Chapter 16
There are fourteen Regional Cancer Centres in the Province of Ontario. The Simcoe Muskoka Regional Cancer Centre (SMRCC) opened in 2012. Had I been diagnosed just a couple years earlier, I would’ve found myself traveling to the Cancer Centre in Northern Ontario up in Sudbury. Sudbury is a three hour plus drive from Bracebridge. I would’ve had to stay there while undergoing my five weeks of chemo/rad treatments, coming home only on the weekends.
The SMRCC is an extension of the Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) in Barrie Ontario. The region’s population has exploded over the past twenty years. More families are preferring the smaller city, country like atmosphere as opposed to living in the megacity Toronto and its 3 million plus residents. Although, the Barrie area now resembles a smaller scaled back Toronto. Barrie to some degree still has a small city feel with less than ten percent of Toronto’s population.
With the surge in population translating also into a surge of cancer diagnosis, the ongoing expansion of the RVH and the building of the Cancer Centre became a huge priority. Construction was finally started back in 2009.
The new 75,000 sq. foot Cancer Centre employs well over 200 cancer professionals. As well there are myriads of volunteers eagerly greeting patients with a smile and a helping hand. It is a very bright and open area on three different levels.
The SMRCC is an extension of the Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) in Barrie Ontario. The region’s population has exploded over the past twenty years. More families are preferring the smaller city, country like atmosphere as opposed to living in the megacity Toronto and its 3 million plus residents. Although, the Barrie area now resembles a smaller scaled back Toronto. Barrie to some degree still has a small city feel with less than ten percent of Toronto’s population.
With the surge in population translating also into a surge of cancer diagnosis, the ongoing expansion of the RVH and the building of the Cancer Centre became a huge priority. Construction was finally started back in 2009.
The new 75,000 sq. foot Cancer Centre employs well over 200 cancer professionals. As well there are myriads of volunteers eagerly greeting patients with a smile and a helping hand. It is a very bright and open area on three different levels.
Cancer is a tough long journey and so much of your time will be spent at appointments and waiting for appointments. The SMRCC makes the experience a bit more tolerable and bearable.
I was very happy and fortunate to have this facility so close to my home.
My consultation with Dr. N was everything I expected. She was pleased that I was doing so well just three weeks after surgery. She had seen all the surgical reports and told me that mop up adjuvant chemo was now on the table.
Adjuvant (in addition to) chemotherapy refers to medicines administered after surgery for the treatment of cancer. Adjuvant chemotherapy is designed to prevent recurrence of the disease, particularly distant recurrence.
Dr. N told me it would be my decision as to whether I wanted to take it. It would consist of eight cycles over a time span of sixteen weeks ending in July.
I would be receiving the platinum based Folfox which was now being used widely in North America and Europe to treat colorectal cancer patients. Folfox was saving lives and giving cancer patients much better survival rates. It would be a much harsher regime than my previous chemo and I was sure to experience a wider range of much harsher side effects.
There were literally dozens of potential nasty side effects; neuropathy would be something I could expect with Folfox. My neuropathy could be severe pain in my hands and feet or just a clumsy numbness. The pain or numbness is intensified in all your extremities especially the toes and fingertips.
Neuropathy could be temporary, gradually disappearing over time or it could linger for the rest of my life. I might never skate or play hockey again and if my reaction was severe enough, I might never be able to button a shit or be able to pick up a dime off a table.
Fuck picking up dimes or doing up buttons, I'll just use my bank card and wear tee shirts. But no skating or no hockey, now that’s something I need to think about.
I had read dozens of stories about the ongoing symptoms cancer patients face brought on from Folfox treatments. Many members on the Colon Talk site who had opted for the Folfox now wish they hadn’t. The side effects had completely destroyed their quality of life. Many who decided against the mop up chemo now wish they had when their cancer recurred.
It is a very tough and agonizing decision for any cancer patient to make. It is a decision in a perfect world no one should have to make. But, here I am proving the world is far from perfect. I will add another ‘F’ word to my vocabulary, Folfox.
Fuck’n Folfox.
I trusted Dr. N’s opinion afterall she is my chemo oncologist. I simply looked her in the eye and asked her if she was sitting in my chair, what would she do?
“I would do the chemo” she replied.
I was very happy and fortunate to have this facility so close to my home.
My consultation with Dr. N was everything I expected. She was pleased that I was doing so well just three weeks after surgery. She had seen all the surgical reports and told me that mop up adjuvant chemo was now on the table.
Adjuvant (in addition to) chemotherapy refers to medicines administered after surgery for the treatment of cancer. Adjuvant chemotherapy is designed to prevent recurrence of the disease, particularly distant recurrence.
Dr. N told me it would be my decision as to whether I wanted to take it. It would consist of eight cycles over a time span of sixteen weeks ending in July.
I would be receiving the platinum based Folfox which was now being used widely in North America and Europe to treat colorectal cancer patients. Folfox was saving lives and giving cancer patients much better survival rates. It would be a much harsher regime than my previous chemo and I was sure to experience a wider range of much harsher side effects.
There were literally dozens of potential nasty side effects; neuropathy would be something I could expect with Folfox. My neuropathy could be severe pain in my hands and feet or just a clumsy numbness. The pain or numbness is intensified in all your extremities especially the toes and fingertips.
Neuropathy could be temporary, gradually disappearing over time or it could linger for the rest of my life. I might never skate or play hockey again and if my reaction was severe enough, I might never be able to button a shit or be able to pick up a dime off a table.
Fuck picking up dimes or doing up buttons, I'll just use my bank card and wear tee shirts. But no skating or no hockey, now that’s something I need to think about.
I had read dozens of stories about the ongoing symptoms cancer patients face brought on from Folfox treatments. Many members on the Colon Talk site who had opted for the Folfox now wish they hadn’t. The side effects had completely destroyed their quality of life. Many who decided against the mop up chemo now wish they had when their cancer recurred.
It is a very tough and agonizing decision for any cancer patient to make. It is a decision in a perfect world no one should have to make. But, here I am proving the world is far from perfect. I will add another ‘F’ word to my vocabulary, Folfox.
Fuck’n Folfox.
I trusted Dr. N’s opinion afterall she is my chemo oncologist. I simply looked her in the eye and asked her if she was sitting in my chair, what would she do?
“I would do the chemo” she replied.
That was good enough for me and I agreed to do the chemo.
She explained that the suspicious node that showed up on my MRI could’ve possibly had minute traces of cancer cells. We will never know, but if it did then there is a small chance those cancer cells could be still floating around in my lymphatic system. Those cells could be just looking for another organ to set up shop and grow into another tumour. Plus the fact I had a T3 tumour that had breached the rectal wall was another good reason for me to do the mop up chemo.
Better to be safe than sorry, I thought to myself.
I had come this far and I did not want to deal with the ‘what if’ scenario should I ever have a recurrence down the road. I wanted to be able to say I did everything possible. I threw everything at my cancer and I wanted to have absolutely no doubts.
Now I just wanted to put the final nail in the cancer coffin.
So yes it turned out to be exactly as I expected when I last walked out of the Cancer Centre on that cold winter day back on January 13th. I was indeed coming back for more chemo and I would be seeing a lot more of my Cousin Janet.
Besides, I still had a bell I needed to ring up in the chemo ward.
She explained that the suspicious node that showed up on my MRI could’ve possibly had minute traces of cancer cells. We will never know, but if it did then there is a small chance those cancer cells could be still floating around in my lymphatic system. Those cells could be just looking for another organ to set up shop and grow into another tumour. Plus the fact I had a T3 tumour that had breached the rectal wall was another good reason for me to do the mop up chemo.
Better to be safe than sorry, I thought to myself.
I had come this far and I did not want to deal with the ‘what if’ scenario should I ever have a recurrence down the road. I wanted to be able to say I did everything possible. I threw everything at my cancer and I wanted to have absolutely no doubts.
Now I just wanted to put the final nail in the cancer coffin.
So yes it turned out to be exactly as I expected when I last walked out of the Cancer Centre on that cold winter day back on January 13th. I was indeed coming back for more chemo and I would be seeing a lot more of my Cousin Janet.
Besides, I still had a bell I needed to ring up in the chemo ward.