A Diet to Die For! Breast Cancer in Canada.

Honestly, I really think my immune system has left for a vacation, and forgot to take me with it. I also would have liked someone to spread some fairy dust on me so I could nap from age 45 to 55, but that’s another rant for another time … I suspect most women will understand that sentiment whether they have cancer or not.

Within 24 hours of being discharged from having a radical mastectomy, I got a really bad cold that lasted almost until a few days ago — close to 2 weeks.

There were times I thought the hospital intentionally gave me the cold so I could continually cough as they asked us to in the pre-surgery video.

The drugs prescribed also gave me unsettling symptoms:

• The percocet for pain made me both itchy and nauseous — some of the itchiness may have also been from the morphine drip in the hospital — I’m sure there was residue of it pumping through my veins for a few days after being discharged.
• The antibiotics I had to take 4 times a day caused extremely loose stool and very frequent bowel movements.To say the least, I didn’t need the stool softener prescribed.  This problem is quite normal with antibiotics and I lived 50 years thinking I was allergic to them. It wasn’t until Dr. Ciara explained that antibiotics kill good bacteria, along with the bad … it was a moment of clarity that I can’t believe I didn’t have before.

Thank goodness I still had some cough syrup with codeine in it for the bad cold I had in October, and also had Symbicort for the wheezing this cold caused.

In the early hours this morning, I was shivering … and shivering … and shivering.

Oh no, I now may have the Flu! What next? Locusts?

I didn’t get a Flu shot this year because of all this other stuff going on.

Man, do I need some time off after this is all over … just to recover again!

Update: March 1, 2009.

Since going to the doctor on Thursday afternoon, it’s likely I had flu-like symptoms due to the leaking incision — see post entitled White Women Wear Weaves for information on what’s going on with my wound. I’m back on antibiotics and no longer feel like I’m coming down with the Flu.

I was persistent, but clearly not persistent enough. It wasn’t until I met with the medical oncologist (Dr. Chemo) who provided a binder of information regarding treatment and even more service providers — 2.5 months’ after I had undergone tests, appointments and endless confusion did I hear about this information.

The oncology nurse also told me about the Canadian Cancer Society’s transportation services which are free of charge after you register — registration was a simple phone call. For the previous 2-3 months, I had been paying the astronomical parking or taxi rates at the hospital — I’m only about 2 miles away from the hospital and it was $15 each way for a taxi.

You will have appointments that tell you not to drive afterwards. Since I’m self-employed and some of the appointments take up to 6 hours, it was becoming a financial hardship to continually have to pay for parking or taxi cabs — parking is $2.50 per half hour or less and I rarely paid less than the full day of $14.

The economy has already hurt me through 2008, and now cancer has to take a bite out of my pocket? This is becoming quite difficult.

These are some of the service providers available to assist you — please let me know if there are others I’m not aware of:

• Wellspring (a network of cancer support centres)
• CCAC, as previously mentioned
• Red Cross (who can help with hygience, meal preparation and light help around the house)
• VON
• Seniors-4-Seniors
• Dietiticans (by referral)
• Psychologists (by referral)
• Canadian Cancer Society
• Willow (Toronto): Willow Breast Cancer Support Canada provides free knowledge, understanding and support to thousands of Canadians impacted by breast cancer, empowering all to make informed decisions about their diagnosis and treatment options.

IMPORTANT! As soon as you are diagnosed with cancer, contact the Canadian Cancer Society immediately to get support from their vast network of volunteers, which includes transportation. You can also opt for individual support or group support.

Hindsight is always 20/20 and I surely wish I had been more of a Cancer Bitch. Oh, and although I have private health insurance, I do not have longterm disability insurance … this means if I don’t earn a living, I’m destined for bankruptcy. I am not qualified for any benefits due to self-employment.

If I can give any bit of advice for other self-employed individuals, get longterm disability: the few hundred dollars a month will be worth it should you ever need it.

Just look at me: I was healthy in September — and I mean quite healthy without any other issues — had cancer in October and will be not be 100% for at least 6-8 weeks … and that doesn’t include chemotherapy: my pathology report is still not back as of today, 2 weeks after surgery, so my decision will be based on the information contained in the report.

It’s also odd that the pathology report is not back. When I had the biopsy in December, the pathology report was back within 5 days. During the biopsy, Dr. Indiscreet told me that the hospital’s lab would be closing as of January, 2009, and he was concerned about the level of care and accuracy a private lab would take [with people's lives].

Is anyone listening to these concerns, from both medical practitioners and patients?