Heading into Round 5 Session 6

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 14^th.  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 15^th 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.