Today is a
rainy Sunday at Lake Bernard. A good
number of the cottagers are taking refuge in their cottages after a remarkably
busy and sunny Saturday. It is the
busiest weekend we have seen on the lake this year. Cottages have been the go-to place for people
who were caught at home for the duration of the COVID period. It is good to see people on the lake and
maintaining social distancing practices.
My last
update started when I was in my treatment on July 14th. The finished update di omit any content on my
CT Scan results and other developments on this journey. I decided a rainy Sunday was a good time to update
this blog with that information.
My
appointment with Dr Jonker was scheduled for Wed July 15th at 9:30.
The practice today is to meet your DR through a phone conversation for such
things as test results. Dr Jonker was
replaced by Dr Moira Rushton to report on my test results. In summary my CT showed that my Cancer is
stable with some shrinkage on my cysts on my liver and stable in my lungs. No remarkable progress happening in there at
all. She told me she suggests that I
continue for the next three months on the same treatment schedule and content
and there would be another CT in 3 months My Chart at the TOH now shows my
appointments through to October. During
the call I asked about the Trial that Dr Auer was starting with an objective of
discovering the success rate of a new drug that will assist Cancer patients
with their immune system. It notes that
this will assist Cancer patients ensure they are “ready” for their next
treatment and perhaps protect them from such viruses as COVID-19 or whatever
the next big thing will be. Dr Rushkin
ensured that my file would reflect my interest and she would do some digging to
better acquaint herself with this Trial.
I suggested that I would get in touch with Dr Auer and she agreed that I
should do that.
I contacted
Dr Auer’s office to inquire about the Trial.
Nancy, her scheduling assistant, was happy to hear from me and asked for
some time to see if Dr Auer would like to meet with me on this subject. The following day Nancy contacted me to tell
me that they were looking at a month-end date for a phone discussion with Dr
Auer. Last Friday I received a call from
Dr Auer. We chatted about life in
general and it was a conversation that linked back to our time when I was in
more frequent contact with her. She is
still my Oncologist of Record but I do not see or chat with often. She talked about the Trial and the fact that
Investigators were Drs from different areas in Canada. The first Investigator happens to be Dr
Jonker and she noted that my file had been updated showing my interest. It also indicated that I was a good candidate
for this Trial as I have missed some treatments due to my WBC count being too
low, I was over 55, and I have stage 4 Cancer.
The Trial will be starting in September and she expected that I would be
contacted to participate. Being a
participant means that I would have to have a series of blood tests before and
after injections on Day 1, day 14 and day 45.
On those days I would be injected and monitored with either the drug or
a placebo as they need a control group for the Trial. Dr Auer was pleased that I was interested,
and I enjoyed catching up on her family and her practice. It was a great call as it was like talking to
an old friend.
In other
news, I was requested to re-join WestJet after a period of voluntary leave of
absence. They asked if I would be
interested in being part of a contingency re-call as they were aware of some
resignations at the end of July. The
process they follow is to go to the seniority list and ask the most senior
people on the list if they would like to be re-called for work. Employees have the right to decline and they
would remain on the seniority list for future re-calls. If they do not get the required numbers from
the most senior people then they go further down the list until they are
successful in obtaining enough people to meet the next month’s requirements
based on the released monthly flight schedule.
I spoke with Katy, the Station Manager for YOW, and she outlined that
shifts would probably be for 3 hrs a day for 5 days a week totaling 15 hours a
week. I was prepared to accept the
re-call but that got vetoed by my family members who, quite rightly, pointed to my
immune deficiency. Although I feel
confident that airports are close to hospitals when it comes to rigour and safety
precautions there is a likelihood that a passenger may well be a carrier
unknowingly. In the end I declined the
re-call and will wait for future recalls and measure my degree of interest at
that time.
Tuesday
(Aug 4) I will be at the Queensway Carleton Hospital at 8 am. At that time, I will commence my 3-hour
treatment unless my blood tests show my WBC count is too low. I did my blood on Friday as the blood clinic
will be closed on Monday. So next week
is treatment week and things should be quiet for that period.
Other than
that I have been on my motorcycle for my first ride of the summer, I managed to
get some work done on my long living bathroom project and I managed to get some
stain on my barbeque shed. Not huge
achievements but big enough to feel good about heading back to normal when I
used to be on my projects daily. My
mental state is stabilizing and perhaps seeking a way back to a more normal
life. I find myself somewhat depressed about
where we are in the Cancer process, the WestJet issues of employment as well as where we are heading for future
lifestyle changes due to COVID-19. I
have stopped watching the news as I am annoyed at the media and mankind for the
actions that are happening around our post-COVID recovery.
On a fun side of things, here is a photo taken by my cousin at the family cottage on the St Lawrence River. It was taken about 40 years ago. I am with our son Gray and my nephew Matthew. When Freddi showed the picture to Kaia she pointed to me and said that it was a picture of Gray. Genes are a funny thing as Gray does look like I did when I was younger.
Thank you
for dropping in and reading this blog update and should you have questions please
drop me a line. Please be well and safe
and focus on the important things in your life.
