Update - Sunday, January 18, 2009

It's been another very quiet week and I am reading, reading, reading - no idea how many books I have gone through since the beginning of this month! Lots of time on the couch - still not a lot of energy. However, I passed the 2-week mark on Friday from my last chemo and did not have to have more chemicals put in my body, so perhaps there will be an improvement this week.

Thursday, Jan. 15, I was supposed to have a treatment of the trial drug, Avastin, that would switch me over to a 3-week cycle. However, my blood pressure numbers for several days that week were too high and it was postponed to Jan.22. My b.p. meds have been doubled since Dec. 24 but the Avastin restricts the development of new blood vessels (would starve a newly-developing tumour) and must have some constrictive action on blood vessels too. I saw my doctor and came away with an additional b.p. med.! I am keeping track again and have to relay my numbers to Windsor on Wed. and that will determine if I get the treatment on Thursday or not.

Tomorrow, we start our daily trips to Windsor for my radiation course of treatments. These will continue every weekday until March 2. This is quite different from the chemo - just 15 min. It's more like a daily x-ray. I should have a couple of weeks of continued recovery time from the chemo while I start but then I have been told to expect to be the most tired the two weeks after I finish in March. Fortunately by then, there will be more sunshine and daylight and winter will be more or less over.

Thank you, again, to those of you who have been praying for David and I after my last post. We have regained our equilibrium and are doing OK. I had to realize again that the doctor (radiologist) has to advise you of all possible outcomes of the new treatment you are beginning, no matter how small the chance is that it might happen to you. At my oncologist appointment on Thursday, I talked about my reactions and both the nurse and the doctor spoke about the way people feel when they finish chemo - no specific action left to be taken 'against the foe' - apparently I am right on track to be anxious, especially as a 'goal-oriented person'. But my doctor said,"You have done everything you were supposed to do - you have finished the course - it is gone." So - I was encouraged, and enlightened.

To those of you who do not live in this area - we are having a 'real winter' this year - received 20cm./8" MORE snow on Saturday and could not leave our house until our faithful farmer neighbour ploughed out our laneway. This makes the 5th time this season that he has had to do this - before Christmas, it was 3 times in one week. Those of you who live farther north may laugh at that 'little bit of snow' but it is a lot for us ! Everything is well blanketed with snow and on a sunny day it is quite pretty.

And, lastly, in another week, my hair should start growing back in !!! I have a good crop of stubble but it should start to grow seriously 3 weeks after the last chemo, which was Jan. 2.