Chapter 5
The next trip for Sherry and me was to the Simcoe Muskoka Regional Cancer Centre (SMRCC) in Barrie on November 27th. I would be meeting my two oncologists for the first time; both would become key team members in my journey. I was also going to be surprised by a cousin who I had not seen in almost forty years.
The fight against cancer in Ontario will see most cancer patients having a three doctor team. A surgeon, an oncologist for chemotherapy and an oncologist in charge of administering radiation. With colon cancer you skip the radiation because a colon tumour cannot be a fixed target since the colon is always moving. However, with rectal cancer radiation is given.
Lucky me, I will be getting the full monty.
That morning while waiting in the examination room to meet the oncologists a woman appeared. She asked me if I recognized her, but I had no clue who she was.
“I’m your cousin Janet,” she said.
Wow, the last time I saw Janet she was studying pharmacy back in the early ’80s. She was now head of the Pharmacy Department at the Cancer Centre. She would be overseeing my chemo treatments.
How cool is that?
She explained that she checked the names of all new patients weekly and when she saw my name she just had to come by and say hello. She told me she was a little apprehensive, but I was glad she did. I even cried which would be something I would find myself doing quite a bit of over the coming months.
I knew I would be seeing quite a bit of my cousin over the next few months. Today my focus was on my two oncologists Dr. N (chemo) and Dr. K (radiation), both would be mapping out my journey. I quickly realized on that morning that I was going to be pretty busy leading up to my big operation which was now scheduled for late February.
Just like any cancer patient, I wanted the tumour out of me ASAP. However there is a process, a slow methodical process. Since rectal cancer for the most part is a slow growing, non-aggressive cancer there was no hurry at this time. Within the next couple of days I would also be meeting with a dietician and a social worker. I would also be assigned a Homecare nurse who would be visiting me at my condo to maintain my PICC line on a weekly basis.
“What’s a PICC line?” I asked
A PICC line is a thin, soft, long catheter tube that is inserted through an artery in my left arm inside the elbow area. It is run up the arm through the artery around the shoulder collar bone area and ends very close to my heart. A connector like device is installed where the PICC line enters your arm. This is where your chemo pump will hook onto so chemo can be administered 24/7 for five straight weeks. A new chemo bottle gets put on every week on Monday and midweek the Homecare nurse checks and cleans the connector.
The thought of the PICC line made me very squeamish.
During the five weeks I will also be having radiation every day Monday to Friday. The theory is that the combination of chemo and radiation also known as neoadjuvant therapy will bombard the tumour. Hopefully shrinking it so as to make removal at surgery much easier. Your pelvic area is very condensed with lots of nerves and delicate organs. So the smaller the tumour then easier the removal.
It made perfect sense to me, but I still had trouble comprehending how a deadly tumour was still going to be living inside me for the next three months.
I also needed to attend chemo classes so I could understand just what my body was about to experience. I would also be learning about the side effects and precautions I could take to make my treatments a bit easier if possible. This chemo radiation combo was going to be brutal, but it was a necessary evil. Without it there is no doubt that my cancer would eventually progress to a stage IV.
Within a week I attended my chemo classes and I had my PICC line installed. I was now ready for the first battle in my war on cancer.
The fight against cancer in Ontario will see most cancer patients having a three doctor team. A surgeon, an oncologist for chemotherapy and an oncologist in charge of administering radiation. With colon cancer you skip the radiation because a colon tumour cannot be a fixed target since the colon is always moving. However, with rectal cancer radiation is given.
Lucky me, I will be getting the full monty.
That morning while waiting in the examination room to meet the oncologists a woman appeared. She asked me if I recognized her, but I had no clue who she was.
“I’m your cousin Janet,” she said.
Wow, the last time I saw Janet she was studying pharmacy back in the early ’80s. She was now head of the Pharmacy Department at the Cancer Centre. She would be overseeing my chemo treatments.
How cool is that?
She explained that she checked the names of all new patients weekly and when she saw my name she just had to come by and say hello. She told me she was a little apprehensive, but I was glad she did. I even cried which would be something I would find myself doing quite a bit of over the coming months.
I knew I would be seeing quite a bit of my cousin over the next few months. Today my focus was on my two oncologists Dr. N (chemo) and Dr. K (radiation), both would be mapping out my journey. I quickly realized on that morning that I was going to be pretty busy leading up to my big operation which was now scheduled for late February.
Just like any cancer patient, I wanted the tumour out of me ASAP. However there is a process, a slow methodical process. Since rectal cancer for the most part is a slow growing, non-aggressive cancer there was no hurry at this time. Within the next couple of days I would also be meeting with a dietician and a social worker. I would also be assigned a Homecare nurse who would be visiting me at my condo to maintain my PICC line on a weekly basis.
“What’s a PICC line?” I asked
A PICC line is a thin, soft, long catheter tube that is inserted through an artery in my left arm inside the elbow area. It is run up the arm through the artery around the shoulder collar bone area and ends very close to my heart. A connector like device is installed where the PICC line enters your arm. This is where your chemo pump will hook onto so chemo can be administered 24/7 for five straight weeks. A new chemo bottle gets put on every week on Monday and midweek the Homecare nurse checks and cleans the connector.
The thought of the PICC line made me very squeamish.
During the five weeks I will also be having radiation every day Monday to Friday. The theory is that the combination of chemo and radiation also known as neoadjuvant therapy will bombard the tumour. Hopefully shrinking it so as to make removal at surgery much easier. Your pelvic area is very condensed with lots of nerves and delicate organs. So the smaller the tumour then easier the removal.
It made perfect sense to me, but I still had trouble comprehending how a deadly tumour was still going to be living inside me for the next three months.
I also needed to attend chemo classes so I could understand just what my body was about to experience. I would also be learning about the side effects and precautions I could take to make my treatments a bit easier if possible. This chemo radiation combo was going to be brutal, but it was a necessary evil. Without it there is no doubt that my cancer would eventually progress to a stage IV.
Within a week I attended my chemo classes and I had my PICC line installed. I was now ready for the first battle in my war on cancer.