Bone Marrow Biopsy
>I was really worried about today’s procedure. Had some bloodwork first (I don’t know why they have to do this every single time I go!!!) then I sat in the operating room for a bit in my gown with my Dad. Dr. Blahey showed up, kicked my Dad out (though I’m sure he didn’t want to be there), and told me what was going to happen. Two bone marrow samples and a bone core sample. They got me to curl up in the fetal position…
Lymph Node Biopsy
>Yesterday was my neck biopsy and I wasn’t really worried about it before going in. Shortly after checking in and getting changed into my gown they came to give me an IV. They stuck it in my hand, missed the vein, moved it around some and I passed out. My Dad said afterwards that I was convulsing and when I woke up there was quite a bit of commotion going on around me, probably about 10 nurses. There was mention of a “code blue in…
I’m Oriented
>Just got back from a great session at Tom Baker. My parents, Dawn and Jon all came with me which was really nice. There was about an hour long presentation, mostly on chemo side effects and how to manage them. I think it really helped and calmed us down a bit. It doesn’t sound all that bad now. We got a tour of the hospital and got to see the chemo rooms. I got a nice folder of information about the specific chemo drugs I’ll…
PET Scan Down!
>The PET scanner is down today so they rescheduled me for next Wednesday. I guess I can eat breakfast now. It sucks because now I’m missing a going away lunch for a coworker. We had our first Nortel Corporate Challenge volleyball practice last night and I’m pretty excited for it. It went really well and it’s great to be playing indoor again. Our team is pretty strong, but I hope I can make it. I also hope that if I make the team I don’t…
Getting scheduled
>I’m getting most of my staging scheduled now. PET scan this Thursday, orientation Friday (my family and I can meet everybody at Tom Baker, get a tour, listen to a talk about cancer, etc.), then the neck biopsy next Monday and bone marrow Tuesday. I guess after they have the results I’ll meet with Dr. Blahey to figure out chemo/radiation plans. Dawn came home last night and it’s really great to have her back. She got me some amazing presents from Italy and I’m wearing…
Cancellations
>As much as I didn’t want this to affect my life, it has started to really affect it. I already cancelled on my volleyball team for the Nortel Summer Games and now my family and I just decided to cancel our Hawaii trip. It would end up delaying my treatment by about a month and none of us really felt comfortable doing that. I guess I’ll have extra vacation for next year now….
First visit to Tom Baker
>I’m back from the doctor finally. I had to get a whole bunch of preliminary stuff done today, more x-rays, bloodwork, urine test, height and weight measured, met the nurse and doctor who will be doing most of the stuff with me, etc. I have my neck biopsy scheduled for the 29th, bone marrow biopsy for the 30th, a PET scan somewhere around there and then chemo/radiation will start after that. Probably about 4 months of chemo and radiation at once. It turns out that…
Going to Tom Baker
>When I talked to the Tom Baker Cancer Centre yesterday they were pretty surprised at how long it was taking me to get stuff going with my other doctor. They just called and told me that I’m supposed to come in tomorrow. It’ll just be an informative session and they’ll book me for orientation, the biopsy, chemo, etc. I’m glad things are moving along quicker now. It’s nice to know that I’m at Tom Baker finally too. Things are looking up!
The wheel’s in motion!
>Dr. Gillis is back in the office so I can resume pestering them over the phone! Due to a cancellation at the hospital they had an opening for surgery on August 29th, so that’s when my biopsy is going to take place. It feels good to have a date scheduled now, even if it is almost 2 weeks away. The receptionist also gave me the CAT scan results and everything looks good! There seems to be no spread in my chest or abdomen which is…
Back to waiting
>Visited my family doctor’s backup today. It sounds like I’ll need a referral from the diagnosing doctor (Dr. Gillis) and that I might need a tissue sample (surgical biopsy) as well before going to Tom Baker. Dr. Gillis is back next week so I’ll be able to talk to him then, but it sounds like the biopsy might not be done this month! My dad has to fully pay for our Hawaii trip (Sept 16-Oct 2) next week so I guess he’s just going to…