Dr.Ken Has Cancer? (Yup, Appendiceal Carcinoma)

Stefan's workplace has an annual Gingerbread Decorating  Contest using the kits they distribute. Until this past year, the prize was simply bragging rights. However, with 2 Oilers tickets and  $100 spending money on the line, this year, Stefan enlisted his mother to help. We knocked it out of the park! (See photos at the bottom of the blog.) And in a move that  made him my favourite child until one of his siblings did something  equally amazing 😁 , he gave the tickets to his parents.  (Of course,  he kept the spending money. 🤑 ) I would apologize for the lack of communication, except that I'm not sorry. ☺️ We've simply been too busy living life to take the time to blog. This is a good thing! Ken has been feeling pretty good with no physical symptoms other than fatigue. He still requires a 2+ hour nap every morning, or he starts to slur his words by 11:00am. This is highly entertaining to everyone but him. 😆 We purchased a house in Calgary two years ago, ...

  We finally left the house and didn't go to a medical appointment! We bummeled around the Premium Outlet Mall for a few hours.  (It's less busy than most shopping malls. 🙂) Ken's CT scan results are finally back, and they are clear! 🎉 Ken is NED, which means No Evidence of Disease. (They don't use the words "cured" or "in remission" anymore.) So, as of right now, Ken does not have cancer. Confusing, right?  "Um, Heather, you told us he has Stage 4 cancer, and there's no 5, so what's up ?" Well, I think there should be a Stage 5! With all the advances in cancer treatments over the past decade, Stage 4 no longer means imminent death, as it once did; it just means that the cancer has spread to multiple places. In Ken's case, the cancer spread from his appendix to his bladder, liver, omentum, large intestine, umbilicus, peritoneum, etc, etc. Yeah, it pretty much blew up in his gut. (Think of doing glittery crafts with small child...

Life has been weird. 🙃 Not in a bad way, it's just much different than the previous 30+ years Ken and I have spent together. I'm not complaining; I'm soaking it all in. 🥰 But it's still weird. 🤷🏼‍♀️                                                 Ken and I enjoyed a few days of holiday...in Calgary. 😊 It's a far cry from our former globe-trotting ways, but in no way less precious. Here we're enjoying the amazing views at The Saskatoon Farm, south of the city.  We've always joked that Ken would probably drop dead at work in the middle of performing a neurological exam at the age of 92. No one could see him retiring before he absolutely had to; he loves being a neurologist! But apparently, God had different plans. For now. And honestly, this time has been a gift. Sitting in the sunroom listening to Lectio 365 together every morning, praying together throughout ...

  What do you mean, unexpected? You've been promising us an update for months, girl! Uh-huh, I know, I know, sorry — life got in the way, as it so often does.  However, I've given myself permission to eat chocolate while blogging, so hopefully I'll be posting with a bit more regularity.  I had no idea just how cherished a gift my prize of a $100 gift card each month from Jacek Chocolate would be. It's almost like God knew I'd need more really, really good chocolate than usual! What I mean by unexpected is that the contents of this blog may come as a surprise to most of you. I promised you authenticity, and I meant it! However, first, let's bring you up to speed. 🏎️ At the end of June, I posted about Ken's journey thus far, which has been anything but easy. I then posted a personal update on my blog (which can be found  here ) in mid-August. Unfortunately, despite switching chemo protocols from CAPOX to FOLFOX, Ken continues to struggle with debilitating sid...

  Starting upper left, going clockwise: The entrance to The Cross Cancer Institute (CCI) CCI was built in 1968; it's older than both Ken and me! Ken is waiting for his appointment with Dr. Zhu. I found on-street parking, but because it's only for an hour,  I'm not sure it was worth the stress! 🤨 Sorry for the lack of communication; life has been a bit turbulent lately. 😵‍💫  And that would be the biggest understatement of my life. 🫤  While I was going through my own treatment, Ken would often say that it's harder on the caregiver than the patient. After Ken's second infusion, I asked him if that was still true. 😇 "Come on, that was a stupid comment." Actually, it was more like "Khum ahnnn, thad was a 'tupid commennnnnt."  No, he wasn't drunk; he was in the midst of Hell Week. Yes, it occurs every time, and no, it doesn't usually improve with each infusion; rather, the opposite. 🫤 It is extremely difficult to watch loved ones go t...