Day + 32 Hickman Line is now gone!
This first photo was taken on Wednesday, the night before my "Hickman Line" removal......we have been through so much together.....it saved me a whole bunch of pain from needles for IV's & bloodwork!!! It has certainly made it more challenging for me to have showers & baths over the past 4 months or so........as it was important not to get it wet
due to increase risk of infection! Though.....I would say the Pro's of having it, outweighed the Con's!!!
The second photo is Dr. Nebojsa Sparavalo starting to pull my line out & posing at the same time with Carlina & I.....he was a "master" line puller .....as I had no pain & couldn't believe when it was all over!!
The third & fourth photos show what the line looks like outside of me......
Quote of the Day:
"NOBODY TRIPS OVER MOUNTAINS. IT IS THE SMALL PEBBLE THAT CAUSES YOU TO STUMBLE. PASS ALL THE PEBBLES IN YOUR PATH AND YOU WILL FIND YOU HAVE CROSSED THE MOUNTAIN."
-Unknown
In addition to my line pull on Thursday, I received an envelope in the mail, from my Radiation Oncologist's office (Dr. Derek Wilke) & they have started the process to arrange a PET Scan for me at the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec. Currently, I am waiting to hear from Sherbrooke for an appointment date & time. If I don't hear early next week, I will call them to find out waiting times.
I was very pleased on Thursday, to know that I am going to have a PET Scan sooner rather then later.....
in a May meeting with Dr. Wilke, he expressed that it would be helpful to him if I had a PET Scan completed prior to any radiation treatment. The PET Scan will show if there are any active cancer cells in my remaining mass & it will also give a 3 D picture of the mass that can be used to plan out the size of the radiation field used in treatment.
Radiation is still up for discussion.....but I am probably leaning towards having it.....as I want to do what I can to prevent reoccurance.
I have been in touch with "Best Doctors" again & they are going to arrange another consultation with the same two specialists used on the previous consultation. I want to get their opinion's on Rituxan as a maintenance treatment & on whether or not they recommend radiation in my case.
I also want to know if they have any other recommendations for my treatment at this point in time. Hopefully, they can help me source out Rituxan, if I decide to move forward with treatment.
My next appointment with my primary hematologist (Dr. Anderson) is September 8th, as he is on holidays until that week.....so I will be discussing all my options with him at that point.....& hopefully, I will have some of my own information to bring to the meeting. i.e. PET Scan results would be nice
That is all I have to report medically on my latest situation.
Yesterday, I had a wonderful afternoon & evening at the Aylesford Zoo with Coleen & her two children, my cousin Karen & her nephew plus my Aunt Madeline & her grandson.....
It is a small zoo run by a husband & wife team who have a passion for their animals......it is such a lifestyle for them.....I was especially fascinated at feeding time watching the women owner walk freely in the cages with the lions, panthers, leopards, lynx's, & the bear.......she had hunks of meat that she hand fed to them .......she is the only person who can feed them this way......it is quite the site to see. She explained everything she did & freely & patiently answered every question we asked of her......she is such a wealth of knowledge on these animals & I could have picked her brain all day.
It truly was a great day!!
due to increase risk of infection! Though.....I would say the Pro's of having it, outweighed the Con's!!!The second photo is Dr. Nebojsa Sparavalo starting to pull my line out & posing at the same time with Carlina & I.....he was a "master" line puller .....as I had no pain & couldn't believe when it was all over!!
The third & fourth photos show what the line looks like outside of me......
Quote of the Day:
"NOBODY TRIPS OVER MOUNTAINS. IT IS THE SMALL PEBBLE THAT CAUSES YOU TO STUMBLE. PASS ALL THE PEBBLES IN YOUR PATH AND YOU WILL FIND YOU HAVE CROSSED THE MOUNTAIN."
-Unknown
In addition to my line pull on Thursday, I received an envelope in the mail, from my Radiation Oncologist's office (Dr. Derek Wilke) & they have started the process to arrange a PET Scan for me at the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec. Currently, I am waiting to hear from Sherbrooke for an appointment date & time. If I don't hear early next week, I will call them to find out waiting times.
I was very pleased on Thursday, to know that I am going to have a PET Scan sooner rather then later.....
in a May meeting with Dr. Wilke, he expressed that it would be helpful to him if I had a PET Scan completed prior to any radiation treatment. The PET Scan will show if there are any active cancer cells in my remaining mass & it will also give a 3 D picture of the mass that can be used to plan out the size of the radiation field used in treatment.
Radiation is still up for discussion.....but I am probably leaning towards having it.....as I want to do what I can to prevent reoccurance.
I have been in touch with "Best Doctors" again & they are going to arrange another consultation with the same two specialists used on the previous consultation. I want to get their opinion's on Rituxan as a maintenance treatment & on whether or not they recommend radiation in my case.
I also want to know if they have any other recommendations for my treatment at this point in time. Hopefully, they can help me source out Rituxan, if I decide to move forward with treatment.
My next appointment with my primary hematologist (Dr. Anderson) is September 8th, as he is on holidays until that week.....so I will be discussing all my options with him at that point.....& hopefully, I will have some of my own information to bring to the meeting. i.e. PET Scan results would be nice
That is all I have to report medically on my latest situation.
Yesterday, I had a wonderful afternoon & evening at the Aylesford Zoo with Coleen & her two children, my cousin Karen & her nephew plus my Aunt Madeline & her grandson.....
It is a small zoo run by a husband & wife team who have a passion for their animals......it is such a lifestyle for them.....I was especially fascinated at feeding time watching the women owner walk freely in the cages with the lions, panthers, leopards, lynx's, & the bear.......she had hunks of meat that she hand fed to them .......she is the only person who can feed them this way......it is quite the site to see. She explained everything she did & freely & patiently answered every question we asked of her......she is such a wealth of knowledge on these animals & I could have picked her brain all day.
It truly was a great day!!
posted by Angie | 10:17 am
1 Comments:
Hey Angie, so happy to see that you got rid of your line... and I must say, a little grossed out also! (Just kidding). It's great to see you smiling. Keep it up - you wear it well.
Post a Comment
<< Home