MORE TESTS!! NEW DIAGNOSIS!! PREGNANCY!!

  MORE TESTS  
It has been a week and a half since my last post (not including my daily video check-ins) so here we go with another update:

First off, I got the heart test results from November 4th and... well... I have a good strong heart!

I also got the CT scan results and they showed my tumour has shrunk quite a bit which is great news. Remember that I don't need to be in complete remission before my stem cell transplant, I just need to demonstrate chemo-sensitivity, i.e., that the chemo actually does its job.

I am still waiting to see the results of my pulmonary function test, but I'm not worried about that one. The doctor who performed the test made several comments about me having good lungs.

On November 6th I had a dental consult. This is to identify potential sources of infection like gum disease, tooth decay, tooth abscesses, etc. because any of those things could lead to a bacterial infection which could spread to my blood while I'm immunocompromised. They should have just phoned my regular dentist and saved me a trip into town though. Even I could have told them my mouth and teeth are perrrrrrfect! ;)

Remember that all this was happening in the days following my Monday November 3rd chemo session, so in terms of how I was feeling - well - I was slowly on the mend. By the weekend I was well enough to go for a hike with my brother Jeff and my buddy Brad.



This past week was quite busy with more tests and appointments:

On Monday I went over to Vancouver for another appointment with the stem cell doctor. Nothing to report from that. It was an 11 hour travel day, for a 15 minute appointment.

On Tuesday I had to do a 24 hour urine collection which is exactly what it sounds like: I had to pee into a container every time I went potty and then bring it into the hospital lab on Wednesday.

On Wednesday I spent my morning in the hospital getting bloodwork done, as well as having an ECG of my heart, and a chest X-RAY.

On Thursday I went to Vancouver (again) and had a Lumbar Puncture. This was a relatively simple procedure where the doctor (using local freezing and a needle) withdrew some spinal fluid and replaced it with a small amount of chemotherapy. The purpose of this was to make sure my cancer hasn't spread to my central nervous system. Luckily, I found out, it hasn't.

On Friday I met with the apheresis doctor in Vancouver. She is the one who is in charge of my stem cell collection procedure next week. She went over the whole thing, answered questions, and checked my veins to make sure they were adequate for the procedure. She also discovered some blood clots along one of my superficial arm veins, which is not the best of news. I have to try to get rid of them using a warm compress and some local inflammatory drugs, and hope that they don't begin to appear in other deeper veins.

As I mentioned in my last post, the purpose of all these tests is to make sure my body can handle the stem cell transplant. So far, so good!


  NEW DIAGNOSIS  
My oncologist phoned me last week to give me some interesting news. You may remember that two years ago I was diagnosed with PMBCL which is a type of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. We assumed this was a relapse, but my biopsy from September has shown otherwise. I now have Hodgkin's Lymphoma, or more specifically, Nodular Sclerosing Hodgkin Lymphoma. There seems to be some uncertainty now about how this is related to my last cancer, but my oncologist said that the pathologist sent everything to someone else in Vancouver for a second opinion. According to my mom's research, PMBCL and HL are closely related and people who get one will sometimes have a "relapse" where the other one appears. This change in diagnosis will not affect my current treatment plan, and my outlook is apparently still the same. It is still interesting though!



  PREGNANCY  
We found out in September that the high dose chemo and stem cell transplant would likely leave me infertile. This was a pretty big blow because we were planning on starting a family sometime next year.

With only a couple weeks to go before I started chemo, we went to a fertility clinic where I gave some samples to freeze for later use. Then we had a discussion about how expensive it was, and how much it's going to cost to use those samples in the future. We decided that perhaps we should try to squeak one in naturally before I started chemo.

We literally had one weekend for this to work.

And what do ya know... it worked! Kaitlin is pregnant, and due on May 22nd, which is my 30th birthday! This is such exciting news for us in the middle of an extremely trying time in our lives, and it gives us something incredible to look forward to in the Spring. Not only that, but we still have my samples in storage at the fertility clinic for if and when we ever want a second child.

At times it has been somewhat tricky to navigate the waters of pregnancy hormones and tiredness vs. cancer stress and chemo side effects, but overall it was a pretty smooth first trimester. Hopefully it continues that way!

That's all the updates for now. I am heading to Vancouver next Wednesday and will be there until after Christmas, so the next few days will probably be quite busy preparing for that. I will likely do another post next weekend, after my stem cell collection on Thursday.

Thanks for reading,
Christopher

Chemo Cycle 2 Video Check-Ins

I got to thinking that all the videos I've been posting on Facebook and Instagram lately have been made to show what I look like when I'm feeling good - doing pushups and being silly and showing off and stuff. I thought that maybe people would want to see the other side of things, i.e., what I look and feel like in the days immediately following a chemotherapy session, so I made some little video check-ins. The check-ins run from October 27th to November 7th, and I had chemo infusions on the first and eighth day.

You can navigate to all the different clips by clicking the "PLAYLIST" button on the top left of the video box below, or if you hit the play button it will automatically go through all of them.

Vital Organ Test Day 1

Today I spent a good chunk of my time at the hospital getting some tests done in preparation for my stem cell transplant. Since the transplant is an extremely intensive process, the doctors need to make sure that my body will be able to handle it, which I'm sure isn't going to be a problem given my age and overall health.

The first test I had was an RVG Scan of my heart. Click that link to learn more - it's super interesting stuff! Basically the technician took a sample of my blood, mixed it with a radioactive tracer, and then injected it back into my vein. I lay in a machine that looked a bit like a CT scanner, and a special gamma camera took pictures of my heart by detecting the radiation given off by the tracer. I was also hooked up to an electrocardiogram, which monitored my heart rhythm and synced it with the images. I wasn't able to view it because of dumb hospital protocols, but the technician said the pictures they get at the end are essentially like short time lapse videos that show how my heart pumps my blood. See, I told you it was cool!

The next test I had was a CT scan of my neck and chest. I've had lots of these before, but I am eager to get the results because it will show if the chemo has actually been shrinking my tumour this whole time. Please keep your fingers crossed, because my tumour's response to chemotherapy is a big determining factor in whether or not my transplant is going to be successful.

The final test I had today was a Pulmonary Function Test. I sat in a glass box for about 45 minutes and did a bunch of breathing exercises into a hose hooked up to a computer. It was pretty neat because the computer was actually right in front of me so I was able to see a realtime graph of my breath! The good thing about that was I could mostly understand what I was seeing and my lung function is great. Being a trumpet player has paid off I guess!

These were just the first of several more preparation tests I will need to do in the next two weeks. I still have to go for a chest x-ray, a dental consultation, another heart test, a 24 hour urine test, more blood work, and a lumbar puncture.

I had my "Cycle 2 Day 8" chemo infusion yesterday, but I've been feeling alright for the last couple days. Don't forget to go take a look at my video check-ins on YouTube to see how I'm doing on a daily basis.

Thanks for reading,
Christopher

Countdown to "CHRIS 2.0"

My parents and I went to meet my stem cell transplant doctor for the first time on Tuesday. Even though I've been dealing with the whole "cancer thing" for awhile now, the meeting felt as overwhelming as the first time I met my oncologist in 2012.

My prognostic markers are all favourable, which is great news: 

• The period of "disease control" was 2 years. This means that after my six cycles of chemo in 2012, it was nearly two years before I relapsed. Anything more than one year is good news.
• Even though I have only had one cycle so far (stupid low neutrophils) I have shown a good response to the chemo this fall. My cough is gone, my wheeze is gone, and I can't feel a tumour in my chest anymore. If I was not showing a response to this chemo, my transplant would likely fail.
• I am young and healthy. If I wasn't, the transplant could be less likely to work, or I could experience unwanted complications.

Taking all these factors into consideration, the chance of the transplant curing my cancer is somewhere between 50% and 60%. My oncologist had previously said that if the transplant doesn't work there would be other options we could explore, but the stem cell doctor expressed a much graver opinion:

"If you are not cured by the stem cell transplant, the mortality rate will unfortunately be very high."

It's very upsetting to take in something like that.

Since the meeting, I have talked to a few people who have reminded me that there are other options, that everyone is different and that I am not just "another statistic." Those things are ultimately what I believe as well, so I will continue to be strong and optimistic; however, the doctor's words are stuck in the back of my mind and probably will be for a long time.

At the meeting we also learned more about the process of my stem cell transplant. It is happening a lot quicker than I thought it would, which means I will have only one more cycle of my current chemotherapy before it begins. I was initially worried about this because the original plan was to do 3-4 cycles, but apparently my cancer does not need to be in complete remission before I do the transplant. What matters most is that my body shows a response to the chemo.

Here's a basic (tentative) outline of what's to come:

• Next week and the week after I will complete Round 2 of my GDP-R chemo at the Victoria Cancer Agency. Then I have some time to recover before my transplant.
• Starting the week of November 3rd I will need to have a bunch of vital organ tests done in Victoria. This is to make sure I don't have any major problems that could prevent me from having a safe transplant.
• On November 13th I will go back to Vancouver to meet the apheresis doctor. This is the person who will be in charge of collecting my stem cells before the transplant.
• On November 20th I will go to Vancouver again for stem cell collection. I will be hooked up to a cell separator machine via intravenous tubing. My blood will flow out of one arm to the machine where it will spin the blood around at high speed. The spinning separates the different components of the blood into layers based on their weight. The stem cell layer will then be collected and frozen for later use. The remaining blood will be returned to me via the other arm.
• On November 25th I will be admitted into Vancouver General Hospital.
• First, I have a Hickman line inserted. This is an intravenous device that is used to give fluids, blood transfusions, medications, and the stem cells during the re-infusion process. I will be given local anesthetic and a vascular surgeon will insert the line into a large vein in my chest. The intravenous tubing follows the vein all the way to my heart, and the whole thing will stay attached to me until a couple weeks after my transplant.
• On November 26th, I will begin my high dose chemo which is called BEAM. I will have infusions several times every day for six days. This chemotherapy will completely destroy my cancer. It will also destroy every blood cell in my body. Yes... every... single... blood cell.
• Within 24 hours of completing my high dose chemo, I will receive my stem cells back. This process only takes a few minutes and there isn't much to it.
• Because the high dose chemo will kill everything off, I will need to receive red blood cell transfusions and platelet transfusions. The risk of infection will be extremely high, so I may need intravenous antibiotics. As well as the usual hair loss, nausea, and vomiting I will also have mucositis, which is inflammation of the lining of the gastrointestinal tract all the way from my mouth to my derriere. Apparently this will be a real "shitty" time.
• I will then need to stay in the hospital for 2-3 weeks until my blood counts come up a bit, and I am eating and drinking and "well" enough to be discharged. I will need to stay in Vancouver for another week or so after this, because I will be going back to the hospital every couple days for follow-up tests.
• Sometime approximately 4-5 weeks after being admitted to the hospital I will be able to return home to Victoria to finish my recovery. I will be sick and fatigued anywhere from 3-6 months after my transplant, and it can take up to a year to feel completely normal again. Nah... forget that part... I'm usually pretty quick to get better! ;)
• At various points between three months and two years after my transplant, I will need to receive all my childhood vaccinations. Since the transplant is essentially a COMPLETE reset of my immune system, I will no longer have the disease immunity that I did beforehand.
• Three months after my transplant I will get a PET scan to determine if the cancer is gone. And then we will hope and pray that it NEVER COMES BACK.

To sum up: For five weeks, beginning at the end of November, I will go through a high dose chemo and stem cell transplant process that will eliminate my cancer and completely reset my immune system. By 2015 I will essentially be "CHRIS 2.0" .

And then I will have a long, tiring road to recovery.

That's a lot of writing... it's time to make dinner. Before I sign off though, I want to send out a big thank-you to my new cancer-fighting friend Samantha. She saw my story online and reached out to me when I was feeling super overwhelmed yesterday. She introduced herself on Facebook, asked for my number, and then took more than an hour of her time to pick up the phone and call me. There is nothing quite as inspiring as trading stories and sharing hopes and fears on the phone with a complete stranger. Thank-you, Samantha!!!

Christopher

Stem Cell Transplant

I was in Vancouver today to meet my stem cell doctor for the first time. Information overload. I will write a post about it tomorrow!

Chemo Postponed... Again!

Kaitlin and I were on our way to the cancer agency this morning for my second cycle of chemo when one of the pharmacists called to tell me that she was looking at my blood work from yesterday and my neutrophils were still too low to have chemo; in fact, they were lower than last week - 0.45. I talked to my oncologist and he said that since my counts were evidently still going down, it would be risky to do chemo this week because it would increase the chance of life-threatening infections.

Just like last time, this means that I will need to start taking Neupogen each time I have chemotherapy. Oh well... I'm a pro at subcutaneous injections now.

The good news is that this part of my treatment (GDP-R chemo) is not the curative part, so needing to postpone it a couple times will (hopefully) not make a difference to the outcome. The main purpose of the chemo I am doing right now (errr... not doing...) is to shrink my tumour down to a point where the High Dose Chemotherapy and Stem Cell Transplant will be effective.

Another good thing is that this means I will be feeling good for the Light the Night Walk next weekend, but as I mentioned in my last post, the frustrating thing is my whole life is based around my chemo treatments, so when they change everything has to change... and not always for the better!

I am currently on the ferry heading to Vancouver. I will be meeting the stem cell doctor tomorrow so I will probably do another blog post this week once I have more information about that part of my treatment.

Here's a couple nice pictures of Kaitlin and me at the pumpkin patch this past weekend:

Thanks for reading,
Christopher

The Waiting Game

I went to the cancer agency at 9:30 AM to start my second cycle of chemo but the nurse told me my blood work from yesterday showed that my neutrophils were too low to proceed. They won't give you chemo if your neutrophil count is below 1.0, and mine were at 0.65. This happened last time too.

Anyways, they sent me across to the hospital lab for another blood test to see if my counts had come up at all since yesterday. I waited more than an hour to get it done. In that hour, they got through nine people before me. Oh wait... it wasn't even nine people, because a few numbers they called weren't even there! Seriously! A blood test takes two minutes!

Then Kaitlin and I had to wait another hour for the results.

At 1:00 PM a nurse came by and told me that my counts were actually even lower today than yesterday, so I would have to wait a week to start this cycle.  It was really frustrating to hear that, because my entire "regular" schedule (i.e. the rest of my life) is based around when I have chemo.

So now the plan is to go for another blood test next Sunday, and then start my second cycle of chemo on Monday. Then as soon as it's done, Kaitlin will drive me to the ferry, and my parents will pick me up on the other side. I'll spend the night at their place in Langley, and on Tuesday we'll go into Vancouver to meet the stem cell doctor for the first time.

Mom said "You're taking the ferry right after you get chemo? Make sure you bring a barf bucket!"

Thanks mom.

The only good thing from all this is that... well... now I have another week of feeling alright until I have to do chemo again. Even though my neutrophils are ridiculously low and I have no defence against infection (so I probably shouldn't go out in public) I still think I might get out and have some fun! ;)

Here is a hilarious squirrel photo I snapped yesterday. It's entitled "LOOK AT MY NUTS"

Thanks for reading!

Christopher

Pain, Fever, Rash, Two Trips to the Emergency Room, and Amazing Friends

It's been two weeks since I was released as an in-patient from the hospital, and a lot has happened in that time, in terms of side effects from the chemo. It has definitely been a different experience than last time. In fact, I think I told my parents at one point that I was having the "worst week of my life," and thinking back on it, I wasn't exaggerating. Here's a timeline of the last 14 days:

Wed, Sept. 24th - Sat, Sept. 27th
I had my "Day 1" of chemo in the hospital on Monday and Tuesday, because I had surgery on Sunday and they needed to monitor me. Kait's parents drove me home on Tuesday evening, and we had pizza for dinner. I was pretty out of it and only had the appetite for two pieces. If you know me, you'll know that is bad news!

The next four days were a blur of confusion and fatigue, which was about the same as when I was going through chemo two years ago. I didn't feel nauseas at all, but was very "out of it," and I didn't do much other than sleep and eat a little bit. My appetite wasn't too bad, but I definitely lost some weight.

When I'm in this state I hate being out in public. Kait says I don't seem that different that usual, but I feel different... and stupid. I had to take my car to the shop for an oil change and some brake repairs, and as I listened to the words come out of my mouth I felt like I was just babbling nonsense. The same thing happened when I ran into a couple people I know, at Thrifty Foods. I open my mouth to talk, and then I feel myself blushing because I am so self-conscious about how awkward and stupid I sound.

Sun, Sept. 28th - Wed, Oct. 1st
I woke up on Sunday morning with some pain in my chest. It was uncomfortable but bearable; however, as the morning dragged on, the pain got worse. Every time I took a breath it felt like what I imagine a broken rib might feel like when a person breathes. I complained enough about it that Kaitlin said I should go to the hospital. Not wanting to do that unless it was absolutely necessary, I phoned the hospital and asked for the oncologist who was on-call that day. She called me back within a few minutes and I described the pain, through slightly-gritted teeth. She said I needed to go to the emergency room because the pain could be a blood clot in my lung, and she would call ahead to make sure I could get in quickly without waiting.

At 1:00 I drove myself to the emergency room at Victoria General Hospital. When I got there, the nurse took all my vitals and I was sent for some blood work. Then I went to a waiting room and sat for awhile until another nurse checked out my vitals and said "now you get to wait to see the doctor."

I waited for awhile, until the doctor was able to see me. He took an ultrasound of my lungs and heart and said he didn't see anything alarming, but I would need to go for a CT scan. So the nurse put an IV line in my arm, and I had to wait some more.

Sometime around 5:00 I went down the hallway for a CT scan. Then I came back and waited some more.

After about an hour, the doctor came back and told me that my CT scan results were normal. He said that the only thing he could think of is that my tumour was breaking down quickly from the chemo, and basically tearing at the things it's attached to in my chest. He said that my CT scan actually showed a small decrease in the size of my tumour which was great news, but being in so much pain prevented me from really caring. Anyways, I was given a prescription for Tylenol #3, and sent on my way.

Total time in the Emergency Room: 5 hours. Result: T3s.

The T3s did absolutely nothing for my pain, and as the evening wound on, it got worse. I was at the point where I couldn't take more than tiny gulps of air because every time I took a breath it felt like I was being stabbed.

I didn't sleep, and Kaitlin said I was whimpering like a dog all night long. By Monday morning the pain was radiating to the left side of my neck, and down my shoulder. It was all I could think about. It was completely consuming. It was mind-numbing, vision-blurring, excruciating pain. I didn't care about anything else except for wanting it to stop. I have never experienced physical pain like that in my life, and it wouldn't go away.

I had my "Day 8" chemo on Monday morning, so Kaitlin drove me to the cancer agency. I told the lady at the front desk what was going on, and a nurse whisked us away to a private area where she checked my vitals, and got me to describe everything that had transpired over the last 24 hours. I saw TWO oncology doctors, who both looked at my blood test results and CT scan, and said everything looked normal and again - the only thing they could think of is that the tumour was breaking down, and irritating everything around it. One of them said that if the pain got worse (like that was possible) that I should go back to the ER, because the tumour-breakdown could possibly cause some internal bleeding. But for now, all they could do is help manage the pain.

I was given two shots of morphine, plus a prescription. I completed my chemo, and went home.

For the rest of the day and throughout the night I took as much morphine as I was allowed to take, and it numbed the pain slightly, but not much more than that. The oncologist phoned me in the morning to see how I was doing, and promptly upped my dose. Taking 15mg every three hours helped the pain a lot more, and I spent most of the day sleeping. I got up once and hugged the toilet bowl, but the nausea passed within 10 minutes and I didn't throw up.

I slept on-and-off throughout the night, but woke up on Wednesday morning tentatively feeling like the pain wasn't quite as bad. I took a slightly-smaller dose of morphine to "test the waters," so to speak, and lay around on the couch for most of the morning.

After lunch I started to feel a bit shaky and cold, so I took my temperature. I had a fever of 38.3°C.

Shit.

A fever indicates possible infection. Fever is concerning if it occurs at a time when the white blood count level is low (i.e. after chemotherapy) because during this time the body's normal defences against infections are down. An infection in this state can be life-threatening, because it can lead to sepsis. So even though my fever wasn't that high, I needed to go to the emergency room.

The emergency room is no fun, so I called the cancer agency first, just to make sure...

...and of course they made me go.

I have a "cancer patient" letter that gets me into the ER pretty quickly if I have a fever, so within 15 minutes of arriving, I was in an isolation room getting my blood taken, and vitals checked. Within 20 minutes of that, they had the results of my blood test. My white blood cell and neutrophil counts were high enough that if I did have an infection, my body would be able to fight it off as it normally would. The doctor told me that the fever could also be a side-effect from my chemo on Monday, but even if it is merely a side-effect, if it happens again I will need to go to the ER again.

Hopefully this doesn't happen every time!

Thu, Oct. 2nd - Wed, Oct. 8th
By Thursday morning my fever was gone, and my chest pain had subsided considerably. I took one morphine pill when I got up in the morning, and that was the last one.

By Thursday evening I had developed a rash on my thighs, waist, and back. I checked my chemo notes, and indeed, rashes are a common side-effect of Gemcitabine. I was feeling pretty out of it again, so I didn't do much on Thursday and Friday.

I felt half-decent on the weekend! We went for an early Thanksgiving dinner at Kait's aunt & uncle's house in Mill Bay on Saturday evening, and on Sunday we bought 25 lbs of apples at the Metchosin Apple Festival!

On Monday I felt pretty good so I did a tiny workout: 100 push-ups, 20 pull-ups, and 50 squats. It was pretty hard do even do that, (forget even thinking about lifting weights) but it felt good to be able to exercise at all.

On Tuesday morning I woke up feeling good, and thought I would attempt my regular 6km running route. I made it to 2km and felt like I was going to fall over, so I ended up walking a shortcut home. Total distance: 3km. Oh well.

I did have some fun yesterday...

As you may know, I got a music contract this year but had to go on sick-leave so it was reposted. Kait ended up getting the contract, and I will return when my treatment is complete and I am well enough... hopefully by the Spring. Anyways, it works out well because I can help her a bit from home. She is currently doing a "STOMP" composition project with a couple of her music classes, and she asked me to make a tutorial video to show the kids. This is what I came up with. The exciting part starts at 4m:15s, but you could also just watch the whole thing 'cause you might learn something:



Anyways... I've made it to today, and that was a long blog post! I guess I should update it more regularly so you don't have to read such a novel.

I always say that.

Thank-you to everyone who has been donating to my page for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada's "Light the Night Walk" Victoria. At the time of writing this, I have fundraised $4,909 towards my goal of $5000. Special thanks to Greg and Ruskin Construction for their huge $1,000 donation!

Thank-you Ruth-Anne and the staff of Sooke Elementary for the well-wishes and Superstore gift card. I don't even work there anymore and you folks are still taking care of me!

Thank-you Venessa, for stopping by our house yesterday with a get well card and literally hundreds of dollars in gift cards for Thrifty Foods, M&M Meats, Tim Hortons, and the Little Thai Place restaurant... from her, Jeff, Leta, Joey, Meaghan, Ryan, Sarah & Chris. You are all amazing. Seriously.

Thank-you Shannon, for taking the time to cook us a dozen (or more!?) meals for our freezer. The stew was so good and I can't wait to eat the rest! If I had it my way, we'd eat all of the meals at once, but Kait says we need to save them for the weeks where the chemo makes our lives suck. I think she's probably right.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading my ramblings, and let me know if I need to correct anything... I don't proofread when it's this long!

Christopher

Back Home Again

My new "cancer fighting" shirt from Roots!

Today I was finally "officially" discharged from the hospital and able to cut off my wristband and return home for good... for now!

I have to send a huge thank-you out to all the nurses in the Patient Care Building, 8 South, at Royal Jubilee Hospital who took care of me - especially Scott and Halima. I'm not sure if either of you will ever see this, but your company, care and compassion were the absolute best part of my stay. I cannot express enough how thankful I am for your care! :)

Here's how my chemo cycles work for those of you who have been asking:

Each chemo cycle is 21 days long, and I am doing a chemo regiment called GDP + Rituximab. On "Day 1" of each cycle, I am infused (IV) with three drugs - Gemcitabine, Cisplatin, and Rituximab, over a period of several hours. Additionally, on Days 1-4, I take 40mg of Dexamethasone each morning, orally. On "Day 8" of each cycle, I will be infused with more Gemcitabine. Then I basically have two weeks until I do it all over again. I will be doing 3-4 complete cycles of this regiment, which will take me into late November or early December, and then I will have my stem cell transplant which I still know very little about.

Today I am feeling pretty crappy and out of it. I'll probably do a post soon to describe the side effects, depending how they differ from the CHOP-R chemo I did two years ago.

That is about all for now. Thank-you to everyone who has been helping me over the last couple weeks - Shannon for making us a ton of freezable meals, Kelli for mailing me some wind-up dinosaur toys (hehe), Anna for popping by with some delicious munchies, Jordie for helping me to mellow out, Mark, Eden, Jeff, Gord, and Darlana for visiting me in the hospital, Jean for sending Kaitlin and I for a fancy dinner before all this started, everyone who has donated to my Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada Light the Night Walk Victoria fundraiser - I've now raised $2600 towards my $5000 goal...

...and of course the biggest thanks of all to my loving wife Kaitlin, my parents Reed & Aven, Kait's parents Gord & Darlana, my sister Jean, and my brother Jeffrey. I couldn't do this without your endless love and support!!!

Thanks for reading,
Christopher

Hospital Time

A lot has happened in the nine days since my last post. I've been writing little daily updates on my Facebook page, forgetting that a lot of you reading this aren't on my Facebook page. Sorry!

On Monday morning - September 15th - I went to Royal Jubilee Hospital for my bone marrow biopsy. It was essentially the same as last time; 5 minutes of discomfort, 5 seconds of excruciating pain, and 5 hours of not being able to walk. I felt sore, but okay by the evening so and Kaitlin and I went for a nice walk along the Ogden Point Breakwater with our good friends Brad & Jasmin. Follow that link for some beautiful pictures of the sunset.

On Tuesday morning I went back to Jubilee for a CT-Guided Biopsy of the tumour in my chest.

Here's how it worked:

I lay on the CT scanner bed, and went through a couple times to get an image of the tumour. The machine used a laser to project crosshairs on my chest, and the doctor traced over them with a felt pen, so he knew exactly where to insert the needle. He injected some local freezing into the site, and then inserted a wide hollow needle an inch into me. The CT technician then ran me though the machine for another scan. The needle showed up on the scan, and the doctor was able to see that it was headed in the right direction. Next, he pushed it further so it was inserted into my tumour, and then inserted a second smaller needle inside of it. The smaller needle had a handle with a trigger on top, and when he pulled the trigger it made a KU-THUNK sound as it grabbed a sample. He did this twice in total.

My chest was a bit sore afterwards, but as the day went on it felt better and I was well enough to go climbing at CragX that evening.

On Wednesday I got up at 5:00 AM so I could make sure I caught the 7:00 ferry. My PET scan at the BC Cancer Agency (Vancouver) was at 10:40, and since there was no 8:00 ferry, it meant I would just have to get there a bit early.

I arrived at the Cancer Agency around 9:30, and was informed that they were running behind so my appointment likely wouldn't start until 11:15. I hadn't eaten since 10:00 the night before so hearing that made me a bit grouchy. I went for a stroll down some of the nearby streets, and got back to the BCCA at 11:15. I was informed that it was still going to be a little longer so I begrudgingly plunked myself down into a chair and got comfy.

When all was said and done, it was 2:00 PM and I trudged down the street in search of food. I came across a decent looking place on Ash & Broadway, called Rogue Kitchen & Wetbar. I was drawn in by the sandwich board that read "Be the first person to show me how to get the new U2 album off my iTunes, and receive your lunch for free!"

I wandered inside and after being seated and ordering some food, I inquired if anyone had cashed in on the free lunch offer yet. The answer was 'no' and so I told the manager how to get the new U2 album off his iTunes, and he paid for my lunch. The food was great, and I would highly recommend it to anyone!

I managed to squeak onto the 5:00 PM ferry back to Victoria, and arrived back home at 8:30. Talk about a long day!

On Thursday I went for an appointment with my oncologist and he had some frustrating news for me: The CT guided biopsy sample was insufficient for diagnosis, and the only way to get a better sample was through surgical biopsy.

The reason this procedure needed to happen in the first place is so my oncologist can be 100% sure that it is indeed a relapse of the same type of lymphoma I had previously. There is a very small chance it could be a different type of lymphoma, and if it was, I would require a different kind of chemo.

My oncologist did not want to delay starting chemo any longer, so I was admitted to the hospital on Friday which put me on a standby list to have the surgical biopsy over the weekend.

It was another case of the Starvation Blues waiting for the biopsy, because I wasn't allowed to eat after midnight on Saturday, and my biopsy didn't end up happening until around 4:00 PM.

My 8th floor view at Jubilee Hospital

Waiting for surgical biopsy with Kaitlin

I was under general anaesthesia for my biopsy, so I obviously don't remember anything about that procedure! I can tell you, however, that I have an incision several inches long on my chest, and I was in a great deal of pain for most of the night.

This morning (Monday) I woke up and could barely move due to the pain. I managed to pull myself out of bed, get dressed, drink some water, and wash my face before I was clinging to the toilet bowl, trying not to throw up. I got all sweaty and tingly, and almost blacked out before the nurse got me back into bed with some pain medication. I've never had that happen before!

Awake after surgery. Unfortunately, the smile was short-lived!

I hung around and rested for most of this morning in the hospital, and started my first cycle of chemo a few minutes ago - in the early afternoon. I have one more drug to be infused tomorrow, and they say they want to "keep me for observation" for another day or two after that. I may attempt to escape earlier.

That's all for now.

Wait... I almost forgot...

A number of people have been asking why I will be unable to teach for part (or all) of this year. Didn't I have some weeks, last time I did chemo, where I felt okay?

Yes, indeed, I did. However, the issue with chemotherapy is that it destroys the immune system. Doing chemo means I need to be wary of something called Febrile Neutropenia - if I were to get an infection while my white blood cell count was so low, it could be potentially fatal if left untreated. And we all know how much elementary schools are germ cesspools.

In terms of when I will be able to return to work, right now it's looking like I will be on chemo until December, and then I will have my stem cell transplant in Vancouver. As far as I understand it, I will be in the hospital there for at least a month. Following that, I think there is a period of close observation and if I make it to 100 days post-transplant with no problems, then I'm doing well. I have it in my head that I will be able to start teaching again after Spring Break, but at this point it's impossible to say for sure. The only thing that is certain is that I am pretty bummed out to not be teaching this year.

That's all for now. I will write another post when more stuff happens!

Thanks for reading,
Christopher

Quick Update

My PET Scan in Vancouver was postponed until last week because they ran out of the radioactive tracer that needs to be injected in my body for the scan. Apparently this is an ongoing problem. Anyways, after a few phone calls on Thursday, everything got sorted out and now I have a fun-filled week ahead of me:

Mon, Sept 15 - Bone Marrow Biopsy (ouch!!)
Tue, Sept 16 - CT-Guided Chest Biopsy (even more ouch!!)
Wed, Sept 17 - PET Scan in Vancouver
Thu, Sept 18 - Oncologist Appointment
Fri, Sept 19 - First chemo session

That's all for now. I will probably write a longer post this week, or next weekend.

Thanks for reading,
Christopher

Light the Night Walk 2014

Donate HERE or join my team HERE.

For the second year in a row, I have decided to take part in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada's Light the Night Walk Victoria. This year it is taking place on October 25th at the Red Barn Market on West Saanich Road.

Last year my personal fundraising goal was $1000, and my team goal was $3000. In less than a month, we ended up fundraising $5000!

This year my personal goal is to raise $5000. I am walking as part of the Red Barn Market team, and our overall goal for the Victoria LTN Walk is $30,000.

Why am I doing this?

I have a blood cancer, and the LLSC helps people with blood cancers. They are an excellent organization. Full stop. 

What is the Light the Night Walk?

Each year, in communities across Canada, teams of families, friends, co-workers and local and national corporations come together to raise funds for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada's (LLSC's) Light The Night Walk events and bring help and hope to people battling blood cancers. In 2013, nearly 25,000 people participated, raising over $5 million.

If you would like to find out more about where your dollars go, please visit the LLSC website. 

Anyways, here is the point: I am writing this post to humbly ask for your help in supporting the cause, in the form of a small donation. You can head on over to my fundraising page here if you're able to give, or if you'd like to even join my team and help with the fundraising, you can do so here.

Thank-you very much!!!

Best,

Christopher


My story is also on the LLSC Website which you can view by clicking the image below!

The Cancer Returns

It's been so long since I've written anything substantial here that I almost forget how to do it.

I guess I'll get straight to the point.

It appears that my lymphoma has relapsed, and I am going to have a tougher fight ahead of me than last time.

Shit.

About four weeks ago, I got a bit of a chest-cough, which turned into a cold that eventually subsided. The cough stuck around however, and when I exercised a wheeze began to present itself in my breathing, so after a couple weeks I went to see my family doctor about it. He put me on antibiotics, gave me Alvesco (a corticosteroid inhaler) and sent me for a chest x-ray because of my history with lymphoma.

Unfortunately, the x-ray results came back showing an approximately 8x10 cm mass in the same location as the tumour I had previously dealt with. The news was pretty unexpected for me, because I was coming up to two years in remission and I had been so healthy! Even though I had a 50% chance of relapsing, I guess I just thought that it was over and done with.

I went for blood work twice last week. The first test was normal and the second one, almost a week later, showed declining WBC and Neutrophil counts, as well as an increasing Lactate Dehydrogenase count - all signs that corroborate our worst fears.

After a week of stressing out, Kaitlin and I went to see my Oncologist at the BC Cancer Agency yesterday and he laid out the plan for us.

I will need a CT scan (which I did yesterday) and a PET scan (in Vancouver next week) to confirm that my lymphoma has relapsed, and then starting in two weeks from now I will begin to undergo chemotherapy again. I will likely require 3-4 rounds of chemo, which will last approximately 12 weeks. It will be different drugs than last time, but I think the side effects are essentially the same. Following that, I will require one round of high-dose chemo and a stem cell transplant which is a risky and complicated procedure that will put me in reverse isolation for several weeks - or longer - at Vancouver General Hospital.

Other than this whole thing being an extremely significant emotional burden on Kaitlin and me, it also means that I will be unable to teach for most - or all - of this year. These procedures will completely destroy my immune system, so catching any sort of common colds or flus would be a fast track to the emergency room.

It's hard to let something like that sink in.

We don't really know much more than this right now. Although I need to wait for my CT and PET scan results before everything gets started, as my oncologist said "if it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck..." (how is that supposed to end... "it's your lymphoma"...?)

I will write another post when I know more.

Thanks for reading,
Christopher

PLEASE NOTE: If you have hired me to DJ your wedding (or other event) next year, I am still planning to do it. If you were thinking about hiring me but haven't yet, please do! I would only advise against booking me if your event is before March, 2015.

Blog Update

Since I'm currently one and a half years in remission and healthy as a horse, I will likely only be updating this blog once a year from now on. If this is your first time here, I would encourage you to explore the "Blog Archive" dropdown menu on the right side of this page. Starting from the beginning and reading my posts in chronological order probably makes the most sense. Google Blogger doesn't allow me to rearrange my posts from oldest to newest, so your best best is to just keep going back to that dropdown menu to click the next one. :)

If you have been diagnosed with lymphoma yourself (or know someone who is) and want to talk about it, don't hesitate to contact me. If you live in Victoria, I am also willing to meet for coffee or whatever -- I'm a great listener, and have endless amounts of positive, encouraging energy!  You can get in touch through the contact page of my website.

Thanks for reading,

Christopher

Light the Night Walk 2013

Hi everyone,

I have decided to celebrate my one year of remission by taking part in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada's Light the Night Walk 2013, which is on October 26th at the University of Victoria.

For the last few years I have taken part in the Movember cause, last year raising more than $1000 to support mens' health initiatives. I have chosen something a little closer to home this year, and have set a personal fundraising goal of $1000, and a team fundraising goal of $3000. This is a lot of money to raise in less than a month.

That's where YOU come in!

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada supported me when I was battling cancer, so I feel drawn to support them in return. I am writing this post to humbly ask for your help in supporting the cause, in the form of a small donation. You can head on over to my fundraising page here if you're able to give, or if you'd like to even join my team and help with the fundraising, you can do so here.

If you would like to find out more about why you should donate, and where your dollars will go, please visit the LLSC website. Thank-you so very much for your support!

Best,

Christopher

**UPDATE: WE RAISED MORE THAN $5000, AND GOT AN AWARD FOR RAISING THE MOST MONEY AT THE EVENT!!**

One Year, Cancer-Free!

This post is dedicated to Emma Smith, who is a brave young lady diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour nearly a year ago. She goes to one of the schools I work at in Victoria, and the way that she and her family and friends have taken on this challenge has been a constant source of inspiration for me. Emma is so strong, and one day, she too will be able to say "one year, cancer-free."

GO TEAM EMMA!!!
______________________________________________________________________________

I am here to tell you, in no uncertain terms, that I have been cancer-free for one year. Four more to go until I can officially say that I am "cured," whatever that means! 

I was supposed to go see my oncologist for a check up for the first time since April, but the appointment ended up falling on my first day of teaching for the fall so I had to phone and reschedule. Unfortunately, the receptionist said the next time they could get me into the Cancer Agency was November, which was a little worrisome. After all, I was supposed to have check-ups every three months for the first year of remission, and I had only been twice... total! Dr. Yee phoned me back the following day, however, and our conversation went something like this:

Dr. Yee: Hi Chris! I got a message that we had to reschedule for November. How are you doing?

Me: I'm doing great! How are you?

Dr. Yee: Fine thanks. So everything is good? Nothing has changed with your health since April?

Me: Well I think my biceps got a little bigger 'cause I've been working out lots...

Dr. Yee: You have lots of energy! Well I am not worried about you, so November will work fine. If you notice anything change with your health before then, make sure you call me and we will get you in here right away.

Me: Sounds good, doc. Have a great day!

Dr. Yee: Thanks. You too, Chris. See you later.

After I hung up I realized that I had forgotten to ask him about my memory. The only thing that has been bothering me a little bit this year seems to be residual brain-mush from the chemotherapy. It isn't bad enough that I wanted to phone him back right away, but my memory has definitely not returned to normal. I find that I am often having mind-blanks on really simple things, mostly just random words or names. I am also sometimes having difficulty multitasking, comprehending things I've just read, and focusing on the thread of a conversation. You know how it feels when you've just woken up in the morning, and you're not quite "all there" yet? It's kind of like that, and is exacerbated when I'm tired. 

Perhaps if I do some sudoku and word games I can help myself. 

When I described this to my parents in more detail, my dad's response was "that sounds like me when I turned fifty!" All joking aside though; if my brain is still like this in November, I will definitely need to talk to Dr. Yee about it. When I did a quick search on Google, I learned that longterm "chemo brain" is a problem that does indeed affect some people, and that the solution is often referral to a neuropsychologist for assessment and treatment. That sounds a bit overly dramatic when I write it, like I am dealing with some major cognitive problems, but I also don't want to understate what I've noticed over the last year: My brain hasn't quite returned to normal and it sometimes bothers me.

Anyways, that's about all I can muster for a cancer-related post! Most of you reading this probably already know about all my other important life-updates -- from my incessant Facebook postings -- but for the rest of you I would love to quickly share what else I've been up to since my last post back in April.

• I got a five week (full time) contract in May and June, teaching music at an elementary school here in Langford. This was perfect timing at the end of the school year because it meant that I got a bit of seniority, as well as being bumped up a hiring category when applying for Fall jobs. Not that I was expecting to get a contract for the Fall, being a lowly first-year-after-graduating-teacher-on-call and all.
• I applied for a bunch of jobs and ended up getting a .573 contract (three days a week) teaching music at an elementary school in Sooke for the entire 2013/14 school year! It's been great so far, because they hadn't had a music teacher for at least 10 years prior to me, which means that I am essentially building the music program from scratch... which is also kind of scary!
• Kaitlin and I got married in July. She's the love of my life, and our wedding was PERFECT in every possible way. Nothing beats being celebrated by 120 of your closest friends and family members! We took off to Maui for 10 days following our wedding, and I want to move there now. I have included some photos at the end of this post, and you can check out the rest here (wedding) and here (honeymoon) if you have nothing better to do!
• We went to Vancouver at the end of August to my sister's wedding. Talk about a busy summer for the Poynter family, eh? It was so much fun because they had a live band, and Kaitlin and I absolutely tore up the dance floor at the reception! Congratulations, Jean and Cory! 

Okay, that's all. This is the weakest blog post conclusion ever, but it's time to go for a bike ride with my new helmet. I'll blog to ya again in November!

Best,

Christopher

Just Married!!!

Just Maui'd!!!

Christopher, Jean, and Jeffrey Poynter, at Jean & Cory's wedding!

Second Check-Up Since Remission

Long-time-no-blog!! I thought I should just pop in here to write that I had a CT scan at the end of February, a blood test at the end of March, and an appointment with my oncologist on April 3rd. Everything looks great, so instead of sticking to the original plan of clinical observation check-ups every three months, I don't need to go back until next September.

I've been feeling a tad emotional lately, thinking about how this whole thing started a year ago. It seems almost surreal when I consider that this time last April I had a melon-sized tumor in my chest that was about to be diagnosed as Stage IV cancer, with a statistical 50/50 chance of being cured.

I also want to mention something that is weighing heavily on my heart at the moment. A colleague of mine beat breast cancer five years ago, but unfortunately, her disease has recently metastasized in her bones. She's optimistic, tough as nails, and has a smile on her face, but your thoughts and prayers would be greatly appreciated.

2013-04-06: Mt. Manuel Quimper Summit

Speaking of life, I have been teaching on-call pretty much full-time. I got onto the Greater Victoria TOC list in January, so I am now splitting my time between that, the Sooke School District TOC list, and my after-school care job at Cloverdale Traditional School. Working from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. makes for some long days, especially since I've been waking up at 5:00 a.m. to run, swim, or lift weights, but aside from feeling a little tired by Friday, it has been pretty awesome: My body is in excellent shape, and I'm learning so much while engaging in the beginning of my career.

In other news, Kaitlin and I are getting really excited about our wedding, because it (and our 10 day Maui honeymoon) is less than four months away! Indeed, it really is going to be an eventful summer for our family... I'm not sure if I mentioned it previously, but my sister Jean is also getting married this summer! Here's a picture that Mom snapped of Kaitlin, me, Jean, and Cory, the "nearly-weds," on the Easter weekend:

Here's a nice photo of Kaitlin and me, from a fun little photo shoot with our wedding photographers:

(We needed something for the invitations, because I look "cancery" in our engagement pictures)

Anyways, that's my little update for April! I don't know how much more I'll be writing in this blog... although... I've been thinking about maybe changing the title, and just keeping it up as a life-and-times kinda thing... but I'm not sure yet.

Woah... I just checked and this thing is almost at 20,000 views!?? Thanks for reading, and have a beautiful end to your week :)

Christopher

First Check-Up Since Remission

I'm a little late updating this because it is a busy time of year, but I just wanted to post that I went for my first quarterly check-up and blood work on November 29th, and I am still healthy as a horse, i.e., still cancer-free! I will be going for a repeat CT scan before my next check-up in late Winter, but other than that, my visits to the oncologist will continue to be clinical observation based.

As far as life goes, I have been teaching (on call) several times each week, in various grades K-7, as well as a few music classes. I'm still working at my daycare job, and have DJ'd for a couple events in the last month. After a month living together, Kaitlin and I are loving our new place, which I might add, is currently decked out for Christmas. One of the things I appreciate most about our suite is that we have a spectacular view of Southern Vancouver Island, the Pacific Ocean, Olympic Peninsula, and various Westshore mountains. This photo was taken from our backyard, looking West:

One last thing: Thank-you to everyone who donated to the Movember cause this year. I exceeded my goal of $1000, and ended up getting the cool incentive prize of a pocket knife and certificate.

My next post will most likely not be until after my check-up on April 3rd, so until then, thanks again for reading. I hope you have a wonderful, blessed, peaceful Christmas... and get all the presents you asked for!

All the best,
Christopher

Movember 2012

I thought I would do a quick post on here to say that I have been doing well over the last month and a half since I went into remission. I proposed to Kaitlin on September 29th, during our weekend trip to Tigh-Na-Mara Resort, and am excited to say that we have set a date, booked the venue, and started on all the rest of the planning for next summer!

We also moved in together on November 1st, and the set-up of our new place is coming along well.

The second part of this post is that I want to mention I have joined in the "Movember" cause for the fourth year and I would love all the help I can get! For those of you who don't know about this, let me explain: You grow a moustache during the month of November and collect donations for Movember Canada, which directly supports men's health initiatives, more specifically, prostate cancer awareness & education, survivorship, and research. It's a fantastic cause, and I believe strongly in it, so if you are reading this and are able to make a donation I would be eternally grateful! As of today I have raised $415. My goal is $1000. You can donate here... and THANKS!!!

Thanks for reading,

Christopher

The Day My Cancer Went Away

I took this photo from the balcony at my parents' house in Langley this morning. I think it is a good representation of what I am about to write about in this post. What? I gave it away in the title? Crap!

I had my CT scan last Thursday, and then I went to the mainland this weekend for my grandma's celebration of life, and my PET scan, returning to Victoria this morning.

The celebration of life was on Sunday afternoon, and it was a beautiful memorial with a good many wonderful stories, tears, and laughter. Grandma, your time came too early, and you sure are missed, but all of us are comforted by the way in which you live on in our hearts.

On Monday I hung around my parents' house, did a couple errands and chores, and went out for dessert with a friend in the evening.

On Tuesday morning I called my doctor's office and got the results of my CT scan which was really promising: 

The large complex anterior mediastinal mass has significantly decreased in size. The dominant 11.3 x 7.2 cm mass has almost completely resolved. A small amount of residual soft tissue thickening is present measuring 4.2 x 1.7 cm. An adjacent 4.7 x 3.2 cm mass previously measured 6 x 5.1 cm. No focal pulmonary nodules. No evidence of pleural or pericarial effusion. The visualized upper abdomen is unremarkable. No focal osseous abnormality demonstrated. IMPRESSION: prominent treatment response.

It was good to hear that the chemo had worked pretty well, even though I knew I was still most likely going to have to undergo radiation therapy.

I wasn't allowed to eat from 7:00 am until after my PET scan, so needless to say, by the time it got underway at 1:30 I was starving. My close friends and family know how much I eat during the day. Anyways, I was taken into a private room and administered the radioactive tracer via IV. The nurse dimmed the lights and told me that I needed to relax for 45 minutes, because if I did much of anything the PET scan would light up in the wrong places and block what they needed to see. I would highly recommend that you go read this Wikipedia article on PET scans because it is incredibly interesting, and the whole "resting thing" will make sense without me trying to explain it here. At any rate, I put on some music on my iPod, and ended up falling asleep. The next thing I knew, the nurse was shaking my foot and yelling my name. Apparently it's hard to wake me up when I'm snoozing. "At least you weren't snoring!" she said. After that, the experience was not much more than a 20 minute long CT scan.

I went to Jericho Beach with some friends following my PET scan, and then met up with my parents, my brother, and his girlfriend, for dinner at the Acropol Greek Restaurant on Broadway.

I returned home to Victoria today, and went to work at my after school care job this afternoon. 

Fast forward to 3:30 and I was reading a story to the kids when my phone rang. Every call has been something to do with my cancer these days, so I put the book on hold to grab the call. Sure enough, it was the BC Cancer Agency number on my call display, so I asked my coworker to finish reading while I went outside.

The caller was my oncologist and I don't remember exactly what he said because I've been in a bit of a daze ever since, but, well, my cancer didn't show up on the PET scan which means I am in remission, with the statistical chance of recurrence being only 10% over five years. And if the cancer doesn't come back in five years I'll get to say that I'm "officially" cured. I don't need to go see the doctor tomorrow anymore. I don't need to do radiation anymore. I don't need to tell people I have cancer anymore. 

I'll be going in for check-ups every three months (the first one is November 29th), and another CT scan in January to keep an eye on things, but for now I think it is pretty safe to say that I just beat Stage 4 Primary Mediastinal Large B-Cell Lymphoma in the Summer of 2012.

Note: For those who have been asking, the "soft tissue thickening" or fibrosis that showed up on the CT scan is normal after having such a large tumor, and it will always be there. Think of it as being kind of like scar tissue.

Thanks for all the love and support, everyone. I honestly don't even know what else to say right now, because the meaning of this is kind of just hitting me. I'm going to try to sleep on it, and then maybe update the blog within the next few days, or who knows, maybe not for a little longer. I think the first thing I need to do is process the whole thing, and try to get back into my "normal" life.

Wow, I'm really overwhelmed right now...

Thanks for reading,

Christopher

Chemo Round #6

Just a short update for today, because my brain is mush and my hands are numb and tingly.

I had my 6th and final chemotherapy session last Friday, and it went about the same as the previous few. I guess it is reason to celebrate, because the first step of beating this cancer is complete. Now I have to wait a couple weeks for CT and PET scans, which will determine what's next; most likely radiation therapy.

This photo is me and my favourite nurses at the cancer agency; Michelle, Cindy, Terri, and Anna Maria. I'm still planning on dedicating an entire blog post to how awesome they (and all the others) are!

I am a mixture of emotions right now. I'm feeling strong and confident, because my oncologist told me that he was impressed with my level of health and fitness. I'm feeling proud, because one of the nurses asked me if I would consider speaking about how exercise and a positive outlook helps with the management of chemo, at the inauguration ceremony for the new wing at the cancer agency in October. I'm feeling a bit diminished, because chemo was becoming a routine, and as weird as it sounds I actually somewhat looked forward to being taken care of by the amazing nurses at the cancer agency every 21 days. By the same right, I am feeling thankful that I don't have to undergo anymore chemotherapy because it really does suck! I am feeling nervous, and perhaps even trepid, as I await my upcoming tests. What if the chemo didn't work? How long will I need to do radiation? What if my cancer never goes away? I haven't been thinking like this very much during the whole process, because I generally like to frame things positively, but this week is a little different. I'm sure by Monday I will be back to my usual bubbly self!

That's all I've got for now. I can't focus at the moment. If you want to see what chemotherapy does to the brain, go back and read through my blog posts from the beginning until now. The writing gets worse each time. I know things will eventually return to "normal", but I am hoping it's sooner than later because I hate not being able to express myself and communicate properly!

I will do another post sometime after September 27th when I have my test results. I promise it will be a great deal more comprehensible than this one. Oh man, am I ever going through Prednisone withdrawal today...

Thanks for reading,

Christopher

Chemo Round #5

I had my fifth round of chemotherapy this past Friday, and it went about the same as the fourth, except it only took 3.5 hours instead of 4.5 which was great. They're really pumping the juice into me now! I'm experiencing the same symptoms and side-effects as the last couple rounds, which at this point is nothing I can't handle, although it's never pleasant to drift through a weekend in a nauseated hazy-dazy state of body and mind. Right now I'm feeling about the same as this time, last round: Tired and out-of-it, constantly starving (from the Prenisone) and a little achy. For some reason today I am also feeling pretty nauseous and head-achy. There is a nasty taste in my mouth I can't get rid of.

Lots has happened between my last round of chemo and this one. I went to my parents' house in Langley for the August Long Weekend, which was nice because my brother, sister and I haven't been home together all at once in over a year and a half. It was a fairly relaxing time, aside from the house being really full of people! My brother's band, West My Friend did two shows to kick off their tour of BC as well: A ticketed one in the backyard on Thursday night, and an acoustic set on the balcony at our big family reunion BBQ on Saturday night. You can check out all my photos from the weekend here. This photo is of my brother, Jeffrey; my girlfriend, Kaitlin; me; my sister, Jean; and her fiance, Cory.

The following Saturday I photographed my first wedding (click the link for photos) and on Sunday I went to see my brother's band play at the Victoria FolkWest Festival and took some great photos of them as well. Apparently I've been taking a lot of photos!

Some sad news: My grandma had a massive stroke and passed away very unexpectedly on August 10th. It came as a shock to all of us, because she was in good health and wasn't that old yet. I wish it didn't have to be this way, but I'm thankful that I got to see her one last time at our family BBQ, and that she likely didn't suffer very much when she passed. I love you, Grandma. Your spirit will always live on in our hearts.

In happier news, Kailin and I celebrated three years together last Wednesday! We went to a really cool spot in Brentwood Bay called the Blues Bayou Cafe Waterfront Dining. The food was fantastic and I would highly recommend it to anyone. I love you so much, Kaitlin!!! Doesn't she look absolutely stunning!!?

I'm just noticing that this post doesn't have much to do with cancer. I guess that's just proof that life can continue on, if you let it. Anyway, I'm trying to fix some computer problems right now, and I need to get some chores done around the house, so I promise I will write another post within the next few days. People have been wanting me to talk about my experiences with the doctors and nurses at the BCCA, and I keep saying I will, but have been slacking off. Sorry!

In the meantime, here are three cool photos I took two nights ago at the ocean below Dallas Road, using an HDR technique. High Dynamic Range Imaging is where you take several different exposures and then layer them in Photoshop. Spending lots of time in the great outdoors and capturing beauty in this manner is excellent healing; I love breathing in the smell of the ocean and feeling the cool evening air blow over my bald head.

Thanks for reading,
Christopher