannot colour your hair until at least a year after you are cancer free - I was like what!! Apparently you have to get clearance from your doctor before you can colour your hair again - I just kept thinking I'm going to wear these wigs for a long time because I have so much gray hair! 

They do everything there - fit the wig specifically to your head (apparently my head is small in back - sort of like a dip - who knew), all of the maintenance training that you may need and will even do periodic maintenance on your wigs - style them, cut them if you feel like it etc. As we left Becky and I poked our heads into a room across the hall that was like a wig workshop! Think of Santa's workshop if he were making wigs. Weird but great for my confidence. Unfortunately they do not let you take photos of the wigs (I'm not sure why, we didn't ask, they just had a sign on the wall). Anyway I can assure you that the two wigs I chose look better than the ones above - one is a bob and another is a longer one that looks identical to what my hair used to look like a few weeks ago. So as soon as Dom's benefits kick in for me on October 1st I'll be putting in the order for the wigs. I can only hope until then, the bottom of my hair continues its determination to hold on - although I can get by with my selection of fashion toques until then I think even if it does start to go. On Saturday night the home nurse came by to give me my kryptonite shot - and she was very impressed with how well I was doing and was surprised to her about my fasting but was supportive. She told me of another client that she had who had severe side effects from chemo and started acupuncture (even after her oncologist recommended against it - not sure why) and how well that worked for this person. So that's my next thing on the to-do list, to make an acupuncture appointment this week.

Back to hair loss - I know I'm a bit obsessed - I am very concerned about losing my eyebrows next (I'm over the hair loss thing on my head pretty much) and have polled a few people on this topic who have had chemo - the consensus is that there really isn't one - it varies. Needless to say I stopped plucking my eyebrows weeks ago for fear that I would only accelerate the process - even the one hair that's sort of gray has been spared! On a positive note, my armpit hair has completely stopped growing (yes, all of you ladies feel free to be jealous) and I think my leg hair might have stopped growing - or at least slowed down so I shaved a few test strips on my legs to see if anything grows back. I will be sure to report back when I can confirm the results.

I have registered for this session called Look Good, Feel Better which is a two-hour training session on make up and other things I think, to help you look good and feel better of course. I will be asking as many questions for tips on drawing on my eyebrows, just in case! That's on October 7th so I will let you know how it goes. 

Getting back to the weekend - the girls were itching to do stuff for me but because I was feeling so good but still wasn't up to much eating - we basically just hung out, watched movies and chatted which was exactly what I was hoping for. Courtney made her and Becky dinner and made me some baba ganoush - although I warned her I'm not sure if I like it. I drove them to the airport this morning and was back at 9:00 am sitting down to write the first blog of the day. One of my medications for nausea is a steroid and no matter how early in the day I take it, I'm wide awake at night and don't sleep more than 5 or 6 hours at night - which isn't really a problem as I don't have to get up early in the mornings but it does mess with your nights for a few days afterwards and usually results in a required afternoon nap (again, not a problem -- who doesn't love an afternoon nap? I know Fat May and Lola love following me upstairs on those occasions).

My friend Peter stopped by today with some "super healthy stew" which was nice to have this afternoon as my appetite started to wake up. Dom and I then ran some errands (after both of us had afternoon naps) and that was it for the day. 

All in all this week wasn't bad. The wig shopping boosted my confidence a lot and the reduced chemo hangover has also boosted my confidence for future treatments. We've got a chemo countdown on the chalkboard by the back door - 6 more treatments to go - I'm already 25% done! Woohoo! Christmas will be here before you know it - don't dread that idea - that means Mel's chemo will be done! http://www.xmasclock.com/ 

 

Cancer Holidays - The end of week 2 Part 1

September 21

This was a busy week! I think I will split it up into two blogs so that its not so overwhelming to read.

Since I felt fine last weekend after not passing the chemo tests, I spent most of the weekend feeling good, resting and relaxing as Dom went to Folk Fest.

I had a bit of a struggle showering with this new PICC in my arm because it has to be kept dry. At the hospital they gave me a waterproof arm sleeve to wear which totally sucks for two reasons - the first is that one size does not fit all!!! This arm sleeve could fit a 300 lb man - I do not exactly have the same arm size - seriously this thing fits on my leg! Anyway, we tried to tape it on my upper arm and it was basically like I was wearing a waterwing and was a disaster.

In addition, its not exactly waterproof seeing as there are tiny holes where the stitching is to hold it together. So, this experience was frustrating and coupled with some more hair loss it resulted in a few tears. But as usual, I bounced back in no time and figured out that the Glad Press n' Seal is the best thing to use - that shit sticks to your skin like a bandaid. I'm not talking about the regular saran wrap, its the expensive stuff that sticks to everything. Needless to say when we go to Costco next, we'll be looking for a case of it. If I had more room in the bathroom cupboard I'd just store it in there since now I use it on a daily basis!

My friend Krista delivered the first "meal train" meal which was awesome - pre-cooked veggies and chicken for fajitas - complete with tortilla shells and pre-grated cheese for Dom and organic salsa (with no sugar added!). I couldn't have the tortilla shells or cheese but it was still delicious. 



 My friends Anne and Jordan dropped off some food as well - a delicious veggie chili. Unfortunately Anne had to take home two of the containers because I have so much food in my fridge and freezer right now (Dom and I went shopping to Costco - always a bad idea for people without a deep freezer). I am very grateful for the food - it is a huge weight off my shoulders as I've been so busy with appointments that not having to think about what to eat is great.

On Monday afternoon I went to the mall with my friend Laurel and baby Jonah to buy some fashion toques - I scored at H and M - bought 5 toques for $6.95 each - way cheaper than a few other stores that we went to first. I also discovered that H and M's latest style has shirts with nice baggy arms which have come in handy because right before we left for shopping, I quickly discovered that I cannot wear my entire collection of cardigans (and probably most winter sweaters) because the sleeves are too tight to wear over my PICC. So I bought fashion toques and three new shirts. 

Laurel also took me to Walmart to buy a drain cover for the shower drain to catch all of the hair that I am losing - I honestly do not know why I didn't think of this earlier. Man, it is so much easier to shower - I was wasting sooo much time picking hair off of my fingers in the shower than actually showering - now I don't have to worry about it. 

The toques were also something that was a good idea and which were definitely purchases just in time because when I got home and showered a lot of hair fell out - so much that I can't really get away with headbands anymore (which is what I was wearing before). My hair isn't falling out in chunks, rather it is thinning like a middle aged man from the front and top. The best way to describe it is to think of how Neil Young is going bald.   

 

 Mind you, I am way better and younger looking than Neil Young but you probably get the idea (I think Neil Young might benefit in investing in a few fashion toques himself). Since the hair on the bottom third of my head is holding on for dear life, I can get away with these fashion toques quite easily for now. This is just one of the six. 

 

Oh and Laurel gave me a pair of Jonah's baby legwarmers to wear over my PICC instead of the ugly mesh thing that they give you at the hospital which is so much cuter. 
 
My other friends are gathering up their gently used baby legwarmers so I will have a wide selection to wear.  

 On Monday night Dom and I made a music video for my Aunt Pat's 60th birthday party. My cousins and Uncle Roger organized a surprise birthday party for her on Saturday night but with my chemo and plans for wig shopping, we knew we were going to miss it so we wanted to send something funny. So I made up new lyrics to the song The Joker by Steve Miller. Since just by writing this people are going to ask to see it, I'm going to post snapshots of the video since lucky me, its too big to post on the blog and I'm glad because its very embarassing (I'm a really bad singer). Some things should just be kept within the family.

                                                  

    We of course, included Lola and Fat May in the video too.





Apparently the video was a hit - brought tears to people's eyes from laughing so hard which was exactly the reaction we were going for.

On Tuesday afternoon we drove to Toronto to see one of our favourite bands. We stayed over at Courtney and Sameer's house and had a nice, leisurely drive on Wednesday back to Ottawa. It was a whirlwind trip with Courtney and Sameer because by the time we got to their house and left for the concert, I think we visited with them for only a few hours. But knowing that Courtney was coming up in a few days for wig shopping, none of us really minded.


On the way home, we stopped at our now favourite little store the Unconvential Moose that sells a wide variety of natural soap so we stocked up for the winter as we don't have any plans to head west until probably the new year. It was a great day for a drive too and always nice scenery along Highway 7. 

On Wednesday night we stopped over at Kersten and Marc's who let us borrow their infant car seat, play pen and stroller for the wig shopping weekend with Courtney, Becky and baby Bailey. It was a huge relief for Becky as she didn't have to bring anything on the plane except for a suitcase and of course, Bailey. Kersten also gave me two pairs of baby legwarmers for my PICC which was great. 

I think I will stop there and re-convene on another post in case you are getting bored.