Well what the whirlwind the past few weeks have been. I guess I can start by letting you know that the Etoposide chemotherapy was not working therefore we stopped and after one round. I I knew the success rate was not very high with this drug but figured I may as well try it at least until we can get the Avastin going. That's the
This past Saturday November 3/2012 a group of 20 plus volunteers put together a fundraising event for me in order to raise funds to start the Avastin. Just at the event alone, over $23,000 was raised which totally floored me. That amount does not include the bank trust account that has been setup also. The night was a huge success and I think everyone went home happy. The next morning, Faith and I received yet another surprise. Kelli M., Winner of the two WestJet tickets to anywhere they fly, ever so kindly donated the tickets back to my daughter and I. We were both overwhelmed at her generosity and kindness.
So beginning Tuesday November 13 2012 I will start the Avastin treatments. This involves going to a private clinic in London to receive the infusion every two weeks. Since it is not funded by the government it cannot be done at the London regional cancer clinic or any other government facility in Ontario. We're still putting pressure on the provincial government to follow suit with British Columbia, Manitoba and Newfoundland to fund this drug as they do in those provinces for those suffering from brain cancer. Hopefully they will see how serious we are about this issue because we do not intend to back down. My hope is that one day soon no one else will have to struggle financially in the province of Ontario because of a life prolonging drug that has been dangled like a carrot in front of their face.
Physically, my left side has become much weaker to the point where it is pretty much useless to me in daily life. My oncologist said that some of it may return but no guarantees. This is due to the tumour pushing on the brain in preventing the signals from traveling from the brain to my left arm and leg. To look at me, my left side has the same characteristics as someone who has suffered a stroke. I am ever so slowly getting used to this but is obviously not a walk in the park. A friend of mine suggested the program available on windows seven utilizing speech to text technology where in essence you talk into a microphone and it converts your words into text on most computer programs. This definitely cuts down on my frustration level while trying to do things such as writing this blog. It really sucks watching your body deteriorate and there's not a damn thing you can do about it.
Hopefully Faith and I will be able to get away in January after I get a few treatments under my belt and insure that the side effects are minimal. Faith said that she would like to travel to Hawaii for our holiday so that is what I'm leaning toward. Obviously my health will dictate where we go though. It will definitely be somewhere warm.
In closing, I would just like to thank everyone involved in the fundraising activity, from my team of 20 plus volunteers down to the wonderful staff at the Saint Thomas Senior Centre for allowing us to use their venue and everyone in between. The personal and corporate donations, both in gifts and financial donations were out of this world. I would be blogging for hours if I were to list every person that deserved a personal thank you from me for allowing me the opportunity to spend some more quality time with my family and friends. I truly never thought my circle of friends was as large as it has turned it to be. I am humbled and honoured at the same time.
I will post again after I have a couple of treatments under my belt to let you know how things are going. I'm scheduled for an MRI in December. Hopefully it's an early Christmas present of Tumour stabilization or shrinkage!!!!
Again I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for whatever part you may have played in making this celebration of Ed such a huge success.
Sincerely,
Ed
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