Family Ties: Navigating cancers together

Exactly 2 weeks ago, I rang the bell (well, triangle, really) at the Ottawa Hospital's General Campus Cancer Centre to signify the end of my radiation treatment.  When I started radiation, I couldn't wait to be done.  It was a grind. Even though the treatments were quick and on-time, I felt like a burden asking people to drive me and wait around in their cars because the parking lot was almost always full.  I felt very lucky to have had so many volunteer drivers and enjoyed time with 13 different people over the course of the 15 day treatment. I was also lucky that I had minimal side effects while undergoing the treatment and wondered, maybe a little too arrogantly, if I would breeze through without any side effects (more on that later).  I was truly elated and relieved when I rang the bell and walked out, but the feeling didn't last.           Runaway train never going back      Wrong way on a one-way track  ...

 It's a deep freeze in Ottawa but everyday I get up to have my left side nuked, at least that's how I think of my radiation.  I've now finished 4 out of 15 doses and in this post, I'll explain (since I am getting a lot of questions) the process. First off, after these 4 doses, I've had no side effects. I've been told to expect anytime after the mid-way point and continuing to the first couple of weeks after the end of treatment.  The two most likely side effects will be skin burning/peeling (anywhere along my left side, front, back and underarm) and fatigue.  I am doing everything I can to prevent both of those by using creams twice a day on the treated areas and being consistent at the gym to combat fatigue.  Only time will tell if it makes any difference, but I believe it will. So, the actual process of radiation is surprisingly quick.  On the first day, I got a bi-fold card, about the size of a cell phone, that has a scan code for me to check myself into...

When it's not always raining there'll be days like this When there's no one complaining there'll be days like this When everything falls into place like the flick of a switch Well my mama told me there'll be days like this   If I had to pick a theme song for the Christmas holidays of 2024, this would be it, hands down.  It was, despite everything I'd thought since my diagnosis in August, the BEST family Christmas that I can remember.  Shawn and I went out to buy our tree early, having learned the lesson last year that those who hesitate might need to buy an artificial tree!  Our tree has been up since December 6 and it's still up...I'm trying to hold on to all the feelings that this past holiday season brought - joy, love, happiness, acceptance, optimism, peace and gratefulness.   I have come a long way from the early days of my diagnosis when it was hard to imagine experiencing most of those feelings again.  It was so great to have my kids home for a...

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair." I read Dicken's "A Tale of Two Cities" in high school English, grade 10 or 11, I think.  Few things from high school classes stuck with me as much as memorizing certain required quotes from English class.  I don't know why that is but it is.  The quote above describes my life right now - getting a cancer diagnosis is really the worst of times, but learning who will be there for you, finding your own strength and resources, healing through the process in all aspects, well, that has been the best of times as well.  In the past few weeks, I've learned so much (wisdom) about radiation and endocrine therapy, but also (foolishness) the many frustrating delays in treatment and hiccu...

Life is a Highway, by Tom Cochrane, was released the year I graduated from high school, 1991.  I remember it sounding like a song of freedom, as I was getting ready to head off to university and new adventures, living in residence, meeting new people and figuring out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.   Life's like a road that you travel on When there's one day here and the next day gone Sometimes you bend, sometimes you stand Sometimes you turn your back to the wind At the time, I loved all the choices I was getting to make - which classes and labs to take, what to eat in the cafeteria, when to study and when to go to Stages on a Thursday night or Ritual at Clark Hall Pub starting at noon on a Friday!  When I was diagnosed with cancer, I didn't think there would be any decisions to make.  I thought it would be a straight forward line from diagnosis to surgery to recovery, where someone else would be making the decisions.  For the most part, that...

I've always loved words, how they are spelled, how they sound, how they look when written.  My favourite book when I was little was " We like kindergarten" , if you can believe it.  I used to love spelling bees and word searches, the game " Boggle"    and " hangman".  Growing up, I was a reader and cherish the memories of reading a book purchased at a local second-hand book store in Golden Lake, on the front porch of a rented cottage.  When I first heard rap music, I was intrigued by how fast they could string together words and rhymes, making up new words and expressions in songs that are still fun to listen to even now.  Think about how much fun it is to hear "It's Tricky" by Run DMC or "Baby Got Back", all these years later! I'm also fascinated by peoples reactions to words, and I'm not talking about poor grammar like the confusion about their/they're/there, but those words that seem to cause a visceral reaction. ...