Friday Update

Chemotherapy

I started my chemo program on Wednesday.  Suffering a little fatigue and nausea over the last couple of days.  Still waiting for some of the other side-effects to hit.  Over-all not too bad so far!  I'll have chemo every two weeks for the next 20 weeks or so.  I'd like to get a break at Christmas if possible.  We'll see.

Radiation
I had a visit with my radiation oncologist on Thursday.  He is happy with the outcome of the radiation and expects me to see continued benefits in that area.

PET Scan
The plan to have a PET Scan in Edmonton has fallen through.  I don't know the details but there were some financial/billing problems between the Alberta and BC.  No plans for this scan now.  I'll probably have one when my Chemo program is finished.  This does not concern me as I'm pretty sure there is no other cancer to be found.  I was looking forward to a trip to Edmonton though!   But I would not be travelling on Chemo anyways. 

That's all folks!!

Rob; in Vancouver

"The dream of wellness sustained me

throughout the reality of the treatment."

Vickie Girard

Metalstasis

I posted this a couple of years ago too.  It is pretty strange! I'm amazed by the new animation technology. I think they've really captured the spirit of cancer and chemo here!

I love it when this guy shaves! Great haircut too!

Enjoy... Rob

Chemo Plan - Finally!

Finally!  It starts!    Not that chemo is ever something that you WANT to do, it is good to be getting started.

I begin tomorrow with a program of Erbitux, the growth inhibitor I mentioned earlier, and Irinotecan, a chemotherapy drug I have taken twice before.  Both of these medicines will be administered by way of an intravenous infusion which I will receive at the North Vancouver Cancer Clinic.

This is how Erbitux works!

I'm familiar with the side-effects of Irinotecan,  nausea, severe diarrhea, suppression of the immune system (low white blood cells), and hair loss (sometimes).  Erbitux is known particularly for a nasty skin rash on the face, head, chest, shoulders, and back.  The trick with chemo is to manage the side-effects in such a way as to continue with the chemo program.

The plan is for me to receive these medicines once every two weeks for 20 weeks.  10 treatments in all.  If I am able to stick with it the treatments will be finished in mid-April.  It is a long program. 

Stay tuned for updates!

Rob; in Vancouver

"Yesterday I decided to go to the office.

I got as far as the bedroom door.

Chemo strikes."

Peter Jennings

Cancer 101

Karen Armstrong - TED

Karen Armstrong speaking on compassion and the "Golden Rule"

"The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves." 

Charter for Compassion

The Bowels of Compassion

Compassion is that wonderful human capacity to share deeply with others in their pain and suffering. It is a feeling that emerges in the gut, the bowels, the ancient bodily location of love and pity. Today we tend to identify compassion and love more frequently with the heart. It was not always so.

One Greek word that is translated into compassion in the ancient stories of biblical healing is Splagchnizomai.

splangkh-nid'-zom-ahee to be moved as to one's bowels, hence to be moved with compassion, have compassion (for the bowels were thought to be the seat of love and pity). The New Testament Greek Lexicon

 This root of compassion speaks of a deep "visceral" yearning or moving in the very “bowels of our being” when confronted with the suffering of another. Compassion reminds us of the deep interconnection we have with all life. Compassion transcends all of the superficial divisions we set up to keep ourselves separate and isolated. It unites us in the most diverse and dire of situations.

Our capacity to experience compassion develops more deeply as we become aware of our own vulnerability and suffering. In the words of Sogyal Rinpoche… "when we finally know we are dying, and all other sentient beings are dying with us, we start to have a burning, almost heartbreaking sense of the fragility and preciousness of each moment and each being, and from this can grow a deep, clear, limitless compassion for all beings.”

More than just a gut feeling, compassion motivates us to live and act in ways that alleviate the suffering of others. Even if it just means listening to someone’s story or holding someone in our laps in the midst of great trauma and chaos.

With Love… Rob; in Vancouver

“But it’s hard to explain, Mitch. Now that I am suffering, I feel closer to others who are suffering than I ever did before.”

Tuesdays with Morrie

Originally posted in July 2007

If I Had a Hammer

The Flintstones - Winston Ads

I get a real kick out of these vintage Flintstone commercials for Winston cigarettes!   Back in the day!

We've come a long way since then.  Cigarette advertising is way down.  But smoking is still pretty popular with the kids!

Be well & Don't smoke!!   Rob; in Vancouver

Smoke, Smoke, Smoke!

Charter for Compassion

A call to bring the world together…

The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect. read more...

With these words the Charter for Compassion was launched yesterday as a vehicle to promote peace, understanding, compassion, and justice in our world.  Amongst the early "affirmers" of the Charter are His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Karen Armstrong,  Queen Noor of Jordan, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Deepak Chopra, Dr. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, and Sister Joan Chittister.

------------------------------------

This initiative could not come at a better time for me.  After attending our Remembrance Day service on Wednesday I was overwhelmed by the awareness that, as we gather each year, we bear witness to our collective failure to create and sustain a just peace in this world. 

I invite you to visit the Charter for Compassion website, affirm the Charter and learn more about how we can restore compassionate thinking and compassionate action to the center of our lives.

Charter for Compassion

With compassion...  Rob; in Vancouver

“The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another.”

Thomas Merton