The Dice Rolls

Last week Tasha walked 60 km in the Weekend to End Breast Cancer...truly amazing, as she had surgery just 2 months before that. It was a blistering hot weekend but she pressed on, just as she had during her chemo and surgeries. I continue to be inspired by her tenacity during her fight and her approach to life in general.

Since my last posting, there has been so much activity regarding my treatment. Activity in my head has been swirling continually, but luckily some tangible development has also occurred. Dr. Young, my primary New York specialist, phoned me himself last Monday to discuss and clarify his team's thoughts on treatment options. Tuesday I had bloodwork and Wednesday Dr. Brown, my primary Calgary specialist, called me to further discuss the options. To summarize, both teams believe that on the current chemotherapy treatment path, I will certainly relapse, and the timing is estimated to be no more than 9 months from now. If I wish to live beyond that time, a change in treatment is needed, and the most aggressive option is a third transplant under a clinical trial running out of Sloane Kettering Cancer Center in New York. There are significant risks with a third transplant, somewhat uncharted territory, but there is a potential to gain several years of remission. It is a gamble to do the transplant, but a gamble to continue with my current treatment given the estimated time I would have. My thought currently is that I am willing to risk 9 months for a potential 4-5 years, in which time I would hope for new developments in research. So I am likely going to roll the dice....

That decision is only the first step of many in making this happen. The doctors will start to make decisions on the where, how, and who of the treatment, and I will look into how this may get funded. I am fortunate to have some angels around me, one in particular at PricewaterhouseCoopers named Shannon, a partner there who has become a friend over the years, and who was responsible for me going to New York two years ago for a special project. After meeting with her Thursday, she spearheaded some serious digging into coverage options and by Friday she had a multitude of information, from pre-approval applications and phone numbers to thoughts on how I may fundraise if that ends up being necessary. She's amazing. There is still a lot to be done but now I feel armed with the tools and my head can stop swirling.


In the midst of all of this, I had a wonderful visit with my cousin Barbara, who lives just a block away from where I used to live in Calgary. She is a beautiful person with a wonderful family, and someone I admire, so it was great to have a drink with her on a hot summer day.

Two of my best friends (mom and dad for those who don't know them!)celebrated their 39th wedding anniversary Friday so we celebrated with dinner...they have been swirling with me since the day I was diagnosed, so it was a nice break to stop and just celebrate their ability to keep it all together. A fitting toast to life and love.

With blackberry in hand to keep the information gathering rolling on the health front, I am heading to Regina Beach tomorrow to hang with Tasha's family at their cabin for a few days. Then I am off to Grand Cayman again, to snorkel with Dave for a week...perfect ways to escape a little from the realities I have been consumed by lately. Cheers