So now what?

So here we are, our first offical follow up since finishing radiation therapy...

Since my last report we’ve been so busy. Hardly noticed how fast the time has gone by.
We went to BC, where we had a great time! Then, in mid-August, we performed at the CNE [in its 125th Year!!] for a fortnight. The “Blackout” on the 14th of August [just after we had loaded in the gear for the show] forced us to miss the first 4 days of the CNE. As well, we attended a wedding reception and three (3) conventions [a magic one; a comic book one and a film memorabilia one!]

Today [my twin cousins birthday] was a follow-up to see how the chemo and radiation therapies went. On the 5th Sept 2003, I had another CT scan of my stomache and my chest. It went off without a hitch and we waited until today to get both the results of the test and the analysis of both the oncologist, Dr. Sturgeon, and radiation oncologist, Dr. Hodgson.

It was a warm and sunny day. Gave blood and then went for quick lunch [Chinese today]. Came back and, for the first time, our entire visit only took 1 HOUR and in that time we saw BOTH doctors. Completely unheard of for us!! We had blocked the entire afternoon off because normally we wait for quite a while!

A rundown of the day:
We sat in the general waiting area for less than 10 minutes before we were called to get weighed. They do it every visit and I seemed to have lost nearly 10 lbs.! All that water retention [thanks to the anti-nausea drugs] seems to be vanishing. We waited for a while and passed the time taking mug shots!

Before we knew it, Dr. Hodgson showed up and did a physical check. Whenever I go, who ever I see, I always get checked the same way: the neck, collar bone area, under the arms and lower tummy to see if any new lumps show up. NO new lumps, of course! And then, he did the requisite heart and lung-breathing tests.

We also talked briefly of the side effects that MAY or MAY NOT come about [but he feels unlikely], in the next couple of months, which are not serious. He felt quite safe to leave our next visit for three to four months.

VERY shortly thereafter Dr. Sturgeon came in to chat. [He hates getting his photo taken! So Julie sneaked in a shot of his hands! He’s great fun and always delightful to chat with. He was pleased with his quick consultation with Dr. Hodgson [in the hallway outside] and he said there was no further development in my chest and shoulder area: NO cancer.
Another GREAT sign. Blood work looks good - some things can be a little better but the numbers were most likely low because I’ve just come off of radiation.

All in all, I think he was just BEAMING today. He was very pleased and happy with the way things (i.e. treatement) went and how I responded. He was remarking on how well I looked and how happy he was with the way things are progressing. He suggested two months for the next visit. Dr. Hodgson’s assistant, Glenda, split the difference and we’re due for another appointment on the 16 Dec. 2003.

This follow up process will continue, for now, on this quarterly basis and then I’ll graduate to seeing them every six months and then, finally, move to annual visits over the next two to three years. So that’s about it for now. I think it’s safe to say things are rolling along as they should [knock on wood] and everything has turned out the way it was supposed to.

Thanks to everyone out there for reading these updates and for sending great notes of feedback, encouragement and support to both Julie and me. We love hearing how positively everyone is taking this stuff, which makes it ALL the better for everyone involved!!

It was a FUN journey!

I wish to take this opportunity to thank all the doctors and nurses who helped “us” through this: Our HERO and family doctor [who caught this so early on for us] Dr. Kimberly Wintemute; Dr. Orrie Rotstein; Dr. Tim O’Malley; Dr. Jeremy Sturgeon; Dr. Alice Newman; Dr. David Loach; Dr. Renata Reubeni-Zaltz; Dr. David Hodgson and Dr. Alexander Sun.

Among the nurses, I would especially like to mention Christine; Elisa; Rene; Susie; Amy and Ann in the chemo day care unit and Michele; Cynthia; Sherrill; Wendy; Sajida and Ray in Unit #8 in radiation; Kim Harris [Executive Assistant Extraordinaire]; Nancy Pringle; the other Nancy; Barbara and Sonia, the volunteer in Dr. Sturgeon’s clinic. Glenda and Kirsten in the radiation clinics.

Thank you one and all. We couldn’t have gotten through this without you!

DRAWING THE LINE
I hope that my up-coming comic book project will “give back” some love -- all proceeds will be split between Princess Margaret Hospital and the Hospital for Sick Children Foundations. See our site www.benefitcomic.com for more on that. If you have feedback, ideas, contributions and/or sponsorship that you’d like to offer -- all lottery winners and trillionaires, please step forward -- make sure to check out the site!!


Cheerio,
Suley