My run with Cancer

 Hi everyone, Just a quick update.  Had another routine set of scans come back this week that continue to show either stable disease, or shrinking lesions.  This is the best news we can continue to get... so we're happy!  We have a reprieve from scans now until late January as long as my bloodwork is stable.  I've been coming around after my struggles with the immune boosting shots.  I haven't been running the past few weeks... more due to the weather and lack of early daylight than anything.  My sister has gotten me hooked on these strength training/HIIT classes online... so I've still been able to workout which continues to make me feel better (even when I don't want to).  I hadn't realized how much strength I'd lost, only running over the summer.  It has been eye opening.  I've gone a month or 2 without significant weight training before but never lost strength like this...  I couldn't even do a full range of motion push-up anymo...

Since we've been hearing all about the miracles of dex... I thought I'd share a bit of my experience with the cocktail of drugs I am on.   I think people have the pre-conceived idea of what chemo is like from what we see most in the media.  Bald, pale and generally sick-looking people drum up more money... I get it.  But what many people don’t realize is that cancer care is constantly evolving and there are a multitude of different chemotherapy regimes today. For instance for the genetic make-up of my specific colon cancer there are 2 different protocols and 2 different immunotherapies.  Each of which come with different side effects.   I actually found some interesting info on the makeup of Irinotecan (one of the harsher drugs I’m taking).  The active ingredient list reads like a health food store ingredient list.  Given how YouTube medicine likes to vilify evidence based treatment in favour of botanical and food based “treatment”... this li...

I know I'm bad for not updating this more often... but I figure if I'm attached to an IV for 3 hours... I have no excuse not to use some of that time to type... so here we are.  I have been really struggling with fatigue over the past 6 weeks and my ability to run took a nose dive.  All of a sudden I couldn't get through 5 km even at a really slow pace; a 30 min walk landed me on the couch for the day, unable to drive safely to pick up the kids from school.  I finally realized that it seemed to line up with the shots I was taking for my white blood cells.  I had fatigue, muscle soreness and really sore hips.  I kept attributing it to running... but apparently kicking your bone marrow into high gear is exhausting.  Sooo... our plan is to adjust some chemo dosing to avoid the need for the Neupogen shots and see how that goes.  Knowing that it was a side effect and not that I was inherently deteriorating that fast was a huge relief. I'm also sitting here ...

Sorry it's been so long since my last post.  Wrestling the laptop from my 12yr old gamer is always a challenge and when he's not on the computer I tend to be done for the day.  But today they are in school (YAY!) and I'm in the quiet tranquility of the chemo suite.  If it weren't for the IVs beeping... you could almost think you're in a spa; comfy chair, people offering to bring you snacks and drinks, heated blankets (which are the bomb!).  It's a pretty sweet gig!  We had a great time at the cottage and I thoroughly enjoyed the extra week off chemo.  I feel like my Oncologist must have seen the writing on the wall in my bloodwork because these last couple of chemo cycles have been harder to bounce back from.  More nausea and fatigue than I had before... which just feels frustrating.  I'm also really starting to lose hair which I'm finding more upsetting than I'd have thought.  I'm still able to hide it for the most part and I'm hoping that t...

 Hi Everyone, Wanted to send out a quick update after my call with the Oncologist.   Chemo is working!  Some of the spots have disappeared and the rest have shrunk.  YAY!!! We discussed next steps and have a plan to scale back chemo to give my system a bit of a break.  Basically, I will be able to round out the next 2 weeks at the cottage without having to come home and will then have 2 more rounds of the regular chemo (FOLFIRI) starting Sept 2nd.  After those 2 rounds we will drop one of the chemo drugs (irinotecan) for the next while.  This is one of the 3 drugs in the FOLFIRI cocktail and the one that is hardest on your body (nausea, toxicity, neutropenia etc).  It was explained to me as being the standard practice in the US and has been shown to have no impact on duration of treatment efficacy or prognosis.  It also allows for more time with less side effect and less impact on my overall health.  The longer term plan is to scan ...

 Hey everyone, So the plan worked. Did the shots... had the chemo. But MAN those shots kicked me in the butt. Literally. It’s strange to say your bones hurt... but apparently kicking your bone marrow into high gear can be uncomfortable... and in hindsight continuing to run may have been questionable. By day 4 of the shots my legs and hips were in agony. I took day 5 (Sunday) off from running and felt much better.  Chemo itself went fine. Can’t say I’ve bounced back as well this go around but I have to wonder if the shots immediately followed by chemo have something to do with that. Sitting up at 3am right now hoping the “yuk” will pass soon.  I’ll be sure to post some cottage pics and updates... as well as an update post call with my doctor on the 17th. Hoping that will give us a better idea of what’s to come now that we’ve done the first scan.  Thanks to everyone who’s reached out with a quick text or message. Miss y’all ❤️ Shannon

Just a quick update... I was supposed to have chemo yesterday but unfortunately my white blood cell count was too low (so my immune system was too compromised).  This meant a delay in my next treatment and a change to my treatment schedule.  This wouldn't normally be a big deal but of course... Ian is about to start 3 weeks of holidays (sorely needed) and we wanted to spend as much of it at the cottage as possible.  Delaying chemo a week meant treatment on week 1 and 3 of his holidays plus a ridiculous Covid test on week 2.  When I groaned about this to the nurse on the phone, she worked with me for 10 mins looking at the calendar and trouble shooting with me, and told me to leave it with her... she would talk to the Dr on call (because of course these things only happen when my Oncologist is on holidays... Murphy's Law).   She came back with a beautiful plan.  I started 5 days of injections yesterday to boost my white blood cells and will have chemo o...