Day 292 - Round 3 of AVD

Well today was certainly a mish-mash of positives & negatives. Mom2 came with me & was by my side the entire day. Right up until we dropped her off & she sent me home with a turkey bun. (+) We scooted over to HomeSense while we waited for my drugs & she found some pots & woks she had been on the hunt for. (+) She kept me preoccupied & laughing when the treatment got crazy. (+) And she got to meet her new Doctor - my Doctor - Dr. Daly. (+)


And there was the treatment. Blood work was quick & relatively painless. (+) There was no fishing in my arm for a vein. (+) When it came time for chemo, they found a good vein (+) or did they? (-) By the third drug, Dacarbazine, my veins had had enough. My arm was cold to the touch, but the sensation was that of fire. (-) They slowed the drip rate down 3x, but it still hurt. (-) To make matters worse, I had to have an anti-emetic after the chemo. (-) They are out of the pill form of the usual anti-emetic I take, but they have the syrup. I took the syrup the last time & it was brutal on my teeth. Needless to say, I was tired & grumpy by the end of the session. 


Thankfully the Nurses were AWESOME as usual. Mom2 & I had been talking about the hospital a few days before & she thought I was absolutely mental when I said I looked forward to visiting with the Nurses & how friendly & nice everyone was. Only now did she understand my thoughts! We enjoyed visiting with the girls & I even showed them Jaco & I's wedding photos from Namibia (which Mario just won another award with us in his portfolio!). It was priceless, as one of the Nurses was convinced that Jaco's profile looks exactly like Dr. Lategan & she found it her sole purpose that day to convince all the other Nurses to come & have a look at the profile. Her enthusiasm was infectious. (About the only infectious thing you'd want to pick up in a treatment room!) :o) We were all in stitches every time she would call another Nurse over to have a look.


I was excited to see that the Beautiful Sam was in the treatment room again. She makes my day. We enjoyed visiting about our dogs & I'm hoping she'll bring them out for a run on the ranch before the snow falls! 


Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever imagined that I would meet so many wonderful people while taking chemo treatments. I was the girl who was strictly opposed to any sort of Western Medicine intervention. I thought it was all one big pharmaceutical push & the Doctors were pretty much robots who were trained to have textbook answers for all the questions. Who would have thought I would ever meet Doctors & Nurses with *GASP* personalities!? I feel like I have another family & I still have 9 more rounds to go! I realize they see a lot of people come & go, but they have made this part of my journey absolutely enjoyable & I can't say enough how much I appreciate that. Hmm, they did mention something about coffee & chocolate... :o)


Of course, Mom had to stop at Costco. I shouldn't have gone in, but I did. Just stay in the car, Jill! But no. I was hungry & enjoyed the Caesar salad sample, so at least that made it worthwhile! Mom2 found another wok & Mom picked up her fruit fix for the week. 


We drove to Mom2's where she made me a delish turkey bun & then it was home time. I crashed on the way home (as in sleep - Mom was driving) & did my best to sleep off the effects of the drugs. 


Tonight was Valentina's last night in the big bed. Tomorrow she graduates to the Big Girl Bed when Papa gets here... Not long to go now! Can't wait!


xxxxx
Maria & Valentina

Oh where oh where is my Mexican Hot Pack?

Heating my veins for the poison

Iny saying, 'There, there! You see! It's Dr. Lategan!'

'Don't you think so!? It's him!'

'Her husband looks just like Dr. Lategan!'

Mom2 & I

Mom & I

A Rose between 2 Tulips (Dr. Daly & his two 'Favourite' patients - I'm recruiting to make it a family affair!) :o)

Day 272 - Round 2 of AVD

Crud. I just checked the blog & I’m a week behind. That bites. It’s going to be a struggle to catch up. Bear with me!!!

Today was round 2 of AVD. My doctor’s appointment was at 0900, which meant I had to be there by 0800 for blood work. However, I had seen Dr. Lategan’s appointment schedule when I left last week. There were NO empty spots & names were written up both sides & across the bottom of the page! He’s a busy, busy guy! While we had waited, they called about 12 people in 20 minutes to see him!!! Wowser!!! So, I took the liberty of sleeping a few more ‘snooze buttons’. We left the house at 0730, arriving at 0830 at the hospital.

I went straight to the lab for blood work. Today was only a CBC. The gal at the desk was slow as molasses. They took 2 people in the first 15 minutes I waited. When it was my turn, OH MY STARS!!!!!! YEOW!!! I swear that guy was digging through my entire forearm!!! He put the needle in, which hurt. Then he proceeded to rummage around for a vein like he was digging for a matching sock in the bottom of the drawer. It hurt so intensely that I actually yelped out loud! And I’m generally quite tolerant. He didn’t seem to care that he was inflicting pain upon me. Thanks buddy.

I didn’t have to wait long to see Dr. Lategan. I had Nurse Andrea take my particulars (weight, height, blood pressure & sats). We got to chatting & she helped me out with the receptionist/medical secretary issue. I’ve been given the number for her supervisor & I will definitely get in touch with her!

Dr. Lategan came in & ticked a few patients off the list & then informed me that my Neutrophils were high enough to proceed with treatment. (1.8 & then need to be minimum 1.4) Great! We had a quick chat about Neupogen & when I would take them & I could do them in my thigh – not my belly as I had been worried about! He reassured me that the nasty side effects I’d found out about – ruptured spleen à death, bone pain, etc, etc… would most likely be minimal. Well, the death part anyhow, but not the bone pain. I’ll have bone pain due to the large amounts of neutrophils being produced in the bone, but it is manageable with Tylenol. The enlarged spleen happens with patients who have to take Neupogen every day. Thank goodness I will only be taking shots on Wednesdays & Thursdays the week after chemo.

We were just finishing up the appointment when Dr. Lategan felt my neck & commented, ‘Hmm, yep, they are still there. We’ll have to give you more poison this week.’ I love a Physician with a personality. :o)

I headed down to the Treatment Room & found an empty chair closest to the door. (Translation: closest to the toilet!) I just got settled & the needle put in my arm when the Nurses told me I could go for lunch or disappear for an hour or so if I liked. They would call me when my drugs were ready. Great, except for the fact that Mom had just left to get some food. I called her on her cell 8x & she was NOT answering. Knowing her she had it on vibrate, in her purse. Worst of all, she’d taken my wallet with her, so I couldn’t even find a snack close by! Grrr! Low & behold, she popped her head in the door a few minutes later. She had stopped to pay for her parking, waited in line for the bathroom & just got back to the car when she checked her phone & saw ‘WHAT?!? EIGHT MISSED CALLS?!?’ She said there were another 2 while she was checking the message… Hey, at least I’m persistent! :o)

We jetted over to Booster Juice for a vegetarian panini. I love them, but they put onions in them. I usually have to pick them out. I asked today if they could make one without onions. The lady said it was my lucky day, as she was out of onions, so none of the sandwiches had them! :o) We just sat in the car when the cell phone rang. It was the clinic & they had my meds already! We scooted over to Jugo Juice (I think they have better smoothies) & then quickly back to the hospital.

I was having an impatient morning with Mom. Her driving was driving me crazy & she wasn’t as rushed to get the chemo over with as I was. Perhaps I’m a patient to practice my patience. :oP

I settled back into my chair & Nurse Samantha started my treatments. She is a wonderful & beautiful young lady. I noticed a photo of her & a Chocolate Lab on the back of her ID card. We chatted about all sorts of things. She is very pleasant & very attentive. She checked my blood flow many times throughout the treatments, she reviewed the side effects & also the dosages I was receiving. I had a bit more of the Dacarbazine this time than previously. I don’t mind. The side effects of Dacarbazine include alopecia, nausea, vomiting, flu-like symptoms. Pretty mild compared to cardiac myopathy & peripheral neuropathy! I showed her our wedding photos, as I had them on the laptop.

I visited with a Welsh lady beside me. She had Leukemia & now has to have Gamma treatments once a month. A little bottle of this stuff costs $6000! Crazy! It has a certain cell (neutrophils maybe?) collected from 20,000 different people! But it keeps her neutrophils working & thus, keeps away infections.

They gave me another Ativan & it chilled me out nicely. In fact, I’m typing this in real time & I feel like I can barely keep my eyes open & can barely think straight! I’m sure I’ll be out cold on the way home!

I’ve been very happy thus far at the Peter Lougheed hospital. I must say, the Nurses & Doctors are fantastic & they are taking great care of me. I’m very grateful for the chance to be treated here. The crappy part? I’m on the downward slope of baldness. I have really enjoyed the buzz cut. I’m sad to have to say goodbye to it. I am even more sad to have to say goodbye to my eyebrows & lashes! Small things, I know, but it would be nice to keep them – even if it was only 5 or 10 hairs… Wishful thinking. I’ll just have to practice my make-up artistry in the meantime…

So, there you have it. Round 2 done & dusted. Survived another escapade & as Dr. Daly said, it’s nowhere near as bad as I had expected. Thank goodness!!!

We finished up at the hospital, a quick stop at HomeSense & Winners for Mom to find a frame & then it was home to bed. I was sound asleep by 1800! G'nite all!

A sleepy Maria & lonely Valentina (she didn’t get to come today)

xxxxx

Dr. Lategan - he's really tall & my angle (sitting) doesn't make him look any shorter! What a great Doctor though! Patience of a Saint or is it Patient's of a Saint?!? :oP

My Dancing Partner - I get the multi line machine as I need saline & chemo at the same time.

The treatment room. Everyone's chillin' out.

OMGosh - The Gorgeous Nurse who took care of me today - meet Sam! What a stunner!!!

Day 228 - Receptionists.

This morning I continued my quest to find out more & more information. The Oncologist's nurse called me back & was quite friendly. I still hadn't started the fertility drugs, so my start date of 18 June wasn't looking promising. My stressful day yesterday was feeling further & further away! She informed me of my Doxorubicin dosage, which I will need to clarify if I take the same dosage all the way through or if it fluctuates. If it does, that is great news, because if it doesn't, I'll be nearing the lifetime dose! Yikes!


She also told me my WBC last time was 8.9, which is normal. I asked about the Sedimentation Rate (ESR) & it said on the report that my blood didn't clot... Which I call a great big bull poop on, as my blood clots fine. If you recall, that was the day I had the lady who used my hardened vein, couldn't get a good flow into the vial & had to change the vials a bunch of times. She didn't take enough blood to do the test! Grrr! I'll make sure I get someone different next time. 


The Nurse bumped me to the end of the day's appointments, as I had a lot of questions for the Oncologist. She was very understanding & said that it was okay that I wanted to find out as much as possible. She said it was my life & I had to make the best decisions for me. I was impressed that she said this! Of course, it will still be a challenge to convince the Oncologist that I don't need another CT scan & Bleomycin...


My next call was to Dr. Lategan. He is the Oncologist that my friend Andrea went to. He is South African & arranged for Andrea to be treated at Peter Lougheed instead of Tom Baker. She said he was really nice & pleasant to be around. When I had spoken to my Oncologist's nurse, she mentioned that the Oncologist would be gone for the month of July. I thought I would take the initiative to find out if Dr. Lategan was taking patients & perhaps I could ask my Oncologist if I could be seen by Dr. Lategan for the month he was away. Oh my, oh my... did I get an earful. I'll include the conversation at the bottom of this post.


I was completely stunned. I felt like I'd just stepped out of a bad movie scene or experienced something out of the twilight zone. I have NEVER had such a rude interaction with anyone, even the grumpy passengers I used to have to please on the ship were angels compared to this gal! I was so upset! I called the Medical Registry to find out the procedures for filing a complaint. I found out (the next morning) that if I filed a complaint with the Medical Registry, it would be filed against Dr. Lategan. I don't really want to do this, as I've never met him, but I'm sure he's very nice. My other option was to notify Dr. Lategan of his receptionist's attitude & let him deal with it. I will definitely do the latter, but I'm waiting to see if he'll even see me first! I did send him an email telling him of my intentions, with a small comment about his receptionist's 'ill' behaviour. 


When I spoke to Jaco about it later on, he agreed that the behaviour was over the top & very uncalled for. I felt better, hearing that someone else thought the lady was crazy!


Lawrence stopped by & boosted my car, so I'll see about a quote tomorrow to have the repair work done from the accident. Poor Contemplate! She's no bumper car! 


I spoke with Jenn, finally! She's a busy girl! Sadly, their financial support has fallen through & even though she is working, it's still not enough for them to make ends meet. Mike's paperwork to work in Canada most likely won't be finalized for another 3-5 months, so if you know of any odd jobs & handyman work, leave her a note on the blog. I feel terrible for them, as I can't imagine what it's like to finally have some stability in your life, only to have it pulled away as quickly as it came! 


Her husband, Mike, is traveling to Texas this week to collect the rest of their belongings & bring them back to Canada. Jenn will meet him on the weekend in Montana & then back to Cochrane. She is on her own this week, so I told her if she needs any help, let me know! I haven't babysat since I was 14, but I'll do my best! :o) 


Today was another rainy day, with a nice dump of hail. It did stop raining by the end of the day & the clouds were pretty amazing. I'm still waiting for the heat of summer to come. I love the sunshine! What can I say?


Enjoy your evening... I am!
Love & hugs,
Maria & Valentina
xxxxxx

At least it's not snow!

Little pea-sized hail

Mr. Bull is taking a pelting!

Pretty clouds!

Tucked in bed

Also tucked in bed!

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Here's a recap of the conversation & tail end of my letter to the Doctor:

The receptionist didn’t identify herself & seemed reluctant to talk to me from the moment she answered the phone. It wasn’t until she informed me that I had dialed her direct line that I understood her reservations. I told her I’d found the number online. When I asked to speak with you, she inquired about who I was & what I wanted. I explained my situation and she was immediately defensive.

I asked if you were accepting patients. Her reply was laced with exceptional sarcasm & rudeness:

“Well, you can’t just make an appointment. Your Oncologist would have to discuss it with Dr. Lategan & they would decide what would happen.”

I explained that I was aware of that &, as I had been informed before, I wanted to know if you were accepting ANY patients at all.

Rather than typing impatient, sarcastic, rude, harsh, aggressive & nasty over & over again, just keep in mind those tones for the duration of the conversation.

“Yes, he is taking patients.”

My next question was an inquiry as to how long you’ve been practicing medicine.

“Well, I don’t really see how that is relevant.”

I explained that I certainly did & obviously you are qualified, but I would also like to know how long you’ve been practicing for.

“Long enough”, was her reply.

Okay, is long enough 1 year, 5 years, 10, 20?

“I really don’t see where this is going”, she said. She eventually said she thought you had been in Canada since 2001.

I explained that I have taken the initiative to research & find out as much information as I can about my treatment & that included the Doctors. When she didn’t want to share any information, I asked where I could go to find out.

“The Medical Registry.”

“Okay. Do you have a number?”

“No, I don’t.” Nor could she offer anywhere to find a number.

I then chose to inform her that some of the receptionists I’ve encountered have sure made things difficult. She took this very personally. She made sure I wasn’t indicating just her. I told her, no there were several receptionists that were difficult to deal with.

“I’m NOT a receptionist. I’m a Medical Secretary.”

She went on to explain that there was a difference & she has been doing this job for 28 years, at which point I brought to her attention that it was a bit odd that she could tell me the number of years that she has been working, but could not elude to the number of years that you have been practicing!

After that statement she told me, “You know, I really don’t like where this conversation is going.”

“I really don’t like where it’s come from!” I replied, in complete & utter shock!

At this point she terminated the conversation abruptly.

Additionally, at some point, she asked for my name. I gave her my first name. She asked for my last name. I gave her my married name, which is not on any Canadian paperwork. She inquired about the number I was called from & why it was a different last name. I didn’t bother to tell her I wasn’t calling from my regular phone. When I asked her name, she refused to even share her first name, citing that it was for ‘Privacy reasons’.

I understand that everyone has bad days. However, considering the job she does, she should be accustomed to dealing with people in a FAR GREATER compassionate way than what she did with me. I am fairly tough skinned, but I don’t appreciate being disrespected for asking a few simple & completely relevant questions. There is no reason why I should be treated by a complete stranger. I have every right to inquire about someone’s experience, especially when my health & future are at stake.

If I were a Stage IV cancer patient with a few months to live, that stressful phone call would have cut out a month for certain! That is one of the reasons why I wanted you to be aware of her unacceptable conduct. I would hate to have anyone else go through the same experience that I did.


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What do you think? Was I out of line or was she just plain rude & crazy?