We found out this week that Lin's surgery will happen on March 13, a bit of a surprise for us. We thought it would be later in the month. Caused a bit of a flurry here in our abode because that is the day we were to fly home from Los Angeles. Hmmm...difficult to be in LA and Calgary at the same time. Lin did her computer magic and we're now flying directly to Calgary from LA on March 12th. She is flying off to Calgary next week for her pre-operation appointment. Whew! And Tracy (our Angel) has agreed to drive our car to Calgary the weekend before we arrive there so we'll have transportation while there. Our friend, Clark, will staying at our place with our wee Chicklet while we are in Calgary.
Now we can focus on getting ready to go on our cruise. The joy of going through summer clothes and dreaming of sunshine on our skin. Arriba!
Thursday, February 16, 2017
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Calgary visit
On Monday afternoon, we flew to Calgary amid a maelstrom of blizzard conditions. We hoped that the weather conditions were NOT a foreshadowing of the news we would hear from Dr. Temple and his crew. They were not!
Dr. T: This is a bump in the road, a nuisance and this is what we're going to do....
My goodness, our anxieties and fears subsided when he walked in the door. Our trust in him is boundless. And trust is so important in this kind of an adventure.
This is what we know:
It will be a long operation, probably minimum of 6 hours because it will include lysis (another new term, meaning cutting away of) of the adhesions in her abdomen, followed by the hour long HIPEC (heated inter-peritoneal infusion of chemo). He suggested 10-12 days in hospital if all goes well, 3-4 weeks if there are complications. He also outlined the possible complications. We also met Dr. Bouchard who will be assisting in the operation. We will know within a couple of weeks our surgery date, probably mid to late March. Whew!!! We can go on our cruise at the beginning of March - HURRAY!!!
Dr. T: This is a bump in the road, a nuisance and this is what we're going to do....
My goodness, our anxieties and fears subsided when he walked in the door. Our trust in him is boundless. And trust is so important in this kind of an adventure.
This is what we know:
It will be a long operation, probably minimum of 6 hours because it will include lysis (another new term, meaning cutting away of) of the adhesions in her abdomen, followed by the hour long HIPEC (heated inter-peritoneal infusion of chemo). He suggested 10-12 days in hospital if all goes well, 3-4 weeks if there are complications. He also outlined the possible complications. We also met Dr. Bouchard who will be assisting in the operation. We will know within a couple of weeks our surgery date, probably mid to late March. Whew!!! We can go on our cruise at the beginning of March - HURRAY!!!
Friday, February 3, 2017
Hello again
Last fall, Linda developed a small hernia near where her belly button used to be. This was not a total surprise; Dr. Temple (our Calgary surgeon) had mentioned the possibility of this occurring. It continued to grow slowly during the autumn. Linda showed it to our family doctor and, since it was causing minimal discomfort, the decision was made to keep a watchful eye on the little beast.
That approach changed on New Year's Eve when the hernia developed a small rupture and viscous fluid began oozing out. A CT scan was done and a 4.8 cm suspicious mass was discovered. What swiftly followed were a multitude of referrals - from our family doctor to a Vernon surgeon, from him to the the cancer agency in Kelowna, from them to their sister agency in Vancouver. And we asked that the CT results be forwarded to Dr. Temple. Imagine our surprise when Dr. T called 2 days later. He congratulated Linda on going almost 6 years without a PMP recurrence and said he would return from his sabbatical to do her surgery if she chose to go to the spa (Tom Baker Centre) in Calgary. We also heard back quickly from the Vancouver Cancer Agency. It was decided that a PET scan was needed to confirm the suspicions. So, this past week, we drove to Vancouver (clear, dry roads all the way there and back) for the scan and a consultation with Dr. McNeill, the PMP specialist there. Yes, the suspicions were confirmed and Darth Invader has returned! On Monday, we fly to Calgary to meet with Dr. Temple and his team on Tuesday morning. We're hoping we'll come home with a plan which in all likelihood will involve a similar operation (cytoreduction and HIPEC chemotherapy) to the last one done in the fall of 2010.
We plan to use this blog to keep folks up to date.
That approach changed on New Year's Eve when the hernia developed a small rupture and viscous fluid began oozing out. A CT scan was done and a 4.8 cm suspicious mass was discovered. What swiftly followed were a multitude of referrals - from our family doctor to a Vernon surgeon, from him to the the cancer agency in Kelowna, from them to their sister agency in Vancouver. And we asked that the CT results be forwarded to Dr. Temple. Imagine our surprise when Dr. T called 2 days later. He congratulated Linda on going almost 6 years without a PMP recurrence and said he would return from his sabbatical to do her surgery if she chose to go to the spa (Tom Baker Centre) in Calgary. We also heard back quickly from the Vancouver Cancer Agency. It was decided that a PET scan was needed to confirm the suspicions. So, this past week, we drove to Vancouver (clear, dry roads all the way there and back) for the scan and a consultation with Dr. McNeill, the PMP specialist there. Yes, the suspicions were confirmed and Darth Invader has returned! On Monday, we fly to Calgary to meet with Dr. Temple and his team on Tuesday morning. We're hoping we'll come home with a plan which in all likelihood will involve a similar operation (cytoreduction and HIPEC chemotherapy) to the last one done in the fall of 2010.
We plan to use this blog to keep folks up to date.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)