A Treatment Respite

The five weeks away were great. The drive back from Edmonton was very difficult though. For the first time ever it took us four full days to drive from Edmonton to Inuvik, leaving Edmonton the afternoon of August 14. The Dempster Highway was the worst we have every seen it in the past 20 years with almost all of the bad stuff on the Yukon side of the border. It was raining continuously, and at times the holes were so bad that we crept along at 10 to 15 km/hr. The holes stretched from one shoulder to the other so could not be avoided.

Our traveling roles were reversed throughout our summer, with Sandra doing most of the driving and me reading maps and using Google Maps on my phone. Back then the chemo side effects were still so bad for me that driving was very tiring.

Now back to Inuvik, with the first snow today, September 01, and temperatures hovering around 0C.

The blood tests on the morning of August 20, just before leaving for Yellowknife and a CT Scan on the 21st, showed that my one remaining kidney has regained most of its healthy function. The blood work looks good.

My CT scan on August 21 showed that the entire treatment scenario has been effective. It was done with intravenous contrast, so that everything could be observed in detail. There are no new tumours. One small nodule in the lower part of my left lung is stable as are the tumours on my spine. No tumour growth evident at all. And the enlarged cancerous lymph nodes in my upper chest have all shrunk dramatically for the first time since my cancer operation away back at the end of 2015.

So Dr Walker my oncologist is very pleased with the results and is leaving my off any more treatments until after the next CT Scan in early to mid October, about six weeks time. If that CT Scan still shows stability there will be no more treatment for the time being.

Most chemo side effects have dissipated, except for "chemo-brain", which means that my memory still has lapses that didn't used to happen. Fortunately I can drive again very effectively. I am still tired a lot of the time and need more sleep than usual, and my muscles are not as strong as they were.

I am in far better shape than a couple of months ago, when I had to be in a wheelchair just to get from an air terminal to the aircraft and vice versa.

I must get writing again, which will help my brain function return to normal. I am finding that very difficult, because my old creative urges have not returned.