Growing old is not for sissies. Neither is having brain cancer. Or any cancer. Or radiation treatment. Having the combination of being old and having one of these illnesses is certainly not on anyone's wish list. It's a tough go. I see people every day of all descents, shapes, sizes, ages and illnesses. Maybe I am getting used to visiting the cancer clinic daily. But probably not. Each day is different. New faces appear and others have left upon the ringing of the bell. More of the staff now have names to go with familiar faces. The idiosyncrasies of parking, knowing when best to visit the pharmacy and who to seek out for information are becoming second nature. I bought a box of Tim-bits one day and left it at the administration counter in the radiation area. A little gesture of thanks but it seemed to make a difference in the day-to-day routines that both the staff and the patients experience.
Since the last posted update on September 19th, Laurie has taken nine more radiation sessions. The side effects are now showing. The most prominent are the fatigue and the hair loss. Much of her hair that grew back following the operation has fallen out. More hair is appearing around the house and car every day. I think that she is a little distressed about it but she knows that it should all come back after the radiation sessions are over. There is also occasional swelling and redness on the left side of her face and head. I believe that she is managing these conditions better than one might expect or hope for. A moist face cloth applied to her face for ten minutes several times a day makes her feel refreshed and reduces the redness. She is knowledgeable about the side effects and not openly complaining. I ask how she is doing and she responds positively. However, the radiation and chemotherapy have caused her to slow down somewhat. She is now two-thirds through the radiation sessions. Her small advent type calendar on the refrigerator is something that she attends to as soon as we return from the hospital during the week days. Her half-way point session has a decorated number "16" on it. With each session and new count down number posted, we hug and hope that each session is doing her good. Her final session is currently to take place on Monday, October 17th - something to be belatedly thankful for.
We meet once a week with her radiation oncologist to go over how she is doing. Our last visit lasted 3 minutes and 20 seconds which is longer than all the previous visits combined. So far, the course of treatments has remained the same although she may be taking a reduce dosage of one of her drugs later this week. She has not needed to consult the radiation nurse lately which is good as many others are lining up to do so. Her speech therapist has come for the last time unless Laurie feels that she would like some assistance in dealing with speech issues.
Around the house Laurie is managing to participate in new activities. This is a gradual process and one that can help her along the road to recovery. She is now writing along with me the things that happened on each day. Her memory is steadily improving and her writing is quite good. Friends visiting the house brought along a puzzle which, according to the literature on patients having had brain tumour surgery, is something that helps in the thinking and healing process. We work on the puzzle each day until she feels that she would like to do something else. We continue to walk outside and to make a point of climbing the stairs to the basement more for exercise than necessity. Of course, we look forward to watching something good on the television. Recently, we are watching the Lovejoy series (the adventures of an East Anglian antiques dealer from 1986-1994) and also Inspector Lewis, both on DVDs that we bought. Our Sunday evening is in part spent watching Inspector Morse. Her colleagues from the Canadian Museum of Nature sent a very nice card with thoughtful messages. They also kindly chipped in to get her a gift card that she can use to buy books, music or DVDs. She is only now beginning to turn on the computer and one of the first things she did was to visit the store web-site where she can use her gift card. I am sure that she will choose carefully and enjoy whatever she decides upon.
The September weather was kind to us. Laurie read through the daily journal of our trip to Scotland last September, where it seems, every day had its share of rain. Good weather helps to heal in more ways than one. It allows us to be outside more and the sun is good for her outlook. She likes the higher air pressure associated with the brighter days. We are noticing just how quickly it becomes dark now. We have both commented that it must be very difficult for people to travel for their sessions during the winter months, especially if they live outside of the city as we do. The concern for others is something that we both think about. Although Laurie made it through the darkest of days, others are now just beginning their journey and the outcomes are never predictable. There always seems to be a more difficult case just around the corner.
This week's schedule is much like the last two. Five sessions typically in mid afternoon means that we miss the worst of rush-hour and the diabolical street configurations that seem to choke traffic daily. We meet a different radiation oncologist this week since her regular one is away - hopefully enjoying a nice holiday someplace. No other appointments are on the calendar except perhaps for a visit to the greenhouse. The home-care visits are now reduced to the point where we call if we would like some home care for Laurie. Only a day's notice is really required for this to happen. There is no session on Thanksgiving day but she resumes her treatments the day after. We see her chemotherapy oncologist after Thanksgiving for his assessment of her progress. She seems very pleased that the sessions are coming to a close and her chemotherapy will change from daily to five consecutive days per month.
On a recent Monday visit, the radiation technician came to get Laurie from the waiting room ahead of schedule. He was quite red all over his face and his arms. It appeared that something went awry in the radiation room, that his microwave threw a fit, or that he got toasted by the sun over the weekend. Well, he assured us that it was the latter event that caused his condition and a little bit of embarrassment. I gathered the other radiation technicians got a good laugh on Monday morning. This reminded me of the time when I worked for the Canadian Coast Guard back in the early 1980s. I took my kayak out on Georgian Bay one sunny Sunday afternoon when a good blow came through raising the waves and my dad's fears of a mishap. My dad, being concerned and also employed by the CCG, made a call to someone at the base about my situation. It was decided that a search and rescue crew would go out looking for me. Little did they know but I escaped the storm by landing on an island where I was invited to have tea, little sandwiches and a variety of biscuits by a British couple who were vacationing there. Needless to say that I was a little red in the face and embarrassed on arriving to the base for work on Monday morning. At least it made people smile and laugh and gave the lads on search and rescue a little extra on their pay cheques.
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