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.