megram - Index

megram - 55JunOttawa - Index

or a lumpectomy, followed by five
weeks of daily radiation. (The other
two options — do nothing and die
and have chemotherapy — are not discussed.)
No great choices here. I have
always said I would rather die than
have a total mastectomy, but it’s funny
how your attitude changes when mor-
tality stares you in the face.
I opt for the lumpectomy, which
includes taking lymph-node tissue for
testing, and radiation. Now, it is just a
matter of securing an operating room.
I won’t even need a hospital bed, as I
won’t be staying overnight.
My daughter and son-in-law send
me a big bouquet of flowers.
I decide that I am a well person
with a problem, not a sick person.
October 4 to 8, 2007
This Thanksgiving — which
included attending a blessing of the
animals — I really feel that I have a
lot to be thankful for. My family and
friends are showing in a million ways
how much they care. When I walk
with the dogs, I take more notice of
the beauty of the trees, the wonders
PHOTO: LORRAINE BRAND
June 2008 • 52 • Fifty-Five Plus Magazine
of hundreds of geese flying south,
everything around me. I just won a
writing prize and have heard that I
am short-listed for two more.
Wherever I go from here, this is a
good time in my life.
October 9, 2007
The surgeon has ordered a second
ultrasound.Good.I wouldn’t want him
to lop off any parts unless absolutely
necessary. As it turns out, this ultrasound
is of all the other internal
organs,checking to make sure the cancer
hasn’t spread beyond the breast.
The surgeon’s nurse calls to give
me my surgery date: October 18. She
adds,“if this is convenient for you and
your family.” Who argues? The early
date (apparently bumping a less
urgent surgery) indicates that speed is
important here.
October 10, 2007
The QCH calls to announce that I
have been scheduled for a bone scan
— presumably to check that cancer
hasn’t spread to the bones either. I
have to go for an injection and then
return six hours later for the scan.
I apparently have no choice about
time. I protest that the timing is inconvenient,
but am told the alternative is
three months down the road. It seems
the QCH view is that patients serve
the system, rather than the other way
round. I try asking to be put on a waiting
list for an alternative time.
My family doctor tells me to put
on my shoulder pads and expect a
rough ride from a health system under
strain.
October 11, 2007
Surprisingly, the hospital calls.The
new bone scan time is to be 7:30 a.m.
on Saturday, October 13 for the initial
injection with the follow-up scan two
hours later.Although this means being
up at 5 a.m. to give me time to walk
my dogs and drive the 35 minutes to
the QCH, it works much better for me
than the original time.