Hello Everyone:
We hope that you’re all having a wonderful summer and that this will prove to be a welcome break for those of you who are teachers. Watching the floods in Calgary and the numerous wildfires in California and Arizona this past month has proved to be quite sobering in many respects. Losing 19 Elite Firefighters in the Arizona wildfires last week was tragic. This forces us to think about the bigger question of whether too many homes have been built in areas which are too exposed to the elements of nature and that we risk far too much in overlooking the safety issues when Mother Nature decides to wreak havoc.
While we waited patiently to hear from Rick as to Marie’s funeral arrangements, these were not forthcoming. Rick felt that it would have been too much for us to fit into our schedules. Instead, a small family-only ceremony was held with a celebration of Marie’s life to be arranged in January, coinciding with their wedding anniversary. I also pay tribute to my dear Mum, who passed away a year ago today and who is still so greatly missed by the family. She was an amazing Mum and an amazing human being!
Chemo rounds 2 and 3 of this cycle came with a heavier dose of fatigue than prior cycles. I also found that my digestive system was quite sensitive so my appetite was suitably reduced. I spent many a day sleeping and doing what my body dictated. Reading was not an option so TV became the easiest medium of choice. When we grew fed-up of the repeated advertising, we would turn to a large number of CD’s and movies which friends had lent us or which had been stored on a separate hard drive. Not having been big TV viewers in the past has meant that there are many Masterpiece Theatre productions we had not seen, such as The Tudors, which we have just finished.
During round 2, Martha (our tennis player) came in even though she and John had told us they would be celebrating their 47th wedding anniversary on the day. Martha explained that because they wanted to attend one of their granddaughter’s ballet recitals the night before, they decided to stick to their original schedule. Martha was a bit tired from the late night before and having played tennis earlier that morning, told us that she would take her infusions in a private room this time so that she could sleep through it. Martha receives some Benedryl in her premeds which usually makes her groggy during the infusion so sleeping through would not be an issue for her.
Also with us in the chemo suite for his 2nd infusion, was LJ – a great, upbeat individual. LJ is a children’s storyteller with a great voice closely matching Morgan Freeman. LJ told us that after he retired, he wanted to work with children to inspire them to be the best that they can be and for them to have an understanding of how different life can be for some children in the poorer parts of the world. LJ’s son, Sam, was with him for the day. Sam had just graduated from college and was working for the summer on Catalina Island, just off the coast from L.A. Sam is 6 ft 6 inches in height with LJ coming in at around 6 ft 2 inches – fortunately for me, I was able to bring the average height down to normal levels in the chemo suite. Dave Roy also joined us. With all his connections through his philanthropist client, he told us that he had taken one of his other connections, who is the Assistant Deputy Head of the United Nations Health, to visit cousin Pat over the weekend to view his state-of-the-art laboratories. Dave said that when one does a tour of the labs, it becomes so much easier to see and to understand cousin Pat’s vision to deliver an efficient, targeted and personalized health care program to each patient. This is all tied in with the genomic sequencing platform which Pat has now developed. The results from the genomic sequencing test will show the cancer patient which of the DNA cells have mutated. The next and perhaps the most difficult step will be to identify or develop the best drugs to have the cells revert to normal or to repair the mutation, thereby providing a targeted solution for the patient.
After a few more days of fatigue as a result of round 2, we were ready to face round 3 this past Tuesday. With the July 4th Independence Day celebrations set for Thursday, the office was busy in order to accommodate the patients who would normally have had their infusions on the 4th. We met with Dr. I – and other than a slightly lower white blood cell count, for which he ordered a booster shot to be given at the end of the treatment, all was well. Martha was on her recovery break and had told us that she would be visiting family in Mexico for a few weeks. LJ, who is on the same schedule as I am, was very happy to see us. He was comfortable enough with our noisy gathering in the chemo suite that he came on his own and would be picked up at the end of his treatment. Dave Roy was also there but as Dave had carted in his usual large green duffle bag, we knew that he would be spending some time working in one of the private rooms. Sitting next to me was a new face — Ed Wallace. Ed has been receiving treatment since March and lives in Pasadena. While Pasadena is not that far away, with heavy traffic, it takes him approximately an hour and a half to drive in, so Ed has been experimenting to find out the optimal time and day to have his treatments. Ed is a litigation lawyer but since his diagnosis has cleared his schedule to allow him to focus on his health. Ed told us that he has a friend who had been treated by Dr. I six years ago for pancreatic cancer and who is still doing well. Fay the chemo nurse remembered him and was happy to hear that he was doing well. Dave Roy would drop in every so often to participate in what was fast becoming a fun and noisy afternoon.
Soon after Gary and I returned to LA mid-June, cousin Pat told us that he had been reviewing my file with Dr. I and they were both very pleased with the progress I had made — to the point where, they were much more comfortable now for me to start considering transitioning back to Canada and to continue having the same regimen in Toronto. Pat’s main concern from day one has always been the fact that being in LA, I would not have the support of family and friends close by. For me, I have always had a niggling concern in the back of my mind about the impact – cost-wise – if I ever needed to be hospitalized down here. Touch wood, I have not had to be hospitalized so far but the thought that this would be an additional high cost for Pat to have to contend with just did not sit well with me given all that he is already doing for me. Pat and Dr. I wish to continue to be involved in my treatment. However, the ability to continue the regimen from Toronto is perhaps easier said than done. While all the drugs that I am presently receiving have been approved by Health Canada, if the drug has not been approved for the treatment of a specific type of Cancer, then the provincial health insurance will not pay for the drug; the patient would have to pay. As a result of this “gap”, I was pleasantly surprised to find that there are, in fact, a few private clinics that have stepped up to respond to this need. The key, however, to accessing the clinics is to find a Toronto oncologist who will be willing to treat me on the basis of the “stretched parameters”. There may only be a handful of oncologists who are prepared to function outside of the normal parameters given that they’re probably all overworked already. My strategy now is to work with the private clinics to ascertain who the oncologists are that they work with. Once a list has been obtained, my cousin Greg in Toronto, will contact the oncologists and determine who would be best to work with.
Gary and I are looking forward very much to a week (July 13-20) at a timeshare in Flagstaff where we can rest and read – something which I have not done much of recently. We will leave a few days earlier and stop at our home in Sun City West to make sure that everything is fine there. They have had extreme heat for the past few weeks and fortunately, we have great neighbours who check our home at least once a week.
We leave you with an Indian Proverb:
“Yesterday is but a dream, tomorrow but a vision. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well, therefore, to this day.” — Indian Proverb
Thank you all for your prayers, support and inspiration and for continuing your journey with us as we reach this interesting juncture. We send you our warmest wishes for a wonderful summer and look forward to being back in Canada in the not too distant future.
Maureen and Gary