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~ the new reality of a "70 something"

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Tag Archives: CancerCare

surgery…

31 Monday Jul 2017

Posted by sulis303 in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized

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appointment, big girl pants, cancer, CancerCare, discharged, Facebook, five years, gallbladder, surgery, widow

today in my Facebook feed the following memory came up…

I had been in the hospital for a few days with pancreatitis when I wrote the above post, and ended up there for six weeks… during that time I also had my gallbladder removed… I was very sick and when we left the hospital I was afraid, I’d been there so long I wasn’t sure how I would manage at home… I still had a drainage tube in my side and was barely able to eat…

a lot has happened in seven years… 

the tube came out just a few days before our younger daughter’s wedding and I finally started to have an appetite…

two years later my husband died suddenly in March and within a few weeks I was diagnosed with uterine cancer… I’d been waiting for hernia surgery and so there were lots of discussions with the various doctors as they figured out how they could do both surgeries at the same time…

in July of 2012 I had a combination surgery and spent ten weeks recovering…

my body does not handle drugs well and within 8 hours following the cancer surgery I stopped taking all drugs…

dealing with pain is easier than dealing with the side effects of drugs…

this afternoon I had my final appointment at CancerCare… after eleven visit… saw my surgeon, who I rarely see as they work on a rotation, and was discharged from the program…

life is pretty darn good even with all the changes;-)…

normal…

14 Tuesday Feb 2017

Posted by sulis303 in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized

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appointments, big girl pants, CancerCare, doctor, normal, surgery, taxi, widow

had my tenth visit to CancerCare yesterday…

have the process down fairly smoothly… I walk over to the hotel that is just a block away from the office and take a cab to the CancerCare building…

much simpler than taking the car and trying to find a parking spot… also saves time…

arrived right on time only to hear that their records had me scheduled for half an hour later… sat down and in just a few minutes I was called…

had the usual weigh in and height measurement and was put into a room… about five minutes later a nurse came in to get the basic info… she asked if I’d come on my own today and if there were any changes to my medical history… I said no, that I’d mentioned my diabetes previously… she says that’s not on your chart… then she asks for my birthdate and says what’s your last name… at which point we realize that there were two of us with the same first name waiting to see one of the doctors…

she left and after quite a long wait one of the doctors came in… it was the doctor who did my surgery and I think this might be the second time I’ve seen her since my actual surgery…

there are four surgeons and you see whoever is working that day…

she asked the usual questions and did the usual exam… she advised that everything looked normal and said she always used those words so that the patients’ know they are doing okay…

she talked about the fact that my next appointment will be my last, at which time I will be released back to my family doctor for yearly follow ups…

a quick walk through HSC and out to the taxi stand where the driver had me sit in the front with him… first time a cab driver has ever offered that option…

he was very friendly and we chatted all the way back to the office…

ten down and one left to go… let’s keep on with the normal…

circles…

11 Saturday Feb 2017

Posted by sulis303 in family, food, health, life, loss, nature, Photography, technology, Uncategorized

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big girl pants, blessed, cancer, CancerCare, circles, friends, health, surgery, widow

as I’ve been struggling with this cold or almost flu it has reminded me of how great I usually feel…

when I think back to the few times I’ve been seriously ill and gone through tough surgeries… and the slow process to recover and how I would feel a little better each day… and then would eventually get to the place where I was well… 

sometimes we forget how much we take good health for granted…

next week I have a CancerCare checkup… I think it is my second to last appointment as July will be five years since my cancer surgery…

amazing how the time has gone by so quickly…

good reminder that although I’ve felt rough over the last week it is nothing like what I’ve been through before… and I am very blessed on the whole…

thinking of all those in my circles who are struggling with health issues, either their own or their loved ones…

magic…

11 Monday Apr 2016

Posted by sulis303 in family, health, life, loss, nature, technology, Uncategorized

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big girl pants, cancer, CancerCare, daffodil, death, George, loss, magic, pin, relief, widow

been thinking about cancer quite a bit lately…

  
picked these daffodil pins up on Thursday and left them at the office for my colleagues to wear during April… the daffodil is a symbol of strength and courage in the fight against cancer… 

the colleague we recently lost had her birthday in April and I’ve been thinking of her a lot…

also, the many others in my life who have succumbed to the disease… my mom, mother-in-law, family friends… and those who have survived…

it has been nearly four years since my surgery… the cancer is all tied up with George’s death as the diagnosis was just weeks after… 

I am doing very well but the magic number is five years… wonder how I will feel when that last appointment at CancerCare happens… 

I remember how shocked I was at the relief when the doctor called to advise that there was no cancer left following the surgery… I had thought that I wasn’t worried about it at all, lol… wrong…

orchid bloom opening…

 

CancerCare…

25 Monday Jan 2016

Posted by sulis303 in family, health, life, loss, technology, Uncategorized

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anniversary, appointment, art, big girl pants, CancerCare, check-up, health, nurses, taxi

was at CancerCare for a bit this afternoon… time for my six month check-up… been nine time for these appointments… will continue twice a year until I hit the fifth anniversary of my surgery… then it will be an annual visit to my own physician…

usually my daughter comes with me but I am getting braver and now can go on my own… usually I take a cab from and to the office so I don’t have to worry about finding a parking spot and getting there on time… seems like those big girl pants are fitting better every day…

only there for an hour today… sometimes it has been two or three hours… I often think about the others in the waiting room… 

are they going to hear a cancer diagnosis and be at the beginning of their care… are they getting news that their treatment isn’t working and they have a finite amount of time left… are they, like me, part way through their 5 year term…

hard to feel bad if I have to wait for a while… I am one of the very lucky ones… the surgery basically removed all of the cancer… but they will continue to check on it until I reach the magic five years out mark…

  
enjoyed this piece of art as I was waiting… produced by nurses who work with cancer patients right here… they are a special group of individuals…

excellent appointment and I will be back in six months…

life is pretty darn good…

nervous…

20 Monday Jul 2015

Posted by sulis303 in health, life

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big girl pants, CancerCare, nervous, pesto, pizza, treat

yesterday was three years since my cancer surgery…

today I had my regular six-month check-up… which I will have until five years have gone by… the chances of the cancer reoccurring are basically nil as the doctor pointed out today, but I was still nervous…

  
usually my daughter comes with me but she wasn’t able to today… didn’t even want to be in the building so soon after my friends’ deaths… and it isn’t CancerCare’s fault… they did everything they possibly could…

everything went well and I am fine… back to the office in record time…

  
combined the homemade pesto with whole wheat pita bread and Brie for a great pizza, with a veggie salad for my supper… doing much better with whole wheat items, particularly if there are strong flavours with them…

I had a few pieces of Lindt Orange Intense Dark Chocolate as a treat… don’t tell my BS friends… this was supposed to be their treat from my Ottawa trip, lol… I’m sure I can save the rest of it…

diet…

16 Monday Feb 2015

Posted by sulis303 in health, life

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big girl pants, CancerCare, diabetes, diet, dietician, research

this afternoon I spent an hour and a half with the dietician that we saw about six or seven years ago just after George was diagnosed with heart problems…

she had been very helpful then and she was equally as helpful today…

I have been researching and consulting with all kinds of people for the last three months as I have moved into this diabetic aspect of my journey…

I had questions and wanted her take on some of the information I have collected…

IMG_0765
got lots of answers and up-to-date information… now I have to make a few changes to what I am eating… will start eating more fruit and need to include grains and starches in my diet…

but, on the whole, I’ve been doing a great job… yay me:-)…

and next time I see her I hope to do it at a CancerCare appointment…

IMG_0764

healthy…

19 Monday Jan 2015

Posted by sulis303 in health, life

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big girl pants, blood sugar, CancerCare, daughter, healthy

this afternoon I had my six month check up at CancerCare…

had an hour wait as they were behind…

I always think about the people they are seeing… someone just finding out they have cancer… maybe they are facing a long period of treatment or maybe even being told they have a very short time to live…

all I was having was a check up… not really that big a deal to wait a while…

happily my appointment went well and I don’t have to go back for another six months… I’m one of the lucky ones…

my daughter was able to come with me and I really appreciate having the support…

last week I saw my GP… she was happy with my progress and my blood sugar numbers… happy that eating and exercising are helping keep my numbers down…

2015/01/img_0320.jpg
today’s healthy lunch:-)…

missing…

26 Thursday Jun 2014

Posted by sulis303 in life, Uncategorized

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appointment, CancerCare, clematis, George, hard moments, missing, sadness

this morning as I was walking down the stairs a wave of sadness swept over me… I was missing George so much, I could hardly stand it…

as I was leaving the house I got some shots of the clematis… we were both so excited that it continued to return year after year and bloom so beautifully…

many blooms on the clematis this morning...

many blooms on the clematis this morning…

I felt his loss all day… I had an appointment at CancerCare and remembered how he was always there for any appointment I had, just as I was always there for his appointments… Crystal wasn’t able to go with me for this one, and I was a bit nervous as the last two times the examination had been extremely painful… happily, today it was a piece of cake… I was in and out within 20 minutes…

when I got home and was taking off my shoes I looked down and saw this…

Cyndi wore these while she was here and they were just sitting at the front door...

Cyndi wore these while she was here and they were just sitting at the front door…

hard to believe that there are such hard moments after 842 days…

great close up... took these before I even got into the car, lol...

great close up… took these before I even got into the car, lol…

 

CancerCare…

19 Thursday Dec 2013

Posted by sulis303 in Uncategorized

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big girl pants, CancerCare, estrogen, symptoms, three months, yeast infection

had another appointment today at CancerCare… I had seen them three months ago for my usual six month appointment and they weren’t able to do the test they needed because of the pain it caused…

apparently I had a yeast infection, so they sent me home to take some drugs and come back in three months instead of the usual six…

I hadn’t had any obvious symptoms of a yeast infection so was rather nervous about the whole thing…

took the drugs, which then caused another medical issue, so had to take more drugs… yikes… was worried that the yeast infection may not have gone, particularly as I had no symptoms…

thankfully, Crystal was able to get time off from her new job so she could go with me…

as I am now being seen by the nurse/practitioner, we didn’t have to wait long at all… she was able to do the test and felt that the yeast infection was gone, which was a big relief…

I asked about my hands and face being particularly dry and whether this is due to a lack of estrogen… it is hard to tell but it may be that my body is missing it a bit… may have to try an ointment to see if that makes any difference…

usually they only call if there is a problem with the test results, but she is going to call when they are in so that I don’t have to worry… lovely young woman…

hoar frost on trellsi...

hoarfrost on trellis as I was leaving the garage…

after the appointment we ran a few errands and picked up a few last minute gifts…

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