Very happy indeed!!

Well my twin brother Paul came and went.  It was fantastic having him here but the 10 days went so quickly.  

The whole time he was here I was worried about the results I was about to receive from a PET Scan that I did just when he arrived. Ever since I knew I was going to take the PET Scan all decision making was put on hold.  The diagnosis was going to tell me if the cancer had spread and I felt like I couldn't make any decisions about anything until I knew the results.  

I've been thinking of moving house because of the stairs leading up to my apartment.  My parents find it difficult to climb and since my surgery, I have also found it difficult to climb. And of course Choochie Boy is having a hard time too. 

I also want to go on holidays.  Decisions on this and many other things were being held up by the scan results.

Well on Thursday I went to see the doctor who sent me for the PET Scan and the results were very good indeed.   They showed no sign of active cancer.  I still have quite a bit of pain but it seems most likely that the pain is due to the operation I had since so many nerves were damaged during the operation and also the numbness is still wearing off from it.   However there is a small percentage of cancers that don't show up with the PET Scan so I will be having a CTScan sometime in the next 2 weeks to verify the results.

Anyway while I still need to remain vigilant and go for checks every 2 months since mesothelioma often tends to come back, it is a massively huge relief for me.  I only wish I had the results before Paul came so I could have relaxed with him more.  But hey, who's complaining?

Well the year is coming to a close and it has certainly been quite a full on year to say the least.  I will be starting this coming year on a high and I wish very one reading this also has a wonderful year coming up.  All the best for 2008!! 

Photo above: Paul and me.

My New Car

I got my new car on Monday.  Yay.  It has been so much fun driving it.  After 2 days of almost non-stop driving around, I was limping because I had hurt my foot.  

Yesterday was quite awful.  Patrick and I went to a funeral for Trevor Watson, a person we had met from the support group.  He got mesothelioma almost around the same time as me.  He wasn't using the chemo drug Alimta.  He told us that he was using something else and I thought it was just his oncologist's decision but it was mentioned at his funeral that it was due to the cost of the drug.  Who knows if that would have made a difference.

I'm pretty excited as tonight my brother Paul is arriving.  He will be staying for about 10 days.

I don't think I need to explain that the attached photos are of my new Mini Cooper S Cabrio :-)

The Media

I mentioned in earlier posts that Patrick and I were building a forum for ADSVIC so that there will be an online support group.  Now that the Forum has been launched I have added a link to it on the side of my blog and also here if anyone is interested to have a look.  

A lot of people have told me this week that they saw me on television.  I only got to see the one on channel 9 news but I was also on channel 10 news and I think on 7 also.  If anyone saw me on any other channel I'd be interested to know.  

Dave emailed me from Sydney on Wednesday to say that there was a photo of me on page 2 of 'The Australian' newspaper but I was looking much older and he sent me a scan of it.  He was joking of course because there was a photo of another woman my age with mesothelioma and her mother.  The caption mentioned her by name and then said ' ...with her mother, Anita Steiner'.  I thought it was funny.   I emailed her and told her about it.  She told me that she was not even interview by The Australian that day and neither was I.  The photo was taken the day before from the commemoration service.

It was a very touching service and even more so because Bernie Banton died just the day before it.   For those reading my blog not from Australia, Bernie Banton was a Aussie hero who spent the last seven years fighting for victims of Asbestos Diseases against James Hardie, the company that made asbestos products while knowing of its dangers.  He died on Monday from mesothelioma.  Only the week before he also won a settlement with James Hardie.

Poor Choochie Boy

On Thursday we brought Choochie home from the vet.  He had been there since Sunday when we took him in because he had vomitted and was hardly moving.  It was the 3rd time in 4 weeks that Choochie had been to the vet where he has had to stay for several days.   I'm worried that he won't be with us for much longer.  He has suffered a lot from his diabetes and pancreatitis this year.  It seems most likely that he now has a tumor in his pancreas.  I hope he is not in too much pain.  He is such a sweet dog that never complains much.  He's not moving much now but I have no idea if he is also in a lot of pain.  I just hope he is not because I don't want him to suffer.  Poor Choochie Boy.

Asbestos Awareness Week

My second post in one day.  That is a bit of a change of pace.

This week is Asbestos Awareness week.  We had a press conference this morning and I had to talk in front of all these microphones and cameras.  I really didn't like doing it but thought it is important to get the message out because there is so much Asbestos out there.  I don't know all the channels the cameras where from but the only logos I saw on the microphones were from channel 9, SBS, and 3MMM.

Tomorrow is another big day.  The forum will be launched and also for Asbestos Awareness Week there will be a commemorative service held at the Edge Theatre, Federation Square at 11.00 a.m.  There is also a BBQ after the service on the banks of the Yarra so any of my blog readers who are from Melbourne are most welcome.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention.  I went shopping last week and bought myself a Mini Cooper S Cabrio.  So if anyone wants to go for a spin, I get it in about a week and a half - just in time for summer.

I have attached photos from the press conference this morning.

My Trip to New South Wales and Queensland

Well I keep saying that I'm going to start posting more regularly but then never do.  This time for sure....

Well I have been busy.  Tomorrow we launch the forum for ADSVIC  to coincide with Asbestos Awareness Week.  Today I did a media press conference.  More about that later but I have been meaning to post about my holidays when I went up to NSW and Qld so I'll do that first.

We left on Tuesday the 23rd. of October to Sydney and went straight to our accommodation for that week at the Bondi Serviced Apartments which I don't recommend to anyone.  We met up with Judith for drinks and it would have been for dinner too if Dave hadn't accidently whacked their son on the head while playing tennis with their Wii game console.  They had to rush him off for stitches. 

Next day we went sailing in Sydney Harbour with Ian Lacey and his band of retirees.  It was a boat race but we lost.  I wasn't much help in the race but it was a fun experience.  The rest of the holidays was spent catching up with so many people I hadn't seen for years.    I saw Mark and Roland - ex Adelaide people. I also say  Raveena who I was friends with from when I was in Israel way back in 1980 and she had some fantastic photos from back then which were amazing to look at.  I also had dinner on Friday night with Joel, Sandra and Danny.

After Sydney we flew up to Byron Bay and stayed with Igor.  We visited Michael Strum who lived somewhere near Nimbin.  We then drove up to Bunderim in Queensland and stayed with Manny and Smadar.   We then went back to Byron Bay and stayed with Michael Goldberg for a couple of days before flying back to Sydney and staying with Joel.  On the last day we went to Margo's place who lives right on Rose Bay beach - pretty nice view of the Harbour Bridge from there.  After that we went to Bondi Beach to see a sculpture exhibition.  The weather was so beautiful but we had to fly back to Melbourne.  I felt like I really wanted to keep going but we had to come back for the court case which I mentioned earlier

I thought it was great to catch up with so many friends, especially ones I hadn't seen for so long.  Patrick on the other hand thought it was all a bit too rushed and would have preferred to stay in fewer places for longer.  I can understand that.   

The photos from our trip...

top left:  A basketball match between Sydney Kings and Adelaide 36ers that Mark took us too.

top right: View from Margo's house on Rose Bay beach front.

middle left: Michael Strum with daughter.

middle right:  Clockwise - Patrick, myself, Michelle, Judith - dinner at Kobe Jones Restaurant.

bottom: Bondi beach sculpture exhibition with Ari, Ella, Judith and myself.

Case against James Hardie

One thing I never mentioned in my blog up until now was that I had a legal claim that was due to go before the Supreme Court against James Hardie. I didn't mention it because I wasn't sure what I could say and was scared that I might say something that could prejudice the case so I thought it was better not to mention it until it was over. If anyone read about it from some of the newspapers on Thursday you will know it is all over.  And sorry if the whole thing came as a bit of a surprise to many of you.

Well the case was due to start on Thursday morning and while we were sitting in court, James Hardie's people ask if the judge could come half an hour later, and then their people spoke to my people (Slater and Gordon) and then my people spoke to me and this went back and forth for a while until we all agreed on a settlement. Now part of the settlement is that I am not allowed to disclose how much the settlement was so please don't ask me.

My father was due to give evidence at my trial that afternoon but not only was he in severe pain due to a pinched nerve and was walking around on crutches but my parents were also about to move the next day to a retirement village so they were right in the middle of packing up their whole house. The timing couldn't have been worse for them for the court case so a settlement was very welcome indeed.

Also very welcome the same day was news that Alimta had been recommended by PBAC for listing on the PBS. We got news about it straight after the settlement while were having a drink with my legal team. I mentioned that it was only going 'public' on December 14th and that was still the plan on Thursday but I guess it didn't stay 'private' very long.

Later that day I was contacted by a couple of journalists about it.  While a lot of the questions I was asked were about what I thought of Alimta, I don't the articles even ended up mentioning any of that but just talked about me and my settlement.

Here are links to the article from The Age and from the Herald Sun.

I will still as promised post about my recent trip away.

Back from my break

I am back in Melbourne after taking off for 12 days to Sydney upper NSW and Buderim in Queensland.  I will write more about that later.

During my first week in Sydney both Josie and Judith Lacey worked hard and spoke to various people of influence to help get some attention for the Alimta campaign.  It was about to be decided on by Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) and so I appreciated the efforts of them both of them in helping to get this important issue heard.  

Josie was successful in getting Cameron Murphy of the Civil Liberties Council of NSW to talk about my blog on radio 2UE to highlight the cost of the Alimta drug and the unfairness in its availability to those that can't afford it.    Here is link to it.  They talk about it about 15 minutes into the radio show.

The submission for PBAC was on the 31st of October but the outcome won't be public until December 14th.  I'm not sure why it takes so long to be public.  I don't know if the fact that there are elections are responsible for this or not.

Anyway I will write about the rest of my trip and put up photos.  I just wanted to get this bit up first.

Another belated post

Well again it has been ages since I last posted.   This time I have even been in hospital for a chemo session and never blogged about it.   When I came this time I was feeling worse than I normally do after chemo and so I didn't feel like telling you all how crappy I was feeling.

I mentioned on my last post that Patrick and I had volunteered to help out with the Asbestos Support Group to build a web forum for them.  Well we have continued to work on that and had a meeting again with Leigh Hubbard from the Victorian Asbestos Diseases Society to discuss how they want it set out.  We will also change their website to make it more functional and accessible and look better.

 

On Tuesday Patrick and I are going away for about 12 days and then I am planning to get back to more regular blogging.   

Today there was a story in The Weekend Australian about asbestos and they wrote about me and quoted me.  In the print version there was even a photo of Patrick, Choochie and myself.

Here is a link to it.

Meeting with the Support Group

Today I went to a support group meeting run by the Asbestos Diseases Society of Victoria.  It was mainly for people with Mesothelioma and their partners.  It was really great meeting other people with the disease.  I have never met anyone else with Mesothelioma before.  We were able to talk about things we were doing like diet, excercise and things we were going through.

There were also two people at the meeting who were talking about a show they were putting together about asbestos.   They were Donna Jackson the artist in residence for the Asbestos Diseases Society and singer Mark Seymour.  He was the lead singer and founder of Hunters and Collectors.   He sang a song he wrote about asbestos and another song from his last album.  I had no idea at the meeting who he was but looked him up afterwards.

Here is a link to his website

I was really surprised to find that there was such a difference in the treatments that people were given to combat Meso.  It seems to depend on who your oncologist is as to what treatment you are given.   Also as far as Alimta goes it also depends on affordability.   Not everybody has free access to it and so some people just aren't able to afford it.   It reminded just how important it is that Alimta gets listed on the PBS when it is appealed in November.  

Leigh Hubbard who is the Executive Officer of the Asbestos Diseases Society said that when they were in Canberra last week to speak to the politicians about it they were received well but there were a lot of other worthy groups lobbying for other drugs to be put on the PBS. 

Patrick and I volunteered to develop a website for the support group so that people in Victoria with asbestos related illness can have a forum.  At the moment there isn't anything.  They were very keen for that to happen.

My last 2 weeks in brief

I'm going in to hospital tomorrow for another chemo session so I want to try and get another post in before I go.

The last post I did where I mentioned what I had been up to was when I went to Healesville.  I just checked my diary and that was back on the 26th of August.  I will now check my diary to fill you in on what I missed telling you.

On Wednesday the 29th,  we were going to go to the movies with my friend Melanie, Patrick, Andre and her Japanese border.   Melanie won 2 free tickets to Lady Chatterley and invited me to take the second one - the others were going to buy tickets.   Since the whole showing of the movie was just for freebie winners, they allowed all of us to go in for free.  So that is a trick you might like to try next time you win a freebie at the Classic - bring all your friends along too. 

The next day I had a cousin down here visiting from NY.  We went on the foodies tour of Vic Markets.  There are organised tours around the food market and we learned a few interesting facts.   It was lovely to see my cousin again.  I saw her almost exactly a year ago when I was in the US - same trip where I met Patrick.

After dropping her off, we then caught up with Judith who was down from Sydney attending a Palliative care conference in Melbourne.  That was handy for me.  Apart from being great catching up with her, I was able to discuss the latest pain drugs out there.  The next day Dave - her husband came down for the weekend so it was also fantastic to see him.

Which reminds me - not in my diary because it was unexpected - Stephen also dropped in from New Zealand.  His father had an emergency heart operation and so when he knocked on the door I was taken by surprise.  It was a pleasant surprise - and good that his father recovered well too.

On Friday I went to work for yet another farewell lunch.  This time the PD Manager.   It is sad when all these people are leaving and all the changes are happening while I am away. 

Sunday was fathers day and I organised to have a picnic in the park with my parents, brother and our partners.  That was my second picnic in just a week and winter is only just over by 2 days.  That is because the weather had been absolutlely perfect.  Almost everyday for the last fortnight has been wonderful.  I just love it when the sun is out.

The next day we were going to watch 'White Planet' at the classic because I won another freebie but Jack had some free tickets to a comedy club so we went there instead.   Damn, 2 freebies in one night.  I keep getting free tickets to the Classic Cinema because I'm on their mailing list and they have competitions all the time where you win a double pass if you are one of the first 50 to respond.   Well I seem to be sitting in front of my computer all day so as soon as I see an email from the Classic I reply straight away.  There you go - 2 tips about getting freebies at the Classic.

The next day was Patrick's birthday and he wanted to go to the 'Little Hungarian' for dinner.  I organised a few people and a cake and a nice time was had by all - I think.

Just on Sunday, my parents had an auction for their unit which we all thought went very well. They're selling up and going to a retirement unit.  They are feeling very relieved that all the pressure is over with and now they can go and retire - Almost 20 years after they should have.

I was hoping I would be able to be in Granada Spain in just under 2 weeks for friends of mine who are getting married.   Well it wasn't to be but if Raquel and Don are reading this, I hope you have a fantastic time.  I know it will be a lot of fun and hope you all the best for a wonderful life together and of course wish I could be there too. 

Well tomorrow I go back for my fifth chemo session.  I'm getting pretty used to them now.

Be sure to check my previous post about the Alimta Campaign.

Photos: 

On the top left is My cousin Elana from the US in the middle at a family Friday night dinner.

On the right is my parents with the new owners of their house after the auction.

Bottom left is Dave and Jude down from Sydney. 

 

Alimta Campaign

Max and Paul have both told me off for being slack with my blogging so I better get to it.  

Anyone in Australia might have noticed lately a lot of publicity in the media about mesothelioma and in particular Alimta, the chemo drug used to treat it.   Well it's not always used to treat it because it isn't on the PBS list and not everyone can affort it.   

Well it is on the PBS list if you have lung cancer from smoking but not if you have it from asbestos.  It varies from state to state but about 30-50% of mesothelioma patients can't get the drug for free and yet so far it is the drug with the most promising results.

I've been lucky because for this round of it, Medibank private, my health fund have agreed to pay - which is not that common apparently.   Otherwise it costs about $20,000 for a round of 6 chemo sessions.

Here is a link about it from the 7:30 report that you can watch. 

They did a story on it last week.  There has been a lot of media about it lately because there will be an appeal in November to try and get the government to change its mind and put it on the free list.  The government's arguement is that there is no real cost benefit.  Well I can tell you that there is.  If anyone has seen me before and after the chemo they will know that.  

I wrote to the Asbestos Diseases Society of Victoria who are involved in the Alimta campaign to ask them how I could get involved.  They said that I should write to the politicians.   Tony Abbot, the Minister for Health and Nicola Roxon, the Shadow Minister.  They also said I should send a letter to John Howard and Kevin Rudd.  

If anyone is interested you can send letters to c/o Parliament House Canberra, 2600 or via their electorate office (see www.aph.gov.au and click on House of Reps and Members) and also your local federal MP as well.  They also sent me documents with all the talking points so if anyone is interested I can email you the documents.

Update:  Since I posted Medibank Private have rejected my payments for Alimta.  I am hopeful they will be paid by another means but it involves a legal claim so I will write about it when it is over which hopefully will be soon.

Back to Blogging

Well I have been really slack with my blogging.  I have been in and out of hospital with a chemo session already a week ago.   

The last few days have been fantastic weather wise.  It is still winter but it feels like spring and that is enough to make anyone feel great.   Well me anyway because I am no fan of winter.    

On Friday we went on a little excursion to Healesville santuary.  I uploaded some photos from there.  I also got to see a platypus for the first time in my life.   

Today Danny organised a picnic in the St. Kilda Botanical gardens. It was such a pleasure to be outside and feeling the sun on you.

 

I woke up this morning not being able to move my knees - both knees.   They were in agonising pain.   I went to the doctor and he said it was probably gout.   With some googling we found that it's like it could have been due to a complication of some of my medication and my diet.  Anyway by the afternoon I was able to walk again so I made it to the picnic in time :) 

Emotional day back at work

I went to back to work twice in the last two days to see what everyone was up to and see how everyone was.   It was also a really unexpected and a nice surprised to see Eileen (manager from the US office) there in the Melbourne office.   I attended a meeting where she demonstrated to everyone what they had been working on in the US and the guys here demonstrated the new developments that they had been working on.   We then went out for lunch. 

When I got home I was emotionally drained and cried a lot.  Up until I got sick, work was such a huge part of my life.  Most of my decisions in life over the last fifteen years or so were based on the direction I wanted to go with my career.    I completed my Masters degree a few years ago while I was working and always had a big picture plan of where I was heading.  The technologies I focussed on while I was studying and the direction I was going at work was finally starting to come into line.  I think before I went into hospital I was the happiest I'd ever been at work and I felt that all my hard work over the years was finally paying off.   Also Patrick had just moved here and everything was just perfect ...and then it all just ended in a sudden. 

I didn't expect today that it would hit me so hard like that.

I also caught up with Smadar today who was visiting from Queensland.  I took her to Loco for coffee and Julie and Viv came met us there.  I was feeling a lot of pain and when I got home Patrick reminded me that I forgot to change my morphine patch which is supposed to last three days.  It's times like that when I remember that I still haven't fully recovered from the surgery.

Photos:

1. Me holding an iPhone.  Eileen had one and they are very cool.

2. Julie, Smadar, Viv and myself having coffee at Loco's

Back to normal after Paul's visit

Sorry to my loyal blog readers - I know you are out there :) - for not writing since my last chemo session.

My twin brother Paul was here and the day I got out of hospital I went to a brunch that he had organised and then I went to the footy and then I went to another dinner with a whole lot of people that Paul had organised so it was a lot of fun and I was surprisingly feeling really good considering I just finished a chemo session.

But then the next day I started coming down with something and ended up getting bronchitis. The chemo makes your blood counts go low so it is easier to get sick and more dangerous when you get sick - even small things can be serious. So now I have to make a balance when I am feeling good not to go overboard.

Anyway now I'm feeling good again. I've just come back from the city where I went to see a movie from the Melbourne International Film Festival and then went out for dinner.  I've just been looking over the calendar for the festival and there seem to be quite a few that could be good plus there is also a nice selection of Jewish and Israeli films.   Any Melbourne friends reading that might be interested in seeing any, let me know if you want to organise something.

I think I mentioned in a comment to someone that I was thinking about going in September to visit Paul. Also I have friends in Granada, South of Spain who are getting married around then which I would naturally want to go to. And while we are in the neighborhood, Patrick would like if we can visit his family in the Netherlands. 

Getting sick after my last chemo session made me rethink whether that was wise or not.  My chemo sessions are going to now start being 3 weeks apart when they were 4 weeks apart.  The chemo dose is also going to increase.  I think I will make the plans as if I am going and then I will allow myself to think about it logically.  

On days when I am feeling good I tend to do way too much like time is too precious to waste.  But considering I am much more vulnerable right now to getting sick,  I am starting to think it won't be in my best interest.

Also my parents have decided to move to a retirement apartment.  They will put there house up for Auction in September and so quite a lot is happening already even without moving a finger. 

The photos I uploaded are from my first day after the chemo when I went to brunch and then the football - Nicky and I celebrate a St. Kilda victory.

Update:  Anyone who knows John Wayne (no not THE John Wayne) might want to click on the first photo to enlarge it and reveal a classic John facial expression.

Update:  I just added a photo from the dinner. 

Another Family Reunion and Adelaide Reunion

I had a busy week with Paul arriving and we had another big family reunion.  I have a great family so I always enjoy seeing them all.  I felt very drowsy that day from my medication and most of the week was also like that.  The last two days have been much better though.

Igor came down from Mullimbimbi on Tuesday after flying back with Paul who went up there to visit him.  

I will post photos and say a bit more in a few days but I can't upload photos right now as I am using dial since I'm back in Cabrini doing my third chemo session.  

So far it has been easier than the last two chemo sessions because the pain from the surgery is better.  Now my biggest concern is the nausea and I can manage that to some degree with medication.  The chemo dose is heavier this time so I am hoping it won't be too bad.  I just had my hair coloured too so I hope that it hangs in there too.

Last night I had a great time.  We had an Adelaide reunion of friends from when I used to live in Adelaide where I grew up (so that explains it then...).  There was Michelle, Lisa, Julie, Viv, Igor, Paul, Jack and myself and it amazed me how much trivia we remembered from back then...over 28 years ago.  We all still all remembered how to say a Czech phrase (a language that none of us speak except 'perhaps' Igor) that was written on a calendar stuck on the fridge at Igor's parents house.  The English translation is something like 'Hello, this is the cultural calendar for the year'.  The Czech sounded something like 'Ahoy, spolokenski alkaturni plannerok.'

The other day Paul told me the age of a friend of ours and I said 'She looks fantastic, I didn't realise she was that old'  ... and then suddenly realised that she was the same age as us.  That made me laugh a lot. 

Update:  I have added the photo from the Adelaide reunion and the family reunion

Card Game

I just came back from a card game.  For those of you that don't know, I have been playing a fortnightly card game with a group of friends for over fifteen years now.  We play every 2nd Friday a game called FYB and we play for a trophy cup which the winner gets to keep for the whole fortnight.   Tonight there was a draw between John and myself.  I've attached a photo of us both accepting the cup from Viv who was the last fortnights champion.  It is the 3rd time John has won in fifteen years.  The second time he won was 4 weeks ago so even though it was a draw, this was a pretty big deal for him (There are only 8 of us who play).

Earlier this week John and Fiorucci organised a dinner at the London Tavern which was like a big reunion and everyone including myself really enjoyed it.  I caught up with a lot of people I hadn't seen in ages.  The photo on the left above is from that evening.  

Tomorrow we are having a big family get-together so that everyone can say hello to Paul who is down here for only 2 and a half weeks.  I had better go to bed now so that I can help Mum prepare for it tomorrow as it is already 2am here.  

Paul Arrives

I haven't updated my blog for over a week because I have been having problems connecting to the internet in the evenings when I usually blog.  It seems to be working late during the night so I won't say much but I thought I'd stay up late to update my blog so you all know that I am ok.

My twin brother Paul flew in on Saturday from Israel via China and it has been fantastic seeing him again.  Tonight we all went to see the movie 'Knocked Up' which I highly recommend for some good laughs.  Very educational too.  Apparently you can get pink eyes if someone farts on your pillow.  Who knew?

Tomorrow I'm going to see the lung specialist who has results from some lung function tests I did recently so I will find out how my diaphragm is performing.  There seems to have been some damage done there during the surgery and I am hoping it is not permanent and that there are exercises I can do to improve my breathing because I get short of breath very easily.

On Thursday I'm going to Peter Mac hospital to get a second opinion on the treatment I'm getting an also they are doing clinical trials on some new treatments for mesothelioma which I would like to try if this chemo doesn't work.  Hopefully I won't need to do that!!

Well that's it for now and I'll try to find out tomorrow what is going on with this internet connection so I can post a bit more frequently.  

Andre's 21st Birthday

I went to a Melanie's son Andre's 21st last night. I spent the day getting ready for it because I wanted to look and feel good. I went to get my hair blow-dried straight in the morning and then bought a new pair of pants and some make-up.   I think I looked really good and everyone said I looked really well but it was so cold I felt frozen to the bone.  Melanie rented out a community hall and the remote-control for the air-conditioners were lost so they were not able to be turned on.  I found it hard to believe that they don't operate without remote-contols but that really was the case.  I've spent so much of my life looking for the remote-controls so I'm glad more things don't rely on them so much.   Mind you I can only operate my TV through the DVD player because I accidently threw away the remote-control for it (don't ask).   Well actually the battery was flat and since the buttons kept getting stuck and I was sure that I could use the TV without it, I threw it away.   One of those moments I wish I could have hit the rewind for.

Anyway the food was fantastic - typical Sri Lankan smorgasboard which I just love. And the music was great.  Melanie comes from a family of musicians so lots of people jamming.  Keith was on drums and it was great to hear him play again.

Today I met up with my brother Jack and Naomi for lunch and then we went to Oakleigh for coffee and cakes. I've never been to Oakleigh before but it is just 15 minutes away and it's like being in another world.   It is a Greek suburb and it really feels like being in Greece.  I would like to go back there during the week when more things are open.  It looks like a fantastic place to food shop.

I keep thinking about Friday when I met up with my work mates at the bowling. Because there have been heaps of people finding other jobs lately there was quite a bit of negative feelings by everyone about the reasons for it and a lot of anger at management. 

I think it is really unhealthy for people to stay if they are not happy with what they are doing at work and for years a lot of people stayed because there weren't the jobs out there and now that there are, many are leaving.  Now there seem to be an above average amount of people leaving after having no-one leave for so long.  That makes it seem much more like all is not well at MYOB than actually is the case.  I mean comparing our work environment to other workplaces, I think ours fairs pretty well.  Of course I'm not saying that there aren't problems that need to be addressed but it's possible too that the problem is being overstated because everyone is leaving at once.  MYOBians, what do you think?

Busy Day Today

I had a busy day today.  First off I went to a public lecture at the Melbourne Town Hall on the latest cancer research over the last year. We drove to the city because my white blood count is supposed to be low now and I thought it best not to go on public transport where I could get trapped on a train with people coughing and splattering with colds. I parked for only 2 hours and it cost me $28. I had no idea parking in the city was so expensive but it made me not want to hang out there any longer which was a shame.

We then went to Forest Hill Chase Shopping Centre 10 pin bowls to catch up with my department who were taking the afternoon off for a couple of rounds of bowling. As I think I might have mentioned yesterday, Patrick bowled for me as I wasn't quite up to it. It was fantastic to see everyone from work again. First time I'd seen them since my operation except for some I saw at lunch one or 2 fridays ago. Bernard had organised a 'Get Well' card for me that was signed by heaps of people at work and the card had even travelled across the globe to get signatures from my collegues in the US. I was hugely touched by the gesture.

One of my work mates apologised to me for not visiting and told me that it was because he didn't know what to say. I fully understand that. Before I got cancer I never really had much contact with anyone in my postion and I think I also would have felt the same as him if the roles were reversed. I know there are many people who reacted like him because I know a lot of people I haven't heard from and I just know that they are thinking off me and it really doesn't matter because I know them well enough to know they really do care.

Mark and Julie had us over for dinner and it was really fantastic being there and the food was excellent. I'm pretty exhausted now but just wanted to get this new post done.

Best I've felt since second chemo session

Today is the best I've felt since my second chemo session.  Each day I have been feeling a bit better but today I actually had a lot of energy.  So much so that I feel like I'm buzzing.

I got a phone call from Chuck today who has just arrived in Australia form Israel and is visiting for 3 weeks.  I hope to catch up with him on Saturday.  Also my twin brother Paul has delayed his arrival by one day and is flying in from China on Friday the 13th. Oh I just realised as I typed that, that if I was superstitious that would not be a good thing.

Tomorrow I'm going to meet up with my work buddies.  My department is going 10-pin bowling for the afternoon.  I won't be able to bowl but I am really looking forward to seeing everyone.

Well that is all I'll say today.  I just wanted to write and tell you all how well I was feeling today.  I think I will have a lot more to say tomorrow after I catch up with everyone.

Electricity Blowout

I've been away from blogging for a few days due to an electricity blowout in our apartment block and also I wasn't feeling that well.

We stayed at my parents the last couple of days due to the problems with the electricity here.  Now it is temporarily back on with a portable generator until the real problem is resolved.  I'm back home too.

I wasn't feeling so great the last couple of days due to nausea and pain from the port insertion so I wasn't really up to blogging while I was gone but I hope to get back to it tomorrow as I am feeling a bit better now.

Last night we went to see 'Black Book' - a Dutch movie at the Classic Cinema which I happened to win tickets too (due to too much time spent on the internet).  Best movie I've seen in a very long time but I'm not about to do a review of it.

Anyway I hope to get back to more regular blogging.  

Back at Cabrini

Well here I am back at Cabrini and the day has almost come to an end.  I will leave here most probably tomorrow morning around about 10am.

So far it has gone fairly smoothly.  I hope it isn't like last time I had chemo where the worst effects happened after I left the hospital.  

Unfortunately I have not had my own room  this time.   I don't know how loud I am typing but as I type I hear my room mate tossing and turning.  It is 11:06pm and her lights are off.  I'll try to type quietly if I can manage.

I had a port inserted into a vein in my chest this morning.  The vein goes straight into my heart instead of an insertion into my arm.  I have very small and weak veins which make in needles very difficult to insert and there is a danger that they can cause damage to the vein.

I can't remember if I mentioned it but I have registered my own domain name - anitalive.  I wanted it to be just anita but that was already taken so I have taken this one from a list of suggested names.   You will notice now that when you go to my blog you will be redirected.  You can if you want go straight to it by linking to blog.anitalive.com

Also I mentioned before that I was thinking of setting up a new blog.  Well I did.  It is very much a work in progress in both the setting up of, the design of the sight, the type of sight and the ideas or topics that I want to discuss on it.  So far I have named it It' a Weird World.  I will place a link to it on this blog later tonight.. perhaps when I put up a post their as well.   I probably will rename it as my blog takes shape.

Now I have cunningly sent you all out an email to tell you about my new url.  I will check with my analysis tool if you will link to my blog following the email.  Boy this is fun.  Do you think I might have tooo much time on my hands?  :-)

Update:

Can you please let me know if you are having problems posting comments to my blog.  Email me and tell me what you did and what message you got.  I'd like to fix it if there is a problem and not because I'm having debugging withdrawals.   A couple of people have told me they can't comment and I'm wondering due to the lack of comments if there is a serious problem there.

To post a comment, choose the post you want to comment and and click on the comments link at the bottom of the post.  Then on the right hand side in the Leave your comment box follow the steps from my Tips for adding a comment post.

Big day tomorrow

Sorry I haven't written for a couple of days.  I have been a bit tired.  Tomorrow I am going into hospital to have my second chemo session.  I'll be back home on friday so I am just going in for the two days.

I promise after that I'll get back to blogging more often - I hope.  Actually I shouldn't promise anything because I don't know how I will react to the second chemo session.  I saw the oncologist today and he made me feel optimistic about it all.  

The weather has been bloody freezing lately but now every day is one day closer to summer.     That's enough to put a smile on my face.  Now I better get some sleep for my big day tomorrow.

Back to being about me

I wasn't really that serious in my last post about changing the direction of this blog.  I guess I was just feeling weird about posting about myself everyday.  Anyway I have had some feedback suggesting that I back off anything controversial so I won't continue to post 'articles of interest'.

Maybe I'll start another blog with some of my interests on it and just link to that.

Cousin's Do Photos

Well it was a busy day for me and I did everything I said I was going to do in my last post.

No one posted any comments today.  Maybe no one writes on the weekend or maybe my blog isn't riveting enough to keep your interests going.  I have a site analysis tool and my blog visits went down from 122 Thursday to 54 on Friday.  So now I'm thinking of ways to get my visits back up.   If it works then I can attract advertising on my site....just kidding.

But it has got me thinking about what would make this site more interesting.  I know it is just supposed to keep you up to date with my well-being but looking at my last post, my daily happenings can be pretty ordinary.  

Batya said in a comment that the blog was like a reunion since there are quite a few people from Kadarim in the comments.   It would also be nice if all my friends could get to know each other through my blog.   A lot of other blogs talk about current issues or topics of interest.  I have put on the side of this blog links to interesting articles I have just read.  I thought it could be interesting to hear what people think about them.  For example, I am the only person I know who thinks that Man Made Global Warming is over-rated and yet I think the articles are very compelling.  I would be interested to read what you think.

Then again maybe you just want to know what I've been up to so here is my web album from today.

Click to go to today's Web Album: 

Day of Cousins Do

Lunch with my team

Well today I saw my work buddies for the first time since I went in to hospital.  I had lunch with the Huxley team.  Huxley is the project I was working on and leading the development for.  I won't go into more detail in case I bore you all.

Anyway it was great to hear how everyone was doing and hear where they were up to on the project.  I also met Atul the new GUI developer and after our lunch I went around the corner and met up with the Tech Comms group (they are the guys who write up our technical manuals and online help) who were having lunch and having some very good wine indeed.  They also had a few new starters whom I haven't met before. 

There have been quite a lot of people leaving my department over the past 2 months and now after years of hardly employing anyone new, we are starting to get in quite a few.  The place will have a very different feel to it when I get back.  

Tomorrow I am getting together with all my cousins for dinner.  There will be about 11 of us (I think) plus their partners.  My agenda for tomorrow is as follows:

•  having breakfast with my friend Jill.  
• Having my hair washed, massaged and blow-dried at Synergy - the hairdresser opposite the Turtle cafe.  
• My friend Michelle has booked me in for a manicure and pedicure.  

I think I will look and feel like a million dollars after all that - and then I'm off to the Cousins Do.

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A Request for photos of Patrick and Choochie

I spent the evening trying to get together photos of Patrick and Choochie to put on my blog as I had a request to do so.  Well what I came up with isn't working as smooth as I would have liked but it is serving the purpose of showing the photos so I'll try to fix it up at some later stage.

Tomorrow I am going to be having lunch with my team at work which is a big day out for me.  We were going to be doing the lunch later next week but I realised that I had my next chemo session already on Thursday. 

I was a bit tired today but will have more to say tomorrow.

The bed arrived today.

Well the bed arrived today. Yay!! It's sooo good to finally have a proper bed.

I also got my first blog comments today which was a real buzz. Blogger makes it so easy to set up a blog and it seemed like a really good way to keep in touch with every one.

I know my life really isn't that exciting but I had so much support and good wishes from everyone recently so I wanted you all to see me getting better as the days progress.

It doesn't always go that smoothly though. Yesterday I was feeling terrible. I think some medication I took affected the performance of my pain relieving medication and I woke up in terrible pain. Today on the other hand I'm feeling the best I've felt since my surgery.

It is always difficult for me to know exactly what is causing me to not feel well. Is it the surgery? the chemo? the cancer? I believe it is mostly the surgery. I can't know for sure but even before the surgery, when all I thought I was going in for was to have my lungs drained, the surgeon said it would be 6-8 weeks recovery. Now on top of that I have had the lining of my right lung removed plus part of my right lung, plus a rib even. All that and it has only not even been 4 weeks since the surgery so I am doing pretty good.

I went to see my local GP

Yesterday I went to see my local GP who I haven't seen since before I went into hospital. He had some of the reports from the surgeon and the oncologist. I asked him if I could have a copy of them to take home and then told Patrick to read them for me - in case there was anything in there I didn't want to know about.

We found out that during my surgery the surgeon also removed one of my ribs. Well that would account for a lot of pain that I am feeling but I wish he told me about it. Seems like something you would think he might mention in passing.

Tomorrow our new bed comes that we ordered from 40 Winks in March. They said it would take 6 weeks to arrive. When I found out I had to go into hospital they brought around a bed frame that we could use until our new bed arrived. That was great because we just had a mattress on the floor before that.

I sold my other bed in December. It was a waterbed that I had swapped with my brother Jack for the other bed I had at the time because I loved his waterbed and Naomi, Jack's partner who he was moving in with didn't. When I sold the waterbed it was because my doctor at the time believed all the pain I was having was due to back pain. On top of getting rid of the waterbed I also was having physiotherapy on my back for the pain - all the time never realising what was actually wrong with me.

Anyway I am very excited about getting my new bed tomorrow.

The photo is one of me that Patrick took today. I fell asleep reading my Macbook and was asleep when he was about to take it but being a light sleeper I woke up just as he took it. Choochie is having a nap too.

I have started a new blog

I have started a new blog today. I plan to add a bit to it every day so that family and friends can keep up to date with how I am doing. It is getting late here now, it is 2:40AM and I've been playing around settting this thing up. Tomorrow I'll try to add something of interest to my blog.