Update

Val met with Dr. Brandes (medical oncologist) earlier this week. He is very pleased with her current condition.

The CT scan was clear, her blood work numbers are good, and her skin has healed remarkably well from the vicious radiation treatments back in May. Her fatigue remains significant, which is the long-term effect of the radiation treatments likely aggravated by the Letrazole (estrogen-blocking drug). In addition to having little stamina, Val has also experienced persistent joint pain and a sense of her emotions being flat and depressed. Dr. Cooke (radiation oncologist) called her overall state "Letrazole toxicity".

Dr. Brandes suggested Val go off Letrazole for two weeks and assess her state at that time; two weeks usually is long enough, he said, to reduce the side-effects and give the patient a sense of whether or not the drug is the cause of those effects. At the two-week mark, Val will consult with Dr. Brandes and determine how to proceed.

It seems, then, that the past year of surgery, chemo and radiation has done what it should: Removed the cancerous tumour and killed off obvious signs of cancer cells in Val's body. What her current condition means for the long term is, of course, not 100% clear. However, Dr. Brandes suggested she had a very good chance of not having a recurrence for a long while. Let's hope he's right.

So. We find ourselves in an odd emotional state. Obviously relieved and happy on the one hand, but peculiarly unsettled on the other. Over this past year, we have been pulled along by the urgency of medical appointments and treatments and results and doctor visits. This coming year, we will have to re-learn how to forge our own agenda and rhythm. Most peculiar, indeed.

To be noted is that Val's fatigue is a very real daily hindrance. Wanting to do things is simply not the same as being able to actually do them. We figure this will  be the reality through December.

We'll continue to keep you posted as this process continues to unfold. Thanks for being with us.

xo

Back from holidays

The 31st of August marks our first anniversary of legally married life and is just two months shy of our 21st year of being together. Given what the past  year has consisted of for us - and particularly for Val - these anniversary dates are especially noteworthy for me. (I will leave Val to speak for herself.)

I am not one to laud a relationship merely for its longevity; not always do long years together equate to a good and evolving love. I feel fortunate, then, to be celebrating not only many years with Val, but also our genuinely happy love for each other that has, indeed, evolved over the years into a warm and stimulating companionship that makes life good.

Our holiday time at the cottage was excellent, as it usually is and especially so when we have several weeks in a row to enjoy our spot on Lake Winnipeg with each other. One of the books I read included the line, "...perhaps he saw in us what he wanted for himself, a happy marriage and the time to enjoy it..." And that is what the cottage gives us: plenty of time with each other. Yes, there is a project around every corner, and meals to make and dishes to wash, but even the daily chores seem less onerous and more enjoyable with the expanded time that seems to exist at the lake.

Now it's back to work for me. I'm looking forward to a a few revamped courses this term, and to a technology & teaching conference in Denver in October. I hope you are looking forward to your fall as eagerly.

Val has several medical appointments this coming week. It's been a full year since her first visit with Dr. Brandes; she sees him this week. We will see what he has to say. Stay tuned.

xo