Monica felt pretty good this morning (before the chemo) and ate a fairly good breakfast (steel cut oats with blueberries, banana, walnuts and cinnamon, organic grapefruit and a slice of whole grain toast). While Greg worked in the morning, Marley and Monica went to the Cancer Agency.
Marley partook in a research study which is studying how the stress of a brain tumour diagnosis affects caregivers. She was interviewed for nearly an hour and had her blood pressure taken several times. As well, they gave her swabs which she needs to use to take saliva samples (they can use these to test for stress somehow) over a period of six days. They will follow-up with her several times over the following months. Greg has volunteered as well and will be interviewed next week.
Meanwhile, Monica went to a presentation on make-up and hairstyling with an emphasis on how cancer patients can deal with their appearance when it suffers from the treatment. She seemed to enjoy the course.
Greg took the skytrain and the Broadway 99 bus (which combo only took 30 minutes from Royal Oak Station) to the Cancer Agency for lunch and met Marley and Monica who were picnicing on the lawn in front.
Monica's radiation treatment was set for 1:20. As they were running behind schedule, we had a chance to visit with 3 other cancer patients who were also waiting. One of the three was a friend who we have known for a several years. It was interesting to share stories and experiences with these other patients. It may have been my imagination but you could almost sense a bond forming among the 4 patients as they discussed their common and yet different experiences.
One of the patients was an upbeat 18 yrs old university student. He had suddenly discovered he had a brain tumour while studying last November at SFU. A month later he woke up on his birthday in the hospital having had an operation to remove this tumour. Initially, he was told that the tumour was benign and then told a couple of weeks later that some cancer was found. He has had strong chemo treatments and has been recently undergoing radiation on his head and spine. He was very upbeat and positive. He felt like cancer had changed his life (in terms of priorities) and he has changed his career goals accordingly. He now wants to be a nurse so that he can help others recover. It was quite touching to meet him and to reflect his situation.
The waiting room outside Station 4 (the machine where Monica goes for treatment) is very nicely appointed. One nice touch is a large table with a jigsaw puzzle on it. Monica has worked on this puzzle every day and today it was a focal point for this group of 4 patients as they chatted.
Monica's radiation went well. Greg timed the treatments. Monica is alone in the room for only about 7 minutes after her mask is bolted to the couch. The technicians use 3 - 4 minutes to take x-rays to confirm that she and the machine are still properly aligned and use the rest of the time to administer 7doses of radiation.
After the radiation today Monica was seen by the radiation oncologist. This visit was very useful as we had a chance to really discuss Monica's ongoing problems with nausea. As a result, the doctor prescribed a stronger anti-nausea drug for Monica and gave her one pill right there. The doctor was very accommodating. He answered all of the questions we had accumulated, gave us a copy of the plot for the radiation treatments and showed us how Monica's tumour looked on the CTscan done following the operation. He showed us where the surgeon had operated etc.
By the time she got home, Monica was feeling much better (in terms of the nausea). At the time of writing this blog (7:51 p.m.) Monica is still feeling well. She was able to sit and read on the patio while her private chef (Organic Greg) prepared a salmon dinner with caesar salad (organic romaine lettuce), pickled beets (from Oma), homemade tsatziki (organic cucumbers), and organic new potatoes cooked with fresh mint from the garden. We are all (Monica included) pretty happy that she was able to eat a good meal and to relax a bit. Let's hope that the new medication keeps working like this!
No comments:
Post a Comment