Author Archives: Alicia Louise

The conference part of my trip is over. It’s kind of intense to be surrounded by the topic of cancer for four days, not necessarily in a depressing way, it’s just kind of consuming. And as much as having cancer … Continue reading →

The first day of the conference is over. I met Nick at the bar, he waiting for a double Jack with a splash of Diet Coke (to avoid looking like an alcoholic) me drinking a screwdriver but later switching to Jack … Continue reading →

I cried in front of my psychiatrist last week. I feel like I’ve reached the end of something, that things are finally calming down even though I know there hasn’t been enough time to say that, but I just feel like … Continue reading →

I just took my last antibiotic. This hopefully marks the end of such things for a long, long time. It’s strange to think that some of the things I thought were side effects of treatment — namely, fatigue and high … Continue reading →

As suggested in the previous post, I have an infected portacath. The line has to come out, which will happen at 3 p.m. after I have been given enough sedation that I either don’t know or care that a long … Continue reading →

My oncologist said I’ve spent more time in the hospital than out during this trial. A slight exaggeration, but not far off the mark. I’m in here again, have been since Friday evening when I developed a fever for what feels … Continue reading →

Appropriate that I’m in the hospital today.

My hospital roommate is a 65-year-old woman with recurrent breast cancer. It’s in her brain, bones, lungs…everywhere. She’s in the hospital not for a cure, but for palliative radiation. She is the living definition of ‘no nonsense.’ If any of … Continue reading →

I’ve been asked what’s going on many times in the last couple of days. I told everyone a couple of days ago that the trial has been successful so far, but that I landed in the hospital again with a … Continue reading →

So last week I got the results from my first CT scan since starting the trial. After one and a half cycles (a cycle is 28 days) my tumours had shrunk 45 percent and (even more significantly at the moment) … Continue reading →