Life was jolted into an unexpected path just before Christmas, with the diagnosis of a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer. Things moved faster than we could have imagined and belied every wait-time horror story we've heard about our health system. Not a moment was wasted. Appointments were made, doctors consulted, various tests and scans were done.
Most important, our breast cancer caseworker started us on the right foot with lots of information about cancer, treatments, social and psychological aspects of the disease and consequences of aggressive treatment. She provided us with contact numbers for a variety of support groups. Our caseworker, also named Wendy, is part of a group of professionals who have been uniformly caring, supportive, informative and always ready with a smile.
This is going to be a long process with chemotherapy to reduce the size of the cancer, then radiation and surgery. This schedule may take about year, dependent on how each stage progresses.
My plan, supported by my employer, is to work as much as i feel able. Some projects have been reassigned and much of my work can be done from my laptop at home. While there are fewer interruptions at home, there is a lot less cameraderie.
Harvey is accompanying me to appointments as note taker, driver, and hand holder as well as preparing healthy foods to match what I should and feel able to eat. I've finished my first session of chemotherapy, with two weeks "off" for my immune system to recover. Chemo does things to your appetite that some days includes a hypersensitivity to food smells (even coffee doesn't smell right), nausea, and a desire to avoid some of my favourite foods.
We're experiencing great support from friends and family near and far, and appreciate your role in this journey.
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