Wednesday, Sept. 22

Hi Friends,
I had a good day today with a nice long nap. That's a first in this whole process - the drugs rev up my body so a nap is truly a cherished event. Late this afternoon Julie and I went for a walk in the Butterfly Garden, and sure enough, lots of butterflies came to say hello and be photographed.
In an earlier post, Janet made reference to Michael Franti's "Sound of Sunshine" and said that she thought of me when she heard it. In fact, I first heard that song just after I was diagnosed and it has become one for my fall playlist. Some of the lyrics are bang on, and it has such a happy and optimistic feel to it. I'll attach the link so you can all have a listen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otPHJEm8b94&feature=related

Round three of chemo is tomorrow, so I'll sign off for a few days. Much love to all of you...
Kip

Tuesday, September 21

Hi Friends,
We went down to Princess Margaret today for blood work, an appointment with the oncologist, and to pick up the prescriptions for Thursday. There were many long lines--1.5 hours for blood work and about the same at the pharmacy--and we made it back home in about 6 hours. The great news is that Tito has shrunk again, not as much as the first time, but he continues to be on the run. They say that tumors often shrink a lot at first and that we should expect for that to slow down as the process continues. So we will be patient.
In the meantime, we continue with the science experiment known as Kip. Mouth sores, eyes that continually feel like I'm chopping onions and the like. All mucous-related bits of the body--of which I now know there are many--become inflamed and sore with these drugs, so it's to be expected.
But tonight a new season of Glee begins and I will enjoy that with an oversize popsicle.
Much love,
Kip

Monday, Sept 20

Hi Friends,
More energy today, and Catherine, Jules and I went for a walk down at the butterfly garden at the end of Parklawn Road. The garden is truly amazing, it borders on Lake Ontario and the Toronto skyline is in the backdrop. Because it only takes a few minutes to drive there, and because it makes you feel like you are in another rural world, I suspect we will frequent it this fall and winter.
Catherine ran 7k today (well done!) and we did our meditation, then went for the walk. Jules made a lovely dinner upon our arrival home.
My eyes are still burning today - quite an annoying side effect. We meet with the oncologist tomorrow to go over my blood work and symptoms (including how to deal with them) and learn more about Tito and Blanket's status. Update to follow tomorrow night.
Much love,
Kip

Sunday, Sept. 19, Thanksgiving Part 1

Hi everyone,

Today we started a new ritual. I have asked Catherine if we could have Thanksgiving dinner (roast chicken, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce etc.) every second Sunday on my non-treatment weekend. Tonight Susan came in to share our meal which was absolutely delicious. It was wonderful to have my appetite back today so as to enjoy our meal.

Speaking of good food, below is the salmon recipe we mentioned earlier this week (from Dr. Oz). Enjoy...
Love,
Kip

Salmon with Mustard Crust and Sauteed Spinach

Serves 4

Non-stick cooking spray

1 small red onion, sliced very thin

1/3 cup Dijon mustard

1 small navel orange, peeled and cut into segments

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 (4-oz) salmon fillets

2 garlic cloves, sliced very thin

2 tbsp real bacon bits (optional)

12 oz baby spinach

Directions

Preheat the broiler on low. Line a baking sheet with foil; spray it with cooking spray and set it aside. In a small bowl, mix the onion with the mustard. Add the orange segments and toss to combine thoroughly. Season the mixture generously with salt and pepper. Lay the salmon on the prepared baking sheet; season it with salt and pepper. Divide the onion mixture among the 4 fillets, spreading it out to cover the surface of the fish completely.

Broil the salmon until the onion mixture is almost charred and the salmon is just cooked through, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a large non-stick sauté pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, spray it with cooking spray. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until it is very fragrant and just beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Then add the bacon bits and spinach, and season lightly with salt and pepper. Cover the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the spinach wilts, about 3 minutes.

When the spinach is cooked, remove it from the pan, draining off as much liquid as possible, and arrange it on a serving platter. Place the salmon fillets on top of the spinach, and serve.

Saturday, Sept. 18

Hi Everyone,
Today I had a little more energy, which was amazing. Catherine and I did our daily meditation with Jon Kabat-Zinn, and then this afternoon went to High Park where we met Catherine's brothers Paul and Ian, and Paul's partner Abbie (Abbie also teaches at Queen's and we sometimes get to run into each other on campus and have lunch). It was a fabulous walk and it felt great to get out (well, my gut is never entirely happy with movement but every other body part was celebrating). I'm excited to be beginning my upswing days before the next treatment on Thursday.
Thursday was a bad day for my cousin Ellen: she and her partner drove from Peterborough to Sunnybrook in Toronto for her surgery on Thursday and was turned away because they didn't have a bed. We are awaiting another surgery and/or chemo date for her. Hopefully that will be soon.
Much love,
Kip

Low Day

Today was a low energy day. Kip and I did a meditation in the morning (Jon Kabat Zinn) and then Kip took a long 'kip' in the afternoon. Barb's new love Helen dropped by with tics to TIFF (yay!) and hopefully Julie will be able to use them tomorrow.

Kip's back is hurting, so hopefully she will be able to get more movement in the next few "good" days. The sun is supposed to shine, so that will help too.

We are hoping for more life force tomorrow. Apparently (who knew?) it hurts (physically, it burns) to cry when you are undergoing chemotherapy. More questions for the medical oncologist.... This seems a hard spot. If you're feeling sad you should be able to cry.

So, we will watch Glee (we're starting from the beginning, how beautiful is that?) and turn in early. Wishing you all a beautiful weekend.

Love,
Catherine (and Kip)

Thursday, September 16, from Catherine

Today Kip woke up with nausea at zero (on a scale out of 10). This is cause for celebration all by itself! Of course, it didn't last all day, but good moments are to be savoured. We have decided that the more fine grained we can make the description of symptoms, perhaps the easier they are to manage. So far we have nausea, fatigue, energy (today's addition), appetite, disinclination towards food (anorexia), mood, and malaise. The crazy social-scientist/Capricorn in me is charting all of these symptoms happily. At the end of this, we have decided we will go into full time chemo-education. (Probably not, but it's a thought).

Today, I ran errands in the city (which involved Kip driving me), and made Abbie's granola (OHMYGODTHATSMELLSGREAT), and had a delicious salmon dinner with Julie.

Kip is feeling fragile, which makes sense, and intensely grateful for the love and support of friends. Tonight we are thinking about Ellen, Kip's cousin (fabulous Ellen for those who know of her) who underwent surgery at Sunnybrook today for ovarian cancer. She has been a source of laughter and light as she and Kip go through chemo together.

On the baldness front, by the way, Dorit, you're right, Kip looks beautiful bald. (For those of you interested, the grey hair fell out first. Some brown hair, sticking around.) So, Kip says that the feeling in her head is like the Science Center globe that glows energetically. It's prickly, sensitive and a little bit tender.

Love to all. Feel free to post here. Catherine