Maui Christmas!

I wish you a Maui Christmas and a Happy New Year! Or Mele Kaliki Maka, Ha ole maka heke ho!

Mom, dad and I enjoyed two weeks of wonderfulness in Maui, as kind of a last-minute vacation of sorts, with no agenda and no expectations. The time was spent mostly at two beaches nearby our condo, boogey-boarding, snorkeling and just relaxing. The most tangible thing that came out of our time on the beach was a giant sand sea-turtle that dad and I created (which tourists had pictures of them taken in front of!), and a video I took of a sand crab who was able to throw a little clump of sand further than most professional baseball players.


Of course, being Tricia and being the tropics, some record-breaking crazy weather had to be a part of our trip. The worst rainstorms in 50 years hit Maui and we had no power for a day and a half...not that surprising after my hurricane escape in August, the last time I met a coastal area. We really didn't complain given that it was -17 back in Calgary! A few card games by candlelight later, we were back on the beach anyway! All in all, it was one of the best vacations I've been on

Maui was...energizing to say the least. Once again, my body engaged the sand and sea with happiness and I was far stronger when we left than the day we arrived. A daily workout of riding waves in to shore, getting up on my feet and charging back into the ocean was better than all the physio I've been attempting back in Alberta. A day-trip to the island of Lanai also opened up some dozen views of whales enjoying some ocean time, incredible fish among beautiful coral, and sea turtles bobbing near Maui's coast. We also managed to find some wonderful restaurants and places to visit at night after our daytime seaside adventures. My legs were sore from the ocean workout and my arms were sore from clapping to the Irish bands!

After the red-eye flight home, we drove directly to the hospital for chemo, which was delayed by a day or so due to timing of blood-work. The update on the clinical trial was pretty flat - a contract at the entity-level of all parties involved needs to be drawn up, and the doctors in Calgary do not have a sense of how long this may take. Patience and a continued tolerance for the unknown seem to be my best tools in this challenge. I wish for both in ample amounts for Christmas.

Oh yeah....Christmas! In just two days! We are lucky to be spending Christmas Eve and morning with Dana, Brandon, Davis and Jack, which should be entertaining as the twins discover wrapped boxes as a tradition. A simple but wonderful few days are ahead, and I look forward to enjoying them, physically able, healthy for the moment. I'll likely eat too much, sleep too much and make resolutions for the New Year, just like everybody else. And it will be excellent.

2007 was a pretty fantastic year, filled with experiences that I never imagined I'd be able to see, taste and feel. I travelled, I visited, I learned, and I laughed more than I hurt and more than I cried. I guess that's what it's all about. So I wish you all a wonderful holiday season and for 2008 - more days filled with joy, laughter, love and happiness than you have days of loss and tears. I thank you for all of your continued support and toast to you - a wonderful life!

Cheers

Celebrities, green, white and a little Maui

Well the bad news is that I am still waiting to hear if the transplant clinical trial will be approved. The good news is that the doctors said to go ahead with a trip to Maui with mom and dad. Dad had booked flights on Westjet back in August on a one-day sale that were just over $200 each way, figuring that even if we had to cancel and use them later it was worth it! We leave for the airport in less than two hours...perfect timing as Calgary just had a bunch of snow overnight as a going away present.


The Celebrity Waiters Luncheon was a huge success this year...it raised $181,000 in around 2 hours, led by Brandon's live auction and Dad's table from Adesa with Jim Peplinski as waiter coming in at $24,350. PwC, with waiter Michelle Cameron, was the major sponsor raising $18,800, and with Mom and Dana as volunteers for the day, it was truly a family affair! An small amazing volunteer committee and a great coordinator from the Society really pulled off a fantastic result for research and patient services.


The weekend after the CWL wrapped up, we were able to have a little "pre-Christmas" with the Pinvidics - Colleen, Allan, Grady and Joelle visited from Vancouver. The kids were able to meet their little cousins Jack and Davis and we were all able to some great visiting. I was able to make it to the zoo with them, play pool with Grady and show Joelle "girl heaven" at Sephora. It was a perfect chance to hang out with some of my favourite people before this next stage of treatment starts.


The past few weeks were good in many ways...they included celebrating Dana's birthday, coffees and lunches with friends, a dinner with my favourite Calgary-Austin cyclist Kelsey and last weekend my PwC Christmas Party - a fabulous event to see many coworker friends at. The next day, however, was priceless. Tasha and Ryan had a few friends over to watch the Roughriders take down the Bluebombers at the Grey Cup. Two weeks ago I purchased a signed Andy Fantuz jersey at a United Way auction, to me the necessary step to ensure the Riders would make and win the Grey Cup. I was pretty ecstatic (after being stressed to the final minute) when they did it! 1989 was too long ago - Green is the Colour...


Speaking of Tasha, as so many of you ask, she is still amazing, but she has been on a serious roller coaster lately, not only with the news of Ryan's brain tumour returning, but with an inconclusive test of some tissue near her surgery. January 2008 will be a big month for all three of us, with Ryan's MRI following 2 months of chemo, another ultrasound for Tasha, and some kind of new aggressive treatment for me. We three hope for a Happy New Year!
In the midst of these last few weeks, the day I found out that grandma had passed away, I had some very low blood counts as well as some very high blood counts, both abnormal. Uncertainty continues to be the overriding theme, and at the same time, I physically feel better than I have in a year and a half. Frustrating or scary days seem to be overturn by happier moments, shared with a variety of family and friends, and animals three of which are pictured here....

Jack the Lion, Davis the Zebra and Talyn the Giraffe

Well...I better head to the airport! Mele Kaliki Maka!

Mary

A lot has happened since my last post, but by far the most significant was the passing of a beautiful soul, my grandma Antonini. While her health had been sliding in the previous months, the last turn was rather quick and caught me somewhat off guard. Just two months before she died, our giant family gathered on a weekend to celebrate her upcoming 90th birthday, and grandma attended and enjoyed every minute of it. It's still hard to imagine that that little red-headed lady with sweet juicy dimples, turquoise eyes and a silly laugh - the true model of life and love - is gone. While I will miss her so much, I take comfort that she is finally dancing with grandpa, and laughing no doubt.

This picture shows my first few years with grandma. With over 36 grandchildren, I am amazed and grateful how she made each of us feel so special - that was how endless her love and energy was. She was a good friend to me, and I know her dedicated prayers helped me to where I am today.

She was a young soul her entire life. I love you grandma.

Light the Night pics

My talented sister-in-law Dana took these awesome pics from Light the Night and I had to post them!

!

The good, the bad and Amazing Austin

I have to say Austin Texas is a pretty cool place. The weekend I shared with Kelsey, my crazy generous CTAPP rider and the rest of the Cancervive CTAPP group was equally amazing. The entire weekend was so well planned and filled with incredible moments-the warm welcome at the airport Friday, celebration dinner Friday night... (pictured above - me with my warrior hat and Chris Clark, PwC CEO and fellow cancer warrior; pictured below my rider Kelsey and Chris)...the Livestrong walk on Saturday where Kelsey and I walked 5K through Austin and I walked through the "survivor shoot" to collect my Yellow Rose of Texas...Saturday afternoon travelling to San Antonio, cruising along the river walk and visiting the Alamo ....

Sunday morning for the Livestrong ride - Lance spoke and then rode as well - Kelsey and Chris rode 40 miles and I cheered on the entire CTAPP team (a small sea of blue in a large sea of yellow) - amazing stories, amazing people. While I didn't meet Lance (there were a few thousand people there remember), Kelsey got to shake Lance's hand right before she started the ride, a great birthday present for her! Sunday we had Texas BBQ and flew back Monday.

In between the ride and dinner Sunday, I even got to hang out with my cousin Kenneth and his lovely wife Johanne, a real treat since I so rarely get to Austin! All in all, a pretty awesome weekend.

Returning late Monday night, early Tuesday for bloodwork was back to reality. Wednesday was Day One chemo again, but with my clear marrow I was happy to keep on! The doctors were quite (pleasantly) surprised by the results, and the transplant trial application was moving forward. We should know something in the next month or so, once Health Canada in Ottawa has reviewed the complete application. "Cautiously optomistic" is the phrase being provided right now. One way or the other, I'll be heading to the hospital likely in December or January. Accordingly, I am now on a fast track of physio and training to get strong and ready for whatever I end up doing. With my CTAPP rider Kelsey training for IronMan next August, that's what I call this next month or so - my IronMan training, as I am doing some amount of swimming, running and cycling to prepare!

On the day I found out that my marrow was still in remission, I also found out some brutal news. My best friend Tasha who you've heard and seen about over the past year as she battled breast cancer - her husband Ryan found out that his brain tumour has started growing again. Ryan was diagnosed almost 11 years ago and has had 2 surgeries and done radiation and chemo, with the last treatments finishing over 4 years ago. Now he has to face some difficult decisions regarding surgery and chemo, and start whatever treatment they land on this week. While he is strong and obviously has Tasha for support, I sure wish they could have had just even a few months of non-cancer living.

Since Austin, I have been busy with a variety of work for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society...our annual fundraiser Celebrity Waiters Luncheon is this coming Friday, November 2nd, so I've been at a lot of steering committee meetings over the past couple of weeks and it looks like it will be one of the best ever. I spoke last Tuesday to 100 hematology nurses at a conference cosponsored by our patient services program and I have met with a few more Team in Training participants, our marathon fundraising program. I also spoke last week to a newly-diagnosed ALL patient to help her deal with her questions about her upcoming treatment and transplant. My blackberry is pretty full even though I'm not technically working!

Last night I turned myself into a skeleton for a Halloween party and had an abracadabra martini to toast a night where imagination is the key to success. It took a while to get my makeup off last night, so I'm ready for a nap already today, but it was fun. I hope you have a boolicious Halloween week!

Marrow Miracle

I'm off for bloodwork and will do a full "Austin report" later but wanted to let you know preliminary reports from my bone marrow biopsy indicate that I am still in remission! The quest for the clinical trial transplant continues.....Woo hoo!

Transportation and Thanksgiving

Since my last post I traversed Chicago and New York, trotted in Light the Night and walked in the Run for the Cure! My Cancervive cycle queen Kelsey left on her 8-day bike journey to Austin, Texas where I will join her this Friday. I celebrated Thanksgiving weekend with family and friends. In the midst of all of these wonderful weeks, I also travelled yet another loop in the roller coaster of leukemia.
Chicago was fabulous...amazing architecture, excellent shopping and tasty dining. I realized I'd never REALLY had Chicago deep dish pizza until I had it there. Wow. So much to do, so little time.

By Friday when mom and I flew to NYC, we were a little wiped! Saturday started with a little adventure to get some blood work done in Chinatown, after which we saw the play Pygmalion starring Clare Danes and that night met my friend Glorisel for dinner in Soho. Sunday we spent most of the day our friend Karyn, with brunch at Balthazar, shopping at Barney's and a drink later on in our hip hotel outdoor bar. Monday we shopped on the Upper West Side and ended it with another great night at Elaine's, where we were joined by friends Karyn, Gianni, Chet and Peter, among others. Tuesday included our favourite lunch spot, Nobu 57 and dinner with another friend Jaime at Fig & Olive in the Meatpacking district. All around, it was a great trip, and visiting with my old friends was wonderful. I didn't get to see my NYC doctor in person as his clinic days did not correspond with my trip. I was pretty exhausted when we arrived back to Calgary.

Two days later though, I was rested enough to walk 6.5 km with 45 friends and family "Tricia's trotters" at Light the Night, a celebratory walk of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. We walked at dusk, with our lighted balloons, and the event raised over $380,000. Some of the trotters had travelled from Regina to do the walk, including uncles and aunts Ed, Deanie, Mike and Diane, friend Chad, and cousins Holly, Jamie, Ellie (see photo below), Eddie, Mia, Lui, and amazing-fundraiser Heather. Calgary-based trotters included mom, dad, Dana (sister-in-law), uncles and aunts Marty, Karen, and Mary-Ellen, Bob (Gunn), friends Tasha, Ryan, Talyn, Erin, Lindsay, Doug, Michelle, Alex, Cal, Shelley and family, Rhea, Ryan and family, Ryan U and Val, and cousins Allan, Melissa, Bjorn, Barbara and super-fundraiser Lindsey. We were definitely one of the largest teams there! We also walked alongside the PwC Girls team, a collection of some of my coworkers and friends who have been supporting me for years. To describe the evening as amazing is understating it significantly. A year before, I felt energy from my angels as I tried to recover from the flesh-eating disease and take my first steps in months. this year, I walked with many of my angels. What's more amazing than that! I thank all who made the trek as well as the dozens more that supported the trotters with donations and their support.

The next morning, I was thrilled to continue celebrating life while walking a shorter path with Tasha, Ryan, Talyn and Tasha's brother Chad in the CIBC Run for the Cure for breast cancer. Since being diagnosed last year, Tasha has had 3 surgeries and months of chemotherapy, all while remaining positive and strong about both her future as well as mine. I was so happy to be able to celebrate life and our friendship with that walk.

Later that week, I witnessed a different type of transportation with a similar theme. As I mentioned before, Kelsey Wiens, a PwC coworker who I met a couple of months ago, is part of a cycling team called CTAPP, a crazy but generous group of people who are as we speak riding (bikes not motorbikes) from Calgary to Austin, Texas, raising money and awareness for cancer. Lucky for me, Kelsey selected me as a "cancer warrior". Last Wednesday they embarked on their giant journey, and I was able to attend the send-off breakfast for the team. This Friday I will fly to Austin to spend the weekend with her and the team at the Lance Armstrong LiveStrong weekend. I am honoured to be associated with this team and look forward to celebrating their arrival Friday night. It's like the song says - "If we're ever going to survive we got a get a little crazy". Cycling 24 hours a day from Calgary to Austin or fighting cancer, it fits.

After the CTAPP send-off, I was thrilled to speak to a class of grade 12 students as part of a biology presentation on acute leukemia by Megan Dempster, the daughter of a friend and coworker of mine, Karen Dempster. Shortly after than, I met up with Jerry Weber, a man who ran the Maui marathon in honour of me in mid-September, to find out how his run went.

Things definitely got a bit crazy later that day, with a call from the bone marrow clinic telling me they wanted me to do some additional blood work, after a lab report indicated my most recent blood work indicated "atypical lymphocytes". Flow cytometry results on Friday indicated some leukemic cells in my peripheral blood, which could indicate a relapse. A bone marrow biopsy would need to be done to confirm or refute that.

In between Friday and yesterday, I celebrated Thanksgiving. It is pretty easy to be thankful when I recall last Thanksgiving, my first pass home from the hospital, barely able to get up the front steps with my cane, and eating pureed food one half teaspoon at at time. This year, my uncle Bob and aunt Heather came to Calgary Saturday with their dog Patsy and we had dinner with their son Conan and his girlfriend Christine. We had a wonderful visit and the next morning had brunch with Brandon, Dana and Davis and Jack. As always, it was entertaining! Sunday night I had dinner with Tasha, Ryan, Talyn and their friend Nathan, and then Tasha and I kicked some butt as we battled Singstar and Cranium with Ryan and Nathan. Monday night we all stuffed ourselves with turkey (non-pureed) and all the fixins!

Yesterday I had my first bone marrow biopsy in over a year, and now I wait for the results. This morning we met with Dr. Brown at the clinic and went over a number of possible paths depending on the results. If I have relapsed and the marrow contains too many leukemic cells, I may no longer be eligible for the transplant clinical trial that I have been moving towards. Regardless of what state the marrow is in, all possible plans include hitting the leukemia hard again and soon. What hammer we use will be decided once the marrow results are known.

For now, I am packing for Austin and hope to enjoy the weekend as much as possible. It's been an interesting few weeks since my last post! I hope all of you had a scrumptious Thanksgiving - thank you again for your support of Light the Night, Run for the Cure and me!

Cheers

Wind, Walk and Trot

Greetings from the Windy City!

Yes, I realize it's not been long since I escaped the hurricane and kissed solid ground again, but Dad and Mom were heading to Chicago for a conference that Dad had to attend and I couldn't help but take advantage of a hotel room in a city I've never spent time in. We're only here for 3 days, but I added a few more days in New York to see some friends and possibly my NYC team of doctors working on treatment options.
This past Monday I started another "day one" of chemo and had an update on the possible path to a third transplant under a clinical trial. The good news is that the doors to opening the trial to Calgary are not totally slammed shut yet. The bad news is that the paperwork and hoops and jumps grow as the door stays open, so that means patience is a key requirement for me as all the doctors continue to work away.

In the meantime, life continues as it does and always will. I've filled the time nicely between "transplant administration" with my work with the Society, as well as connecting with friends for lunches, dinners, a little Singstar and even a ladies poker night. We also had Davis and Jack for a few hours this weekend, which is always a source of joy and escape from any world you currently reside in. They are nearly 16 months now and are VERY active, and pretty entertaining.





I look forward to this weekend to connect again with some old NYC friends as well. Good days and even half days of "good stuff" counter some challenging days or moments I have lately - really the certainty of a wonderful hour visiting with a friend can balance the uncertainty of the time I have or what treatment I may do or not do. It's funny how the smallest treasures of life are the glue that keep you together to face the hardest challenges.

At the end of the month, or over the course of the next few weeks depending on the city, many of you will attend the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Light the Night Walk...it's a great event that really celebrates life. The Calgary walk is on September 29th with over 24 "tricia's trotters" - I will also walk the next morning in the Run for the Cure with my friend Tasha as we both celebrate survivorship and life together. If you'd like to support either event but can't make the walk, you are certainly welcome to make a donation at either of my donation sites:

http://www.active.com/donate/ltncal/2255_tantonini

https://www.cibcrunforthecure.com/html/personal_page.asp?track=2422142&languageid=1

Of course, I'm grateful simply for your continued support as I "trot" through this roller coaster.

Many many thanks and cheers from the windy city,

Tricia

August Hurricanes

It's been quite a month.

In early August I spent a few lovely days by the lake at Tasha's family cabin at Pelican Point in Saskatchewan. Card games, friends, sunshine and hot dogs sure work to relax me. A couple of days later I travelled to Grand Cayman with Dave. As these pictures will show, we had some wonderful days together, basically snorkeling our heads off with the creatures beneath the sea.





As many of you already know, our trip was interrupted with the news on Wednesday that Hurricane Dean was tracking to hit the island late Sunday evening/Monday morning (our Air Canada flight was scheduled for Sunday noon. We decided to invest options the next morning. By Thursday morning, all flights leaving before ours were full. One airline official who had been in Hurricane Ivan three years ago said some evacuation flights might be added, but they would be after our flight left. We called Air Canada to confirm they were planning to operate their flight and they were. We confirmed that they had my email address and cell phone number as contact information. The Canadian consulate also confirmed they understood the flight would go. So we waited.

On Saturday morning on our way to go snorkel we went to return a movie we'd rented, but had to wait 10 minutes until the store opened. We decided to go into the internet cafe while we waited, where we'd been checking the hurricane tracking over the past two days. I thought I'd just go on to Air Canada's site and check our flight status. The phrase "this flight has been cancelled" flashed on the screen and our stomachs fell. I dialed my mom and dad on my cell phone and told them to phone Air Canada to see what they could find out, as the 1-800 number we had did not work from my phone. We fled back to the condo and started frantically packing. Our parents both called to report they'd talked to Air Canada and it was cancelled. We left for the airport, where thousands of people were sprawled outside the small terminal, trying to board or find tickets. After Dave and I spent hours lined up at various airlines, the best we had was two tickets (not seats)on a flight just added by American Airlines scheduled to leave at 6:45 PM Sunday, which was a bit tight for time, and the flight was oversold. In the blistering heat we went to our rental car to cool down, and Dave continued to try to find someone to explain my medical condition, in case I could get a seat somehow. While he was out talking to an airline contact, I noticed a small awning just outside the arrival area of the terminal, with PricewaterhouseCoopers across the top. When Dave returned to the car, he said he'd seen the awning too, and I ran over to see what it was about. It was the PwC Grand Cayman office, evacuating on a flight they'd chartered. Unfortunately they'd long since submitted the manifest, the passenger flight list. On hearing my medical condition, however, they phoned the airline just in case they would add our names. Luckily for us, they added us and we flew to Orlando on the charter flight, catching a Westjet flight back to Toronto on Sunday. We never did hear from Air Canada. I can't explain how frightening it was, and how Air Canada just completely disregarded the lives of their customers.

After a couple days of rest following the hurricane escape, I headed to the hospital for chemo "day one" again. While my blood counts were good and the chemo uneventful, Dr. Brown updated me on the progress made on the transplant trial. Without going into details, it looks like it will be very unlikely that the clinical trial can happen in Calgary, mostly because of the nature of a controlled single-institution study. Further to that, it is quite possible that Alberta Health will consider the transplant "experimental", in which case it would not approve it as an insured service should I need to go to New York for the procedure. If that is the case, there may be no amount of the procedure covered. As you can imagine, after the significant energy I poured into making the decision to go with the transplant, I was in another hurricane that day, spinning with this news.

Luckily, the next morning I flew to Regina (on Westjet as you can imagine) for an incredibly wonderful hurricane of family - 14 uncles and aunts, 33 cousins, and all of their spouses and children gathered to celebrate my grandma Antonini's upcoming 90th birthday. There are no words to describe the love and energy I felt sharing the weekend with everyone - we flew kites, sang songs, ate, drank, visited, and laughed and laughed. I also played my first golf game since my relapse and surgery, and while my swing was light, I played all 18 and our group scored the lowest of the 3 groups (although we did not win?!). Davis and Jack made their first appearance with the "big family" and of course were a hit. The weekend was definitely what I needed!

Of course, 5 solid days of standing, visiting and playing golf, after just escaping a hurricane and having days 1-5 of chemo, left me a little exhausted. Well, totally exhausted. But worth it. So, last week was a bit of a write off. I took some good advice and decided to put my list of transplant to-dos on a shelf for a few days and recharge. Mom and Dad and I even headed to the mountains for a night in Kananaskis on Saturday, which of course helped the recovery speed. Mountain air sure heals.

So now, I'm back to business. I have several duties this week with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society - speaking at an information session, chairing our board meeting, and attending a fundraising committee meeting. I'm also going to try to find out more about where the transplant option is at, if there's still a chance to get Alberta Health on board, and what exactly the cost of doing the transplant in New York would be. As always, I'll keep you updated!

Cheers