Northwind's health updates

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He did lose your Mom, and so many layers therefore of understanding.

(Just noting that my Dad was similair age, and between hearing and comprehension, not sure if he ever really got it)
 
My parents were divorced many years when she died. I think though, her death hit him hard. It is also a factor in his concern for me. We talked about her today. I must remember a lot has happened in the 25 years since her intial diagnosis.
 
Indeed - SO much change in cancer treatment since then. Hard though to remember her journey, I would imagine. Wishing you sunshine on your walk today.
 
I need a hug emoticon

** sorry was in draft mode since yesterday -- hug is for northwind, though big enough for carolla too **
 

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The surgeon just phoned. As expected it will be chemo first and I'll likely see the oncologist this week or early next. The surgeon will get me in to put in port asap. It is estrogen receptor positive which is good.

I really wish the word f*** didn't get altered here.

Reality bites.
 
It does bite. What will your chemo schedule be like? # times/week & how many weeks? Is the clinic local for you? No offense taken if you don't wish to answer my nosy questions :censored:
 
Kill it, shrink it, sounds like a plan.

Keep us posted.

Hoping that the chemo will be ok. Mine was easy to take, but I know there are different types with different impacts.
They will have ton of information for you, and so many helpers.

Things to do as part of your planning

  1. Buy Latex gloves (or similair) for cleaning washroom.
  2. Recipes that you like that are good for constipation
  3. Recipes that you like that are good for diarrhea.

Why?
It is just the cycle of the effects of the chemotherapy and the steroids that you take with chemotherapy.

Also, remember, it is nice to have company when getting chemotherapy. i found it was good to have someone to visit with. Although your partner will likely want to go at least once, remember, it is wonderful to have other people come & help too. It sure made my life nicer.
My chemo was long & slow. I was there for hours. Some people are quick. Having things to do whilst you are sitting is nice. It helps that you are a knitter / crocheter (?)
 
I don't mind the nosey questions. They come from a caring place. I don't know the schedule yet. I'll know more once I've met the oncologist.

Thanks for the tips Pinga. Though, I would improve on one...... get hubby to clean the bathroom. :sneaky:
 
I am unsure how far your treatment centre is from your home, but, one thing that I wished that I had done earlier is mapping out all the washrooms that are public from home to treatment centre. You have a truck, and so if you are in rural areas, having one of those little portie potties isn't a bad idea. (Depends on the drive).

I bought a bag that became my chemo day bag.
it was big enough to hold
a) a change of clothes, especially pants / underwear. What can I say, chemo can have ugly gastro impact.
b) some depends (didn't actually need them as much, but, tended to wear on days where I was goign to be out of contact of a washroom for more than 10-15min)
c) my hospital notes / schedules binder
d) food (long chemo -- needed lunch)
e) some cash for coffee or food for my guest
f) other people had a nice blanket coz their chemo made them cold. I never felt that way.
g) sometimes a deck of cards or other thing to do with a guest (ie accompanist)
h) parking pass

My bag was a lovely Vera Bradley. I think this was the size. It had a bit of a zip on the top (didn't fully close), and a few pockets on the inside and outside. I loved it as it was big, bright & cheerful, and didn't feel heavy.

Hah, yes, I should have said "get hubby size gloves" - hahahaha
 
There don't seem to be any words I can add to those already shared. Just - F**** and similar. Be well cyberfriend - oh yeah - BREATHE it really does help. I found some words!!!!!! Some guided meditations on your phone maybe helpful, check them out on YouTube.
 
Thanks everyone. I'm in Nanaimo so am close to what I need. This is an urban area. I'll have to go in to Victoria for an initial appointment.
 
f***! So I got a call from the BC Cancer Agency today. My happiness to hear from them disappeared when the woman started interrogating me about how long I had been in BC. She's a "why use five words when 25 will do" kind of person. We went around and around and I had no idea what point she was making. I was also becoming more anxious and distressed. I told her we had only planned to be here for the winter and that I had not planned to be in this position. When she said that out of province is only covered for three months, I repeated that point. I also told her I've only accessed the BC system in the past month. I even asked if I should transition to becoming a BC resident and that didn't seem to help. :mad:

So it turns out the issue is that some provinces don't cover every drug so they need to get these forms filled out before treatment can proceed and that it won't delay treatment. She could have explained it quickly and simply without stressing me out.

Oh and as we ended our interactions (after dealing with the forms via fax) she told me not to worry and to not stress. I responded with "too late"

Now I'm a mess. I decided to write this down in the journal I'm keeping. I went to lie down on the bed and stretched my armpit area more than it wanted to be stretched, causing considerable pain. Now that has caused some worry. :rolleyes:

The pain killer is starting to kick in and sharing this is helping.

My plan is to connect with the AB health insurance folks tomorrow. I expect the surgeon's office will call because the papers were faxed there initially. I'll let them know what I experienced. I will also be mentioning this incident at my appointment. Apparently one has been set aside for next week. But I was not entitled to that information without the completed forms. :mad:

f***fuckfuckfuck
 
Northwind said:
f***! So I got a call from the BC Cancer Agency today. My happiness to hear from them disappeared when the woman started interrogating me about how long I had been in BC. She's a "why use five words when 25 will do" kind of person. We went around and around and I had no idea what point she was making. I was also becoming more anxious and distressed. I told her we had only planned to be here for the winter and that I had not planned to be in this position. When she said that out of province is only covered for three months, I repeated that point. I also told her I've only accessed the BC system in the past month. I even asked if I should transition to becoming a BC resident and that didn't seem to help. :mad:

So it turns out the issue is that some provinces don't cover every drug so they need to get these forms filled out before treatment can proceed and that it won't delay treatment. She could have explained it quickly and simply without stressing me out.

Oh and as we ended our interactions (after dealing with the forms via fax) she told me not to worry and to not stress. I responded with "too late"

Now I'm a mess. I decided to write this down in the journal I'm keeping. I went to lie down on the bed and stretched my armpit area more than it wanted to be stretched, causing considerable pain. Now that has caused some worry. :rolleyes:

The pain killer is starting to kick in and sharing this is helping.

My plan is to connect with the AB health insurance folks tomorrow. I expect the surgeon's office will call because the papers were faxed there initially. I'll let them know what I experienced. I will also be mentioning this incident at my appointment. Apparently one has been set aside for next week. But I was not entitled to that information without the completed forms. :mad:

f***f***fuckfuck
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Sorry, I was worried that the interprovincial thing would hit you at some point. What I do know about Alberta is that our hospital drug coverage is actually pretty good. I don't know about cancer specifics, but hopefully that applies too. Do you have private insurance/AB blue cross or something as well? When it comes to things that are atypical I have found that sometimes forms need to be filled out for drug coverage - get the DIN numbers, brand and generic names as soon as you can and while you may not be able to do the forms yourself (some need diagnostic info or whatever extras they need from a doctor) so you can at least get that moving. My social worker is involved with drug access too, she's the one who does the contact between the drug company, the hematologist and the insurance company.
 
I think we think that because of the Canada Health Act, this will be seamless. It is not, and I think this is something we need to fix.

Hugs for good fixes for all of these roadblocks, friend.
 
Despite the fact that our top Cardinal is a paedophile -we do sometimes manage to get things right in this land of former convicts. In Australia, it doesn't matter what state you live in, our Medicare covers you regardless......

If you get seriously ill in Canada, are you expected to head for your home province -or get bombarded with forms, etc? (I mean I love your trains - but enough is enough!

Repeat after me, Northwind, " f, asterisk, asterisk, asterisk".........
Hope things settle down, take three deep breaths!
 
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