Princess Margaret - again!

January 10/12.

After a few months away from hospitals, back on the medical front. First? At my GP's office for a check-up, - (the parking attendant took the pic for me! - but not till after collecting $10 for a space!)

After some tests, then off to

the Princess Margaret Hospital parking lot, where, once again, the ONLY parking space available was on
popular P6! - (Couldn't anyone EVER pull out of a spot on the FIRST floor when I'm in a hurry??
Guess not).

Was weird to be in front of the old marquee again. Lots of construction workers surrounding me,
(but no one offered to snap a pic like the good old days. Couldn't even find my trusty security guard!) This one was taken with the autocam stashed on top of a shaky post.

On the way down to the basement to meet with the radiation oncologist, saw hundreds of these paper doves with names written on each one. Turns out, during the holiday season, lots of people make donations to PMH and have the names of loved ones posted here. Quite a pretty sight!

Yep, back in the expert's office to have this ongoing breast pain situation checked out. Verdict? Likely nothing, - probably just scar tissue, -  but just to be sure, the oncologist has arranged not only a mammogram (which detected NOTHING last March), but also an ultrasound and possibly, a second MRI, depending on how things look.  No word yet on another biopsy. Don't really WANT a repeat biopsy, but mmmm hmmmm, naturally, will DO it, if need be! (What else?)

Then, - major league grocery power shopping, making dinner, doing laundry, dishes, making up beds, putting out garbage, clearing the cat's litter box, etc. and still NO time yet to put the Christmas decorations away. Hopefully, can do that on Tuesday before starting my first Jason Deline voice class at 7 on Tuesday evening. (Hope I can remember how to read a script out loud!) Good night everybody! - Meanwhile, SO cold in the house tonight. Wearing my coat at the computer! Wish I was in Costa Rica, Casablanca, Cuba, Puerto Vallarta or Pasadena! - (someplace warmer than THIS!)

This, that & the other!

September 24/11.

Medical update.
Back at Princess Margaret Hospital on Friday for another follow-up appointment. And you KNOW what THAT means! Yep, irresistible-hot-sexy-faded-blue-hospital-gown-action all over again! - Well, at least I was still flaunting heels! (insert wild wolf whistle here)

And not a damn fashion stylist to be found in the hallways as usual! Gak. Whatever.

Showing off the legs means showing off the bruises. (I've really gotta stop moving furniture!!) It's exceedingly tough to sneak these auto-pics in 30 seconds or less before someone walks in. (actually, docs and nurses walked in THREE times, before I could finally secretly snap a forbidden shot!) - Hence, accidentally cutting off my head again. Great. - I desperately need to go for photography lessons!! ASAP!

Anyway, the radiation oncologist checked me out & says all looks good! We talked about upcoming visits for mammograms, possible ultrasounds or MRIs to keep a watch out for dreaded recurrence, which is what we want to avoid for life! The Tamoxifen is supposed to help with that too. I'll be on the drug for five years. Luckily for me, I've avoided ALL side effects from Tamoxifen. Won't go into graphic details. (look it up, check Tamoxifen side effects and you'll see what I DON'T have!!) Yay! I am lucky.

My usual, out front, hospital pic was snapped by a cool construction worker named Massimo. (that's his Coke can sitting there!) He interrupted his lunch hour to take the shot, while his pal, Ron, watched the "photo shoot". They wanted to know the blog address and what I was writing about and wished me good luck. Thanks guys!

Meanwhile, back on the homefront, tried to get going on the cleanup. Here are a couple of before/after shots.

Den before

Den after

Diningroom table before

Diningroom table after - (sadly, blurry, as I suck as a photog)

Kitchen before (not as bad as some of the other rooms!)

Kitchen after

The rest of the rooms in need of cleaning (which is ALL of them), will have to wait till next week.

If not, the TV tech crew from Hoarders will be knocking on my door any minute for an interview!

NEXT UP? - Kevio rehab update!!

My daughter, Kate came with me to see Kev, bring him some Henkell piccolos

and have a visit, but, he wasn't there yet. He was still at his office, working on music. So, instead,

we entertained Kev's fave roommate, Leo! (He was a bit shy, I think, having a "younger woman" sitting on his bed! Yikes!) - OK. LOL. Unfair, out-of-context pic! - I will tell you the TRUTH. Leo was concerned about his cold, so to protect me, covered his mouth. (But I like the FIRST explanation better)!! We were about to take off, eh, when Leo asked Kate and I if we could please go downstairs to the gift shop and buy him a bag of potato chips and a can of apple juice. He insisted on giving us a toonie and a loonie to pay for it, even though I wanted to buy these for him! Kate and I went to the lobby to get the goodies, and who should we rock & roll into on the way "home?"

RIGHT!! Kev and his "moon-walking" boots!! - (If Leo hadn't asked us to buy him the chips and juice, we would have missed Kevio altogether! Nice timing!!)

After saying good night to Kev, the evening was SO beautiful, decided to stroll the Bridgepoint grounds for a few minutes to check out the views.

Sunshine, gorgeous trees, squirrels,

really stunning! (P.S. - As for the cannon in the foreground, more details in the next entry).

After seeing Kev, drove off to the LCBO (to stock up on more Henkell for tomorrow). Ran into Dana - half of the musical east coast Bolton bros.

This was the first time I've ever seen Dana -

performing ALONE!

But seconds later, leather-hat-clad-bro Aubrey showed up to join Dana for some tunes. I was surprised to find out, my blog coverage of the "Bolton Bros" has inspired a fan club! THIS guy suddenly surfaced out of the blue,

begging Aubrey & Dana to play La Bomba! (They welcome requests and tried to accomodate)!

Then,

yet ANOTHER diehard fan jumped in between the two brothers to be part of the show! I've created a monster! I couldn't stop laughing. I always buy Aubrey & Dana each a beer, instead of donating cash.

They appreciate it, especially when it's HOT weather!!

They asked me to give their best regards to Kev, since they don't like knowing that a fellow musician is stuck in a wheelchair! NEXT blog entry, a communication between the Bolton Bros and Kevio!

Dreaming

June 20/11

Still dreaming of the beauty of the lake yesterday. It was fun hanging out with Carolyn on the deck, lounging on the "bean bag" thingamajigs. So relaxing, I even fell asleep! But this morning, back to reality. Woke up to a jarring phone call from Princess Margaret Hospital, telling me my appointment with the Radiation Oncologist, Dr. Koch, is Monday July 4th at 1:30 p.m. Time to set the summer schedule of radiation treatments. Fun. Scared. (What else is new??)

After hearing that news, wanted to watch my "obsesseion du jour" video - (which has kinda turned into "obsession du mois").

Haven't been able to get this song ("Lucky"), out of my head, where ever I go. But it's much more fun to watch it when Wes Taylor and Matt Doyle sing it together. I know I posted it the other day, but when I went to watch it on the blog, couldn't find it. So, I'm darn well posting it again! Every time I watch, I see something different in their expressions. Their voices are stunning and I LOVE the way the audience responds to everything they do.



OK, so, have watched it twice today. Maybe now I'm equipped to take on another crazy day. Heading back to Mum's to meet Carrie and clear more stuff after the big estate sale. The closing date is looming. Breathe. Breathe - Stay calm. (wish I could convince myself to do the same!) Talk to you later.
Cheers everybody!

Heading out again

May 25/11

I love listening to Mike Bullard's Beyond the Mic on NEWSTALK 1010.
He is simply hilarious. I try to catch his show from noon to one, every day, whether at home or out driving. He's really found his niche with his one hour show, (which he jokes, is about all anybody can't stand of him!) Never met the man, but have been addicted to Beyond the Mic since its debut last September. The way he puts words together - skewed, down-to-earth, punchy - pumps up the pizzazz in my day.

He's even got me revved for this afternoon's big appointment with the radiation oncologist. (and that's saying a lot for Mike's talent!) Keep it coming Mike. I need all the laughs I can get!

I HAVE to hear him say, "ITTTTTTTTTTT's FRIIIIIIIIIIDAY!" every week, or my Friday isn't complete!

Great. Now I want it to be FRIDAY. But it isn't. Oh well.

Heading off to Princess Margaret Hospital soon. Will listen to Jim Richards (also fantastically entertaining) on the way there. I'll admit, 1010 has turned me into a raging talk show junkie. (who knew?) I really miss the radio days and these guys make it seem like so much fun.

Jim Richards - cute shot

Will check in later with my results! (Ryan Seacrest, come on down. "We'll have those results for you - right AFTER the break"!!) - It'll be Scotty tonight, right?

A "full-length" version of the cropped denim pic I posted the other day

More results

May 24/11.

Big day. Big news. Most of it good.

In the end, decided against that "As Seen On TV" shirt. (I was really only kidding anyway). I'm constantly finding scribbled notes for the blog all over the house. Discovered a scrap of paper last night on which I'd scrawled, "I REFUSE to go into oncology in black, grey or brown! It HAS to be my favourite colour - MAUVE."

So, out came the feminine new Mexx mauve shirt to lift my spirits, paired with the Hue jeans.

Ready go hear the news!
Half an hour before I had to leave for the appointment with the Medical Oncologist I lost the nerve to go alone and asked my daughter, Kate, if she'd come with me and take notes. Thankfully, she was available and said yes. (after all the years of accompanying MUM on appointments, I can't believe the tables have turned!)

Made it to the Princess Margaret Breast Clinic by 1:30, just in time to be escorted in for a prep meeting with a nurse and the oncologist's "fellow."

They asked a lot of questions and told me things looked pretty good as far as they could see. Then, they left us for a few nail-biting minutes to wait for Dr. Amir, the Medical Oncologist.

My heart was racing while waiting word on the treatment
Dr. Amir spent a long time with me, explaining the case and the risks. He wrote it out for me.

Age - 55 - average - no risk

Tumour size (removed) - 1.5 cm. - (small) - no risk

Grade - (How aggressive the behaviour) - I - (low grade) - no risk

Stage - I

Lymph nodes - Negative - no risk

Receptors - (Proteins on cancer that tell it to grow)
2 Hormones
Estrogen receptor (ER) - 99 percent - Good
Progesterone receptor (PR) - 10 percent - Good

HER 2 - Negative - Good

Can't say I understand every word of the above, but I was informed that it's the best news and it's unlikely I'll need chemo. (which is what I've been SO hoping to hear). However, there is one more test called Oncotype DX. It is very expensive, (but government funded), and involves sending some of the tissue removed during my surgery to a lab in Redwood City, California, (one of the only places this test is being done). It would then take about three weeks to receive results. The test can help define whether chemotherapy should or should not be added to the anti-hormone treatment. I originally turned the test down, but after discussing it with family members, changed my mind and have now asked the doctor to go ahead with it. Better to be safe than sorry.

I've also been given a prescription for Tamoxifen, but won't fill it till after I meet with the radiation oncologist tomorrow afternoon and find out about the schedule, (which probably won't start until June). Also found out about the side effects of Tamoxifen. The biggest one is hot flashes! (Now, I ask you, do I really need any help with that? - I'm hot enough!)

Alfred Sung and Radiation (which of these two don't go together?)

May 18/11

For the first time in my adult life, bought a tank type top in XS (extra small!) Haven't weighed 102 lbs. in, - well, ever! So, what the hell? A nice XS shirt from Zellers' Pure Alfred Sung line was in order for a sunny day like today! To my sister Carrie, yes, I DID eat today, but no matter what bland choice I make, doesn't seem to make me feel great. (although the salmon lunch at The Bloor Street Diner yesterday was delish!)

Showing off Pure Alfred Sung

Love the scribbled chalk drawing on the brick wall outside our house. The kids drew it many years ago and it has never washed off!

Got word from Princess Margaret Hospital today about my appointments with the oncologists. Immediately started shaking. The first meeting is Tuesday May 24th at 1:30 p.m. with the Medical Oncologist. That's the person who will tell me whether I will need chemo (which I so hope I don't), and will let me know my chances of recurrence with or without it. The next day, the 25th, at 3:30, I meet with the Radiation Oncologist to set up a radiation schedule. Even just writing these words here, I can't believe this is happening to me.