Category Archives: cancer

a good day

25 Tuesday May 2010

Posted by in cancer, chemo, food & drink, friends, hope, hospitals, neighbours, sevilla, work

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After all was said and done my “scary” hospital day yesterday turned out quite well. I’d got up early for yoga class and tried to keep busy doing biz stuff at home later, but I was getting more and more nervous as the day went on. And it was silly because I KNEW that this oncology appointment was just going to be about setting up my next PET scan, but unlike going to get my port flushed out (which I can now do on my own!), actually having to talk to the oncologist makes the whole cancer thing feel more real and threatening somehow. But it went well. Had a nice chat with doctor Ana and, after a bit of consternation on her part, she agreed to let me have the scan early in June, which was what I’d been hoping for. I have so many things on the go that I want to know as soon as possible if I’m going to be okay for the next few months. Also, if this next scan is clean, it’ll be the first summer in three years that I haven’t been on chemo…

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brave

13 Thursday May 2010

Posted by in cancer, chemo, hospitals, life stuff, tapas

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Busy hospital/health care day. First an early morning trip to the health centre to get my bloodwork done in time for my next oncology appointment (May 24th). Then to the hospital later this afternoon to get the chemo port flushed. The blood test is no big deal – other than not being able to have coffee when I get up – as it’s just a short walk to the health centre and I don’t have any scary memories attached to the place. But we all know how I feel about the hospital! Which is why I am so pleased to report that this will be the third time I’ve gone to get my port flushed all by myself. Okay, I still go in a taxi (feels safer somehow), but I time it so that afterwards I can meet Nog after his last class of the day, which is about a ten minute walk from the hospital, and then we go for a drink and maybe a tapa and have a nice walk home. Pretty good, eh?

In fact, I think I deserve a medal!  🙂

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two years ago this week…

06 Thursday May 2010

Posted by in cancer, life stuff

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…  my life changed forever.

On May 5th 2007 I woke up with serious abdominal pains that got worse as the day went on. By the end of the week I’d been sent home twice by the emergency doctors at the private hospital I’d gone to, with them refusing to do the ultrasound I’d asked for, telling me I just had gas pains. But when I went back on Saturday evening they finally realised it wasn’t a hairball and admitted me for observation and further testing. On Sunday around midnight I was transferred to the general hospital for an emergency operation. And a couple of weeks after that I was given the diagnosis – stage IV colon cancer with metastasis to the liver (later they discovered it had also spread to the peritoneum).

So it’s been a week of retrospection and introspection, but mostly it’s been a good week of being alive and feeling healthy. Unlike my friend Gaelen, I have yet to “beat the odds”. I was given a 50/50 chance of surviving for five years and I have to say that it feels pretty damned good to have reached the two-year mark. Meanwhile, the next PET scan is coming up next month and it always feels … well, scary as hell. But today the sun is shining and I am busy working on projects at home. Just letting you know where I am. And reminding myself to enjoy every moment as much as I can.

How are you enjoying today?

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multi-tasking az is back!

04 Sunday Apr 2010

Posted by in cancer, computers, internet, language, life stuff, work

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Things are getting back to “normal” here again after the annual upheaval that is Semana Santa. Part of me really likes how everybody’s routines are totally disrupted during this week, even if they don’t attend any of the processions. I know that if I didn’t live next to the cathedral I wouldn’t bother going out to see them (though I did the first few years I lived here) and I know I would miss that. Sure, it’s a week of unpaid holidays and getting out my front door can sometimes be difficult because of the crowds, but it’s also kind of refreshing to have things shaken up a bit. As usual, this year all of my students (all = 4) cancelled classes for the week, but I ended up working more than ever…

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