Dentist

Finally had my 6 month cleaning and checkup done today.  I was only 3 months late.  I cancelled the September day as it fell on a Tuesday - geocaching day!  They are going to try to get PBC to pay for the "flipper" that replaces my broken out front tooth.  I was rejected the first try but they are sure I'll get coverage.

Still not feeling 100% so just came home after this.

Grey Cup

It wasn't raining so I headed out to find some new caches.  Solved a puzzle that got me one at Iona.  Met a couple of cachers at one in Delta so I didn't have to look.  One of them let me sign one that moves around.  Stopped after 5.

Picked up groceries at Byrne Rd & Marine Dr. and had lunch at Tim Horton's.

Home in time for the pre-game stuff and then watched the game.  I always seem to be rooting for the losing side.  Hard not to like Montreal players.

Not feeling completely well.  My left side is sore and eating is a chore. 

Errands

The snow was gone so I went out today.  Started with a haircut - much needed!  Bought a couple of black cartridges for my printer at Staples and then picked up a couple of books at the library.  Stopped at Safeway for groceries and then home.

Had a headache last night and it was still there this morning.  Just a ghost of it left tonight.

Big melt

By the time I woke up (10) the snow was almost gone.  Lots of slush in the gutters.

Still can't synch my iPad.  Others are having the same problem so I am trying all the solutions I can find online.

Watched the 3:10 to Yuma that I had on the PVR.  Love having backup for when everything on TV is a rerun.  Interupted it for Murder on the Nile.

Have my medical appointments for the next month organized and was able to book Harrison for Pru & me in a couple of weeks.

Winter Wonderland

Looked gorgeous up my street.  Lots of snow fell last night.  I did not add to the chaos on the roads.

Not much on TV so, after the Macy's Parade, I watched stuff off my PVR.

Still cold outside

I slept for 9 straight hours last night.  It was dull all day and tried snowing a bit this morning.  More to come tonight.

Seemed to take all day to read the newspapers.  Enjoyed the Canucks game.

Still waiting for appointment sheet so I can book Harrison.

Too cold to geocache

Took ages to get the snow and ice off my car this morning.  Hadn't driven all weekend.  

Pam & I went to Lori's to work on puzzles and keep warm!  We spent a lot of time trying to identify photos of places.  

Got a couple of calls about upcoming treatments.  The first was a 3-way conversation with Pacific Blue Cross and the Cancer Agency.  My drug will cost about $700/month and they will pay 70%.  The next was to set up PET Scans next Tuesday and Thursday.  It does feel funny not taking anything right now.  The cancer is free to do what it wants.

Picked up a prescription at Safeway and was home just after 5.  It is chilly inside tonight. 

Colder

Wind chill should make it -20 tonight!

Stayed up late last night to finish The Help so didn't have the oomph to do much today.  Far too cold to go out.

Brrr

It is COLD in Vancouver!  I decided to stay in where I am less likely to fall down.  I have lots of food, a good book, hockey and football.  What more do you need?

Cold weather

There was snow on the trees and cars this morning but it was already melting from the sidewalks.  Not much left tonight.  I planned my weekend so I didn't have to go out on the slippery roads.

Read and watched TV all day.  Canucks bombed so I switched to Midsomer Murders.

Snowy night

Stopped at the library and bank on the way to meet Mae and Connie at the BoPoMo photo studio where she was having photos taken before having the twins.  They look like an excellent place for baby photos.

Dropped Mae off at her doctors and then took Connie home.  Took the glasses I found in Stanley Park to the local office of Civil Aviation Canada.  The Director General from Ottawa had dropped them while geocaching and the office will ship them back to him.

My doctor wasn't working today so I went to the Walk In Clinic at Seymour for my flu shot and a prescription renewal.  The doctor was the brother-in-law of a principal I used to work with and I knew his sister.  Small world.  He increased the dosage for the Sjögren's Syndrome to try to get rid of more of the pain.

Dropped the prescription off and Safeway and loaded up with groceries for the snowy weekend.

Red Cross goodbye

A plumber came to several apartments and bled the hot water heater lines to get rid of air bubbles so I now have heat.  The landlord came to check on it and changed my hall light that was too high for Mel & I.

I had cancelled going to a Red Cross meeting tonight to say goodbye to the other supervisors.  I thought I would need drugs to tolerate the chemo & couldn't drive.  I called Monday to say that the treatment was cancelled and Karen was going to get back to me if they could put me back on the agenda.  She didn't remember to do that and called at 6:30 to see where I was.  I made it by 7:10.  Barry, a retired staff member I worked for came and made a very humbling speach about my work over the years - I started in the 1980's.  They gave me presents & a certificate and the other volunteers gave me a big bouquet.  I will miss volunteering there but don't have the stamina to commit to long shifts for days at a time.

Barrry took me to the White Spot for coffee afterwards which turned out to be dinner when I said I hadn't eaten yet.

It snowed all the way home!

Plan C

Fasting bloodwork at 8:40 this morning and then home for a few hours.

My oncologist is away so I saw Dr. Sun.  She said I was to stop the trial and the exemestestane as my tumour markers are going up and the tumours are growing.  We talked about a new drug called Fulvestrant but I'd have to pay for it (maybe my Extended would cover it) as the trial was for bone mets and my bone scan was clear.  She had just read of another trial this morning and went to check.  Dr. Chia came in and offered this new study to me and said the company would work out the payments with my EH.

I signed up right away for it - Positron Emission Tomography/Computerized Tomography (PET/CT) Guided Fulvestrant Therapy for Patients With Recurrent or Metastatic Breast Cancer.  It must be the teacher in me that likes being a test subject.  The idea is to follow me with PET scans to see if the estrogen receptors quiet down after taking Fulvestrant.  The benefit of being in a trial is you see the doctors more often and get tested regularly.  With this one I get a shot every 3 weeks.  I'll only use the port for bloodwork and will probably have to have it flushed regularly.

Picked up some comfort food at Granville Island Market and then came home to watch the Canucks lose!

Perfect November day

Found a cache in a park the other side of Granville and then out to Surrey to meet Pam and Lori.  We spent the day caching in Crescent Beach, White Rock & Surrey.  I counted 16 (1216) for the day.  This included 11 puzzles - we had to solve the puzzles ahead of time to get the final coordiates.

Really tired when we quit so I headed straight home.  Traffic via Alec Fraser Bridge was smooth.  It was a beautiful day but it gets dark so early! 

Windy night

Stayed in all day doing paperwork and reading the newspapers.

Took the Canada Line tonight to Broadway & Cambie.  Tried to find a new cache there but it was too dark.  

Met Louise for dinner at the Cactus Club.  Good group at the Cancer Agency.  Louise drove me to the Broadway station and I was home in 15 minutes.  Can't beat that service and it was a lot cheaper than parking ($15 last time).

Actually got a dividend cheque for Opus Cranberries!  Thought that money was lost forever.

1200

Met Pam just after noon and she helped me find my 1200th cache.  Followed her to Mitchell Island and helped her find a puzzle.  Fair trade for the day!

Carried on to Burnaby and shopped at London Drugs and Cobbs.

Home to watch the Lions.  Can't complain when they lost in double overtime.  The team is young and the quarterback is getting stronger - wait until next year when the Grey Cup is here!

Go Canucks

Looked for a nearby cache that was replaced this morning but couldn't climb down to it.

Enjoyed the Canucks beating Toronto.

1199

Partly sunny today so I went geocaching.  Found 1 on Sea Island, some in Vancouver and in Stanley Park for a total of 10.  Got snarled at in the park by a pack of raccoons who didn't like me going under their little bridge.  That one will have to be another day.  Also got yelled at by a worker at the Christmas Train setup.  The man on the gate let me in so I ignored his rants.

Remembrance

Watched the Vancouver ceremonies - 20,000 people!  I heard the old planes fly over just before 11.

Andrea called to say they were headed to the White Spot in Coquitlam for lunch.  Got there just after they got seated.  

It was 5 before I got back home and it was too wet to do any geocaching.

Good news, bad news...

Went to look for some new caches in the sunshine this morning.  One near me was under water at high tide so I left it!  Found 3 on Sea Island and one in Steveston.

Didn't feel well so stopped at IGA for groceries and headed home.

My oncologist called tonight to say the trial company wrote to say it isn't working.  When she heard about me going into shock at the first treatment, it wasn't hard to decide to stop.  We will have to find a Plan C!  For now, I'll keep taking my Exemestane daily and see a doctor on Wednesday (Karen is away).

Then my lawyer phoned to say they have reached a settlement over my car accident and my cheque will be here soon.  Two years!

The gift certificate arrived from Harrison Hot Springs and I'll take Pru for 2 nights, 2 breakfasts and one dinner.  I'll pick a date after I know more about treatment plans.

Finished all levels on Angry Birds (3 stars for everything) so I can go to bed now.

Rainy geocaching day

Lori was babysitting so I met Pam at her house and we spent this rainy day inside.  I showed her how to do her geocaching stats and some other computer and ipad stuff.

Rainy drive home.  The tunnel was busy so I went the long way over the Fraser Bridge.  

Really tired tonight.

Angry Birds

Slept in even with the time change.

Must stop playing Angry Birds.....

Sunny day

It was such a gorgeous morning I had to go geocaching.  Found a couple in Richmond, one on Mitchell Island and then headed to the Waffle House for lunch.  Then 2 in Burnaby and a puzzle in Everett Crowley Park.

The walks in the sunshine felt good.

Winners

The Lions and Canucks kept me occupied on this dull rainy day.  They both won!  

I am reading The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival, a Canadian book about a rogue tiger in Russia and can't put it down.

Better day

Slept for over 8 hours last night.  Had a bloodtest today to check my platelets and passed.

Met Pru at Oakridge for some White Spot burgers.  Picked up some food at M&M in Richmond and then home for the weekend.

Felt tired all day.

Bad reaction

Arrived at the Cancer Agency at 9:30 for bloodwork.  Lost my parking ticket and spent far too much time looking for it.

I have been in the trial now for 19 months but today I get the real thing - AMG 479.  For this 1st bag, the drip took an hour instead of 1/2 an hour.  I had a metallic taste in my mouth for a bit but breezed through it.  About 10 minutes into the hour observation time, I started feeling odd.  I went to the bathroom a couple of times but then started shaking and got very cold.  The nurse called for help and started a bag of benedryl.  The doctor came and they added something else & Gravol.  Another nurse arrived with hot blankets to wrap me up.  I shook for about 20 minutes.

All these drugs meant I couldn't drive home so I stayed until Darline and Mae were finished their Therapeutic Touch clinic and Darline drove my car.  The went home by Canada Line.

I am tired tonight and have slept quite a bit since this happened.  I did call my trials nurse and she doesn't think that the doctor will stop the drug but I'll probably have benedryl before they start it.  This means no more driving on that day.

Karen

Out before the sun was up to see Karen and Stephanie, my trials nurse. They briefed me on side effects and did an exam. I might have a rash, dry eyes - Oh wait, I already have those symptoms. No wonder they thought I was on the real drug. Also have to watch for bleeding as platelets might drop. My bone scan just showed a lot of arthritis. Home by 9.

Worked on more puzzles.

Puzzle caches

Met Pam and Lori in Surrey for our weekly geocaching trip.  We concentrated on puzzles in Surrey/White Rock.  I logged 11 but we spent a long time not finding a couple, even with a hint for the owner for one of them.

Stopped for lunch at Dock's Fish & Chips along the beach.  Perfect sunny day for it.  

Finally stopped searching when we needed our flashlights.  Picked up a burger at Vera's and was home by 8.

Odd day

Made a 3rd attempt to find the right black cartidge for my computer at Staples.  Their computers were down but they let me in when I promised to pay cash.  My Cobbs is gone from 5 & Steveston!

Came home and did a load of laundry.  Matt called just after 3 to say he had my cookie dough from Sadie's school and didn't have room in the freezer.  Took less than an hour to get their with my cooler bag in hand.  Stayed for dinner and a visit.  Home by 8.

Printer woes

Bought cartridges for my new printer at COSTCO and they were the wrong model.  They took them back even though I'd opened the box!  Bought the "right" ones at Office Depot but the black is wrong!  Of course that is what I am out of.  the number is right but it is not the standard black.

Watched the Lions and finished a book.  Spent Halloween watching Rocky Horror Picture Show that I recorded at midnight last night.