Health Issues

Surgery update

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The surgery has been delayed. Pam was supposed to be in the operating room at 12:10, but here we are at 1:45 and we are still waiting to see the surgeon and the anesthesiologist. They have changed procedures since we were here last time.

Previously we didn’t see either one in the waiting room, but apparently an efficiency expert has found ways to streamline operations.  As you can see, it’s been marvelously effective! Hopefully Pam will be out of here before she has to go back for her follow-up on the 11th!

There was an older lady chatting with Pam about how they told her that her surgeon was running a little late. Pam asked her what time her surgery was, and she said 1:15. Then Pam asked her surgeon’s name and of course it is Pam’s surgeon!

Oh said the lady, when is your surgery? When told it was an hour before hers she said, I suppose you’ll be before me?

I can only hope, I thought.

I’ll let you know when she gets in! Actually it was two-hours late that she got in to surgery.

So now we (Maggie and I) wait.

Pam’s surgeon came into the waiting room to see the elderly lady we spoke to before! That was surprising! It’s 3 pm, so the surgery went quickly. She had told the woman she would tell the surgeon to be quick, so I she did-or was!

It will take about an hour for her to come out of the recovery room. She was about an hour and a half in post-op last time so hopefully she will be home in time to watch her beloved Canucks play Dallas. She has been looking forward to finally seeing Cody Hodgson play his first NHL game.

It’s 4:30 and there still is no sign of Pam. I’ve had only three hours of sleep, so I’m really starting to fade. The air in the hospital is very dry and makes breathing a chore.

The waiting room is filled with people silently hoping that all will be well with wife, mother, son or relative. It’s a strange camaraderie that we silently share with each other.

Each time the double doors of the recovery room open, we all look expectantly, hopefully, wishing to see our loved one being wheeled out and returned to us. Whole, healthy and recovered.

—–

Pam and I have just arrived home. It is 7 pm. She is doing ok. She is in a bit more pain than the previous surgery. She did not speak to her doctor, although there really isn’t much for her to tell us. We’ll know more after these lymph nodes are analyzed. There seems to be more blood in the drain than the last surgery as well.

Health Issues

Surgery # 2 Feb 1/2011

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Well today is the day I have to go for my second surgery. This time it is to remove the rest of the lymph nodes in the right axilla (armpit), as there was one lymph of the 3 sentinels that had cancer in it when they biopsied it. So now there is no choice but to remove the rest of the nodes and hope that it stopped there. I will post more when I know more. I expect to be  home this evening, with an incision in armpit, and the drain again. I’m lucky to have a great nurse with me 24/7 named Maurice, and another great nurse, my friend Maggie is coming into town to spend the day with M and me.  🙂 I am sure Maurice will write updates initially post op for me again, as I’ll be too doped up 🙂
Thanks everyone for the support and well wishes and prayers.
…Pam…

Commentary

Megan McNeil

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Megan McNeilI don’t know if any of you have heard of Megan, but she was a young lady from North Delta, just a few blocks from where we live. She was diagnosed with cancer at 16. She went public with her battle and wrote a song called Will to Survive. When music producer Garth Richardson (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nickelback, Motley Crue) heard the song, he immediately wanted to be involved.

Megan McNeilIt’s a touching song, about struggling with childhood cancer. Megan donated all the proceeds of the song, available on Itunes, to a couple of agencies doing research into childhood cancer. I was not aware that much of what is done for adult cancer, doesn’t really apply to childhood cancer.

Megan’s website points out that twenty years ago, only twenty percent of children diagnosed with leukemia survived. Now that’s up to eighty percent! She thinks that if Terry Fox were diagnosed today, not only would he be alive, but he probably wouldn’t even have lost his leg!

Sadly, Megan lost her battle with cancer on Friday, at the age of twenty. RIP sweet child. I hope you’re in a better place, because you made this world a better place!

Her website, The Will to Survive, contains her blog, the agencies she helped and other information. Maybe you can help, too.

Health Issues

Pre Op Assessment done today

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Hi everyone,

Well I had to go back to the hospital to have a pre op assessment done. I’m having a second surgery Feb 1 for the Right lymphadenectomy (where they take out all remaining lymph nodes in right under arm) and so I had to see the pre op assessment nurse, and have a history done, vitals and some teaching.

Then I saw the physio, and she went over some arm exercises I will have to do post op  (reps of 10 each , 3 x a day… ) there are about 5 that I do first day post op, so Wednesday.. and then there are about 5 more that I do when the drain comes out…  again reps of 10 – 3x a day…  So that was good to know those. The aim is to strengthen the arm and to keep joints and muscles moving so I don’t get a frozen shoulder or stiffness, and to help with drainage of area to help prevent lymphedema.. something that can happen when there are no lymphnodes in the arm to help drain sweat and toxins from the body. We went over some thing I need to be wary of, and to try to prevent getting bite or stung or cut on right arm, as that increases my risk of infection..   She also took about 9 different measurement around finger (middle), around hand and wrist and up the arm in about 5-6 spots.. she took them as baseline measurements of right and left arm.  I’ll have to see physio at 1 month, 3 months and 6 months post op.

Then I saw the anesthetist and had a pre op check done as well. He listened to my heart, and lungs, took my vitals, and looked in my mouth and throat and made sure I didn’t have any loose teeth or false teeth. I said to him my teeth are my own 🙂 and they are not loose.. crooked, yes, and I have a couple of crowns on back ones, but other than that…  A ok.

He said I didn’t need another ECG or Xray today so that was good news…  once I saw him I was free to go 🙂 So that took from 0745 – 12:15 ish.. I had some wait between physio and seeing the anesthetist, so I went and read in the cafeteria and had a coffee. I read on my new eReader, a gift from the gals I work with. 🙂

As an aside: I had a weird thing happen last night. I went to bed around 11:30 pm to try to get a decent sleep as I knew I had to be at the hospital early, but I had trouble falling asleep. It was early for me and I wasn’t tired. I was just laying in bed trying to sleep.. I started to have a wee spell of weeping where tears were falling , I guess it was me feeling sorry for myself, but I really had not been thinking of the cancer then, so I don’t know why I started to cry. M was there and asked me if I was crying and I said a little. He put his arm over me and gave me some kleenex and just having him there holding me was what I needed. 🙂 I got all warm and fuzzy and was able to sleep.

Next stop? Feb 1st   Surgery time  12:10

…Pam…

Health Issues

Update: Jan 20th Surgeon's visit

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OK. I just got back from the surgeon’s office and the family Dr.  We were hoping for an all clear margins and lymph. Well, I got half of my wish.  The margins, the area around the original tumor, were clear, so that’s good news. I get to keep my breast. Also the the tumor is estrogen and progesterone positive which is also good news. That means the cancer will respond to treatment by something like tamoxifen.

Short version of the bad news though is that one of the 3 sentinel lymph nodes shows positive for metastatic cancer. There are two small tiny spots, like about the size of a pencil dot on a paper,  1.0mm and 0.5mm,  so very tiny. Which means I have to go back for more surgery and have to have all lymph nodes taken out of right axilla. (should cut down on amount of deodorant I have to use lol)

Anyways second surgery is already booked for Feb 1st. We’re not sure of the time yet, but probably another all day affair. I’ll type up the whole pathology report and send it when I finish letting people know the news.

I will see cancer clinic four weeks post op, and that is when radiation will also start apparently. Family Dr feels I will most likely have to have chemo but that’s up to the Cancer Clinic. Radiation, which I will have to have no matter what, should start around first of March or so. I am off until Feb 21st. Then, when I do go back, it will be for eight hour nights only if and until I’m feeling better. I see my Family Dr on Feb 10th and she and I will assess how I am doing and if I feel I can go back to work by Feb 21st .

It is OK to share this news if anyone asks. I am doing OK. I consider this just another hoop to jump through in this fight to get the cancer out of me. Maurice has been my rock and came with me to the Dr’s office. He had a few tears in the surgeon’s office and car. It’s hard to be brave when you don’t know what it is exactly we have to face yet, but for the most part we are doing OK. At this point, I remain positive and still hopeful.

So not the greatest news; not out of the woods yet. Thanks for thinking of me. 🙂 Thank you everyone for the posts, emails and calls.

If anyone is interested in what the pathology report says, send me an email and I’ll send you it to read.

…Pam…

Health Issues

Dr's Appt in about 40 minutes

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Well we will be leaving in about 15 minutes to go to the Dr’s appointment with the Surgeon. We expect that we will get staging results today. We hope so anyways, at least then we will know what we face.  Maurice is coming with me 🙂 It snowed throughout the night, and it’s still snowing as we got up this AM at 0800. The appointment is for 09:05  so either way, good or bad news, I’ll come on and post the results.

Thanks everyone for keeping me in their thoughts. You most certainly have been in mine. 🙂 I appreciate all of the support, emails, visits, candles lit, prayers and phone calls, flowers, and most recently the gift I was given by some co-workers/friends at the other site where I work. 🙂 All of this has made me feel very spoiled 🙂 but in a good way. Thanks again, and I’ll post any news, soon.

It’s 8:30 now… we will leave home in about 10 minutes. 🙂 How is that for an up to date, blow by blow description of what is happening!? lol

The incisions are starting to heal up to the point where they are now itching me 🙂 they are covered with steristrips so I imagine the surgeon will yank them off today. The drain site has a little drainage. when I took the bandage off this AM to clean it and redress it before seeing Dr, there was a small bit of congealed blood that pulled away on the dressing. so once I see Dr and get the all clear to stop wearing the binder I had put on me during the surgery (for support) I’ll start wearing a sports bra. I wasn’t before as I didn’t want it rubbing along bra line in axilla. I have my list of questions for the Dr. Hopefully I get the answers today! Waiting is a bitch..

Health Issues

Weekend update

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It’s just after dinner here on Sunday night and I noticed we haven’t had an update posted on the blog for a couple of days, so I thought I’d just jot a few thoughts down.

Pam was surprised and happy when Maggie came by with a gift from the nurses she works with… an Ipod touch! It’s a very nice gift and she’s hardly set it down since she got it. She’s got a bunch of her songs installed, and she’s quickly learned to download books into the Reader program. She’s grabbed Sherlock Holmes, some Bronte sisters, and lots of others. She can even user her email and her MSN messenger from the Ipod touch.

Saturday was a tough night for Pam, pain wise. The drain had been removed, but she had trouble sleeping, even just getting comfortable. She’s described the pain as having marbles in her armpit! She’s worried about appearing to be needy, I think, and trying very hard to be brave. And of course she HAS been VERY brave, but I told her it was ok to feel pain, and it didn’t make her a wimp just because she hurt! So after a few tears, we held each other close and drifted off to sleep.

She’s better today, taking fewer pain pills, but still having some discomfort in her arm/shoulder area where the lymphs were removed. She’s been snuggled in her chair reading her books!

I tell you Maggie: you couldn’t have picked a nicer, more thoughtful present for her! Thanks to all the girls who thought of her…

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