A diary of a cancer journey, kept in the order it happened.https://mikecousins.com/en-cahttps://mikecousins.com/posts/5-years-cured/https://mikecousins.com/posts/5-years-cured/I recently had my last check up at the Tom Baker Cancer Center. It marked my 5th year post-treatment. The results were perfect and I can now relax. I am done…Sat, 12 Feb 2011 21:41:50 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/2-years/https://mikecousins.com/posts/2-years/Well, yesterday was my 2 year check up. It actually hasn't been two full years but I guess each of my appointments has been a bit before schedule. I don't…Wed, 06 Feb 2008 13:44:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/16-months/https://mikecousins.com/posts/16-months/My chest x-rays are clear, my blood work is perfect and the physical exam was good! I was a bit nervous before this one, but it seems like I shouldn't have…Thu, 14 Jun 2007 12:33:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/16-month-tests-delayed/https://mikecousins.com/posts/16-month-tests-delayed/My next visit was supposed to be June 5th, but it was delayed because Dr. Blahey is on vacation. I'm going in on June 12th, next Tuesday, instead. This time…Thu, 07 Jun 2007 13:24:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/a-year-later/https://mikecousins.com/posts/a-year-later/I'm still clean! Sorry this is a bit late, I've been a bit busy with everything. I took on a couple contracts outside of Nortel to make some extra money and…Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:10:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/9-months-clean/https://mikecousins.com/posts/9-months-clean/I have no idea why the last one showed activity but my +9 month scan was completely clean. No cancer!!! I must have been excited or something for that last one…Tue, 07 Nov 2006 22:08:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/waiting/https://mikecousins.com/posts/waiting/I had my +9 month PET scan and now begins the longest week ever waiting for the results. I get them next Tuesday (Novemeber 7th) along with my bloodwork…Tue, 31 Oct 2006 23:34:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/new-condo/https://mikecousins.com/posts/new-condo/My next scan will be on October 31st. Yes, that's Halloween, I think I might dress up. That is probably going to be the most important scan yet because it will…Fri, 06 Oct 2006 07:08:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/6-months/https://mikecousins.com/posts/6-months/Well, I've been delaying making this post because I really don't know what to say. I got my results last Tuesday (August 22nd) and my PET scan shows 2 nodes…Thu, 31 Aug 2006 11:46:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/3-months/https://mikecousins.com/posts/3-months/Well, it's been 3 months already. I went for my first post treatment check-up and it went pretty well. I asked about diving again and Dr. Blahey said that it…Tue, 30 May 2006 14:21:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/so/https://mikecousins.com/posts/so/I think this blog is pretty much done. I'll keep you updated with scan results but hopefully I won't have to use this much again. My next scan is May 30th,…Sun, 14 May 2006 18:39:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/phase-2-begins/https://mikecousins.com/posts/phase-2-begins/Phase 1 (beat cancer) - check Phase 2 (get back in shape) - starting now I'm back at work now and trying to get my sleep schedule back to something manageable.…Mon, 20 Mar 2006 20:30:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/finished-but-crying/https://mikecousins.com/posts/finished-but-crying/I can't remember the last time I was crying, probably last year when my grandfather passed away, but I am right now. It's been an emotional day. My chemo went…Wed, 08 Mar 2006 23:42:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/the-last-one/https://mikecousins.com/posts/the-last-one/I'm just getting ready to go in for my last treatment! I'm more nervous for this one than for any of the others. I just can't wait for it to be all done.Wed, 08 Mar 2006 11:39:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/i-want-to-be-sedated/https://mikecousins.com/posts/i-want-to-be-sedated/So I get into the hospital for chemo #11 and the nurse decides to put my IV in a vein a little bit up my arm, just above my wrist. It seems to go in alright…Sat, 18 Feb 2006 19:29:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/nearing-the-end/https://mikecousins.com/posts/nearing-the-end/I've had 10 out of 12 treatments now with the 2nd last one this Wednesday. I'm getting pretty confident now and am just looking forward to being done. I…Sun, 12 Feb 2006 16:24:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/back-to-skiing/https://mikecousins.com/posts/back-to-skiing/I had a great day at Sunshine Village today. Dave and I headed out and were greeted with free passes and some of the best snow I've skiied in a couple years.…Sun, 29 Jan 2006 20:16:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/ouch-2/https://mikecousins.com/posts/ouch-2/Chemo is a good way to kill your high. I'm feeling pretty crappy again, but I'm now 3/4 done! I can't tell yet whether it is easier or harder to continue with…Thu, 19 Jan 2006 17:09:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/cancer-free/https://mikecousins.com/posts/cancer-free/Got the results of my PET scan back today and I am officially cancer free! As they put it they "detected no metabolic activity"! It's kind of crappy that I…Tue, 17 Jan 2006 18:37:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/pet-scan-2/https://mikecousins.com/posts/pet-scan-2/Well, I've now finished two-thirds of my chemo and this morning I had my second PET scan. They try to get rid of all of the cancer by the two-thirds point so…Tue, 10 Jan 2006 15:05:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/suprise-party/https://mikecousins.com/posts/suprise-party/Wow. I had no idea this was going to happen at all. I was hanging out with my old high school friends, driving all over the city and we were going to end up at…Thu, 29 Dec 2005 22:08:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/happy-holidays/https://mikecousins.com/posts/happy-holidays/I hope everybody had a great Christmas! Ours was really nice and I'm feeling great. That's important because there has been lots of turkey to eat around here.…Tue, 27 Dec 2005 00:44:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/712/https://mikecousins.com/posts/712/Number 7 is done and it's going pretty well. I think I'm just excited because I get 3 weeks off after this one and I'm done for the year! I'm pretty busy for…Fri, 16 Dec 2005 15:19:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/opening-day-at-fernie/https://mikecousins.com/posts/opening-day-at-fernie/I went skiing on the weekend at Fernie for opening day. Pretty good time, but I got tired out pretty quick. I had to stop skiing and head to the lodge at 3pm…Wed, 14 Dec 2005 12:01:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/halfway-done/https://mikecousins.com/posts/halfway-done/I have now finished number 6! They are definitely getting worse. I get this horrible taste in my mouth during the treatment and it hasn't really gone away. The…Sat, 03 Dec 2005 13:06:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/skiing-soon/https://mikecousins.com/posts/skiing-soon/This weekend is my friend Dave's stag and we've got chalets booked in Banff for a weekend of skiing and relaxing. I'm so excited to get back out on the slopes.…Tue, 22 Nov 2005 14:19:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/512/https://mikecousins.com/posts/512/Number 5 is now past me. It was a pretty bad start, I normally don't have any trouble getting the IV in and this time took 5 tries between 3 nurses. I'm so…Thu, 17 Nov 2005 23:13:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/pain-day/https://mikecousins.com/posts/pain-day/Days 5-8 of each cycle are days that I get my Neupogen injections. They stimulate your bone marrow to produce more white blood cells. This causes the bone…Fri, 11 Nov 2005 10:48:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/good-news-finally/https://mikecousins.com/posts/good-news-finally/I just got back from my appointment at the hospital. My white blood cell counts are up to a decent level so I won't need to increase the number of Neupogen…Tue, 01 Nov 2005 14:59:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/fasting/https://mikecousins.com/posts/fasting/It's 10:30 and I have now finished my last food and drink until dinner time. Anybody who knows me well, knows that this will be a remarkable feat if I pull it…Tue, 25 Oct 2005 08:42:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/ouch/https://mikecousins.com/posts/ouch/I think #3 was the worst so far. I've been pretty sick the entire time since chemo. The second one went well so I was hoping I might get less sick as they…Sun, 23 Oct 2005 20:46:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/here-goes-3/https://mikecousins.com/posts/here-goes-3/I had my bloodwork done yesterday and chatted with the doctor a bit. My white blood cells were up to 1.6 this time, still not up into the 2-8 range, so I'm…Wed, 19 Oct 2005 11:56:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/2-down/https://mikecousins.com/posts/2-down/The second chemo didn't seem to be all that bad so far. First couple days weren't that nauseous then it got worse and was pretty bad for about 2 days. By the…Tue, 11 Oct 2005 11:16:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/just-made-it/https://mikecousins.com/posts/just-made-it/Our white blood cell counts are supposed to be between 2 and 8. Last week's test put me at 0.4. My doctor said he won't do chemo if it's under 1. This week I…Wed, 05 Oct 2005 12:03:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/im-missing-something/https://mikecousins.com/posts/im-missing-something/Dawn shaved my head today. I don't know what to think of it yet. I guess it's not as horrible as I was imagining. To the Victoria folk, I just got the a-ok…Thu, 29 Sep 2005 21:06:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/just-say-no-to-your-fears/https://mikecousins.com/posts/just-say-no-to-your-fears/After I was diagnosed I was scared that my PET scan results would come back showing that I had a large spread of cancer. I got the results back and I had a…Tue, 27 Sep 2005 15:38:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/after-chemo/https://mikecousins.com/posts/after-chemo/I'm feeling pretty much back to normal now. After the first chemo I was nauseous for about 4 days. I felt like I was about to throw up all the time and…Fri, 23 Sep 2005 08:44:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/chemo-1/https://mikecousins.com/posts/chemo-1/It turns out they do all of the chemo through a hand IV, I hate hand IVs! It took a bit to get it in and it never really stopped hurting for the whole 2 hours…Thu, 15 Sep 2005 08:23:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/excuse-me/https://mikecousins.com/posts/excuse-me/I have always believed that I caught this early, and I've always feared that I hadn't. It looks like my fears have won. I got the PET scan results today and…Tue, 13 Sep 2005 13:41:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/party/https://mikecousins.com/posts/party/I had a great time last night! Most of my Calgary friends showed up at the Bull & Finch and we had some food and drinks. I wanted to have a little get together…Tue, 13 Sep 2005 09:12:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/confirmation/https://mikecousins.com/posts/confirmation/Just got back from getting my stitches out of my neck. I asked for the results from the biopsy and it's nodular sclerosing Hodgkins lymphoma. I was pretty sure…Thu, 08 Sep 2005 13:25:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/a-wild-weekend/https://mikecousins.com/posts/a-wild-weekend/I was in the Okanagan with Dawn for the long weekend, visiting my Grandma, touring some wineries and getting some time on the beach. We stayed at a nice bed &…Tue, 06 Sep 2005 14:33:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/pet-scan/https://mikecousins.com/posts/pet-scan/Yesterday was pretty uneventful. The radioactive glucose was a little bit late from Edmonton. I wasn't supposed to have surgery for 2 weeks before the scan,…Thu, 01 Sep 2005 11:54:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/bone-marrow-biopsy/https://mikecousins.com/posts/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…Tue, 30 Aug 2005 13:13:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/lymph-node-biopsy/https://mikecousins.com/posts/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…Tue, 30 Aug 2005 13:03:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/im-oriented/https://mikecousins.com/posts/im-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,…Fri, 26 Aug 2005 15:39:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/pet-scan-down/https://mikecousins.com/posts/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…Thu, 25 Aug 2005 08:17:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/getting-scheduled/https://mikecousins.com/posts/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…Tue, 23 Aug 2005 09:05:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/cancellations/https://mikecousins.com/posts/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…Sat, 20 Aug 2005 20:57:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/first-visit-to-tom-baker/https://mikecousins.com/posts/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,…Thu, 18 Aug 2005 16:00:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/going-to-tom-baker/https://mikecousins.com/posts/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…Wed, 17 Aug 2005 11:15:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/the-wheels-in-motion/https://mikecousins.com/posts/the-wheels-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…Tue, 16 Aug 2005 08:11:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/back-to-waiting/https://mikecousins.com/posts/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…Mon, 08 Aug 2005 18:49:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/vacation/https://mikecousins.com/posts/vacation/No, not mine, every doctor in the city of Calgary! I need to get a referral to get into the Tom Baker Center (Calgary's cancer center) and both Dr. Gillis and…Fri, 05 Aug 2005 13:00:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/cat-scan/https://mikecousins.com/posts/cat-scan/My Dad drove me down to High River this morning for the CAT scan. It was pretty uneventful, but drinking that marker doesn't taste too good. The IV caused a…Thu, 04 Aug 2005 11:38:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/cascade-mountain/https://mikecousins.com/posts/cascade-mountain/My friend Dave and I had decided long ago to climb Cascade Mountain, and being the long weekend we set out to do it, cancer or no cancer. Looking up at Cascade…Mon, 01 Aug 2005 21:02:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/dr-gillis-2/https://mikecousins.com/posts/dr-gillis-2/I show up nice and early, the receptionist is very happy and cheerful to me. I think something is up, but think nothing of it, content that both an aneurysm…Thu, 28 Jul 2005 20:53:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/results-are-in/https://mikecousins.com/posts/results-are-in/Dr. Gillis's office calls me and informs me that the results from the sample are in. I have an appointment with them the next morning to discuss it.Wed, 27 Jul 2005 20:51:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/dr-gillis-1/https://mikecousins.com/posts/dr-gillis-1/Dr. Gillis is my new ear, nose and throat specialist and I arrive to hear the results of the ultrasound. He says that they saw the lump and that he needed a…Fri, 22 Jul 2005 20:47:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/the-ultrasound/https://mikecousins.com/posts/the-ultrasound/My ultrasound which was supposed to have been done on Saturday has now taken place on Wednesday. Each day I am told that it might be able to be done the next…Wed, 20 Jul 2005 20:44:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/let-the-fun-begin/https://mikecousins.com/posts/let-the-fun-begin/I go to a walk-in clinic with my girlfriend Dawn. I show him the lump and he feels it, listens to it with the stethoscope and declares it to be an aneurysm. He…Fri, 15 Jul 2005 20:38:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.aihttps://mikecousins.com/posts/a-lump/https://mikecousins.com/posts/a-lump/I feel a lump in my neck in the shower. It's about half the size of a golf ball and it's right above my left collarbone. I call my family doctor but can't get…Thu, 14 Jul 2005 20:30:00 GMTCancermike@cousins.ai