Chemotherapy begins

If there is anything positive that comes out of a cancer diagnosis or terminal illness, it’s the fact that you truly enjoy and appreciate every moment of every hour of every day.

For myself, there are many days where it’s initially difficult to get going and motivated again with the weight and fatigue that comes not only with the hormone-based treatment that I'm currently on, but now the chemotherapy treatments and related side effects and psychological effects and tricks it plays on you.

Once I get going, though, I’ve been able to keep busy, keep moving, and usually feel pretty good by the end of each day. Sometimes it's a slow and gradual transition and I need to work for it.

I've been working, walking or cycling every day, eating well, and doing regular meditation and prayer. I'm learning how to embrace the concept of mindfulness (living in the moment) and believe that all of these things combined are helping me, making me feel good and have strength, and contributing to keep my spirits way up high!

I've been truly uplifted by about a dozen books that I've read (or re-read) in the last four weeks, mostly inspiring ones written by cancer survivors and/or researchers. I've returned to some of my most memorable classics authors like Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky, and also re-read a couple of my old inspirational favourites such as “Tuesdays with Morrie” by Mitch Albom and “Always Looking Up” by Michael J. Fox.

Inspired, I've decided to write my own book about my life and cancer struggle specifically written for my children, with the intention that they would read it as adults and hopefully gain an understanding of who their father was and how much I love them. Each chapter begins with “Dear Shayne and Anika”. I’ve really enjoyed writing it so far and plan to get it self-published in both physical print and eReader format. It's a great little project for me to work on at this time and has really helped me appreciate my life, shine a light on just how lucky I've been, and helped me to maintain a positive attitude throughout this challenge.

A special thanks to Val Tobin, a friend and accomplished writer, who is helping me navigate and understand the world of self-publishing and best practices!!

This past Thursday, May 11, 2017, I completed my second round of chemotherapy at Guelph General Hospital. There will be 6 sessions altogether each 3 weeks apart, and if all goes well, I should be done the chemo in August and at that point expect to continue with the monthly hormone-based treatment for as long as that continues to work and keep my cancer under control (as it has successfully done so far). My PSA (a measure of the level of prostate cancer via blood test) is still at a respectable 3.0 and generally within the normal range.

So far, most of the side effects of my chemo treatments have to do with fatigue and loss of appetite, but I'm trying my best to counter that with exercise (walking and cycling) and healthy eating. I'm gradually losing more hair but didn't really have much to begin with, so that's the least of my worries at this time!

I've lost about 25 pounds since last summer, and even more surprisingly, 3 inches of height! The height reduction has to do with the deterioration of my bones and spine as a result of the cancer, drugs, and spinal compression fracture which essentially started last summer. I hope to gain some weight back eventually but have no idea if I'll ever regain my height unless I can discover some sort of miraculous new stretching machine. If anyone out there is aware of anything like this please let me know!

Overall, I feel really good and am enjoying a lot of quality time with Kathryn and the kids. I have no idea what I would do if I didn't have them in my life.

Kathryn and I had a great week at the HotDocs documentary film festival in Toronto a couple of weeks ago, an annual thing for us, and saw several amazing and inspiring documentary films. It was great fun going from film to film and visiting our favourite restaurants and coffee shops in Toronto and having lots of great conversation in between.

My family and friends inspire me and keep me going and motivated each and every day.

Life is good - spring is here - enjoy every day my friends!

Where would I be without these guys ?

From anger to hope

Last week my friend Laura wrote to me with her usual kind words of encouragement and said “I'm not sure I wouldn't be just plain angry if I were in your shoes”. It was quite the coincidence because I feel like I have now finally reached the “angry” stage in a big way, perhaps some sort of delayed reaction which I can’t explain. Now, by some miracle, anger has amazingly turned into hope.

I must say that I'm finding the whole cancer thing to be quite . . . interesting. Does that sound like an odd thing to say? I’ve been totally immersed in reading positive stories about stage 4 cancer survivors and alternative cancer therapies that have helped many people. Of course, you need to be careful because of all the false information out there, particularly on the internet, but I’ve recently been inspired by a good many authors, doctors, and cancer survivors which I feel are credible. The amount of information available to us today can sometimes be overwhelming and conflicting, and it’s a real challenge to filter out the good and the bad and know what's right and what makes sense for you.

I'm doing my best to stay positive and try to counter the effects off my current meds by walking and/or cycling every day, drinking lots of water, and changing my diet and eating healthier - thanks in large part to my in-house dietary consultant, Kathryn. I’ve been tracking all my daily ToDo list items with a handy “Habits” app on my smart phone. Things had been going very well and I’ve been feeling good, but then . . .

Last week I got a bit of a surprise. My urologist who has been treating my cancer over the past few months with a hormone-based treatment recommended I see an oncologist at the Grand River Cancer Centre. Kat and I had initially understood that the reason for this visit was just to have an oncologist lined up and connected with when the time comes. We already knew that the current treatment only works for a limited time (ie: 1 to 3 years) and once it stops working, Plan B (likely chemo) would be put in place.

I was shocked to hear the oncologist recommend that I start chemotherapy right away. She based it on a study that was recently conducted in which doing “up front” chemo at this early stage of hormone-based treatment showed that patients lived on average of about 14 months longer.

I didn't really have a lot of time to think or research it, and the oncologist was very adamant that we get things started and told me I could change my mind if I chose to. When I left the Grand River Cancer Centre, I found a parking ticket on my dash for parking in the wrong spot. I got into the car and screamed so loud and for so long that any potential witnesses would surely think I was a crazy person. It was hard on my throat - painful! I don’t think I’ve ever screamed and yelled like that before, and it had very little to do with the parking ticket (or perhaps that just put me over the edge). I had officially arrived at the “angry” stage. You see Laura, I’m just like you, perhaps just a bit slow . . .

Kat and I have been doing research and speaking with people and decided to go ahead with the chemo. I was told it was a type of chemo that did not have as bad side effects as some of the others, and would be administered in addition to my current hormone-based cancer treatment (as with the research study group). I'm scheduled to begin my chemotherapy next Thursday, April 20.

Over the past month or so, there have been so many amazing authors and cancer survivors who have given me something extremely valuable at this time: hope. Sad to day, and this is not necessarily a criticism, but after meetings with doctors and oncologists, I am all too often left with very little hope (ie: what I have is not curable). I’m reading about things that can be done safely (ie: eating healthier) in parallel to the traditional drug-based treatments, and feel that some of these make sense and are at least worth looking into and giving a chance.

The most important thing right now is that “I believe”. I believe that I can get better and win this fight. I HAVE TO get better for the sake of my family. My kids are too young, and I’m not ready to just give in and accept a death sentence as was delivered to me in early December of last year. For many months I have been thinking about life purpose and what I should be doing and it has suddenly become quite apparent to me that I need to spend every waking hour taking care of myself, being healthy, learning, doing research, speaking with people, and working and dedicating myself to anything and everything that I believe might help me to get better. This, combined with spending lots of time with my family, is what I need to do.

OK - I realize that there is a chance that I am wrong and the opinion of the doctors and overall statistics are right, and I will not win this fight. In his book “Anticancer”, Dr. David Servan-Shreiber (M.D., Ph.D) talks about his own battle with cancer and how he applied non-traditional and complementary approaches to its approaches and treatment. He is now in his 15th year cancer free, and although he believes in and writes about the many alternative approaches that he feels helped him conquer his terminal cancer, he also admittedly writes:

“I’ve lost some friends since this book was first published. Some of them were people who applied its principles in their own lives. Unfortunately, the methods and principles outlined here do not guarantee success against cancer”.

I was playing hockey with my daughter Anika here at the cottage yesterday and we were working on passes to the front of the net (one-timers), and shooting as if you “know” that you will hit that puck and put it in the net - in other words, swing at the pass with the confidence that you WILL succeed. This attitude helped me score a few goals in my time (as a few of my hockey buddies might attest to), and I believe this concept to be the same in a cancer battle.

I appreciate very much all of your thoughts and prayers. You must believe otherwise you simply will not win. If you believe, then you will at the very least give yourself a better chance to win. All I'm asking for is a chance . . .

I believe.

Reading in the car can be a challenge.
(Kat's been doing most of the driving lately)

 

Back on track

This is my 4th month on the hormone-based cancer treatment Firmagon, and so far, so good. My PSA level has been steady around 1.0 for the 3rd straight month, which is good news for me.

March has been a great month so far. Our March break holiday week with the kids and great friends at the cottage in Prince Edward County was fantastic. How lucky we are to have such awesome friends! I'm enjoying every minute that I spend with family and friends, and I've learned how to counter some of the negative side effects of the many drugs that I'm currently on. For example, one of the problems I've had is the fact that I always wake up in the morning sad and depressed. It's difficult to wake up in the morning and get going and feel motivated. Mind you, once I get going it's fine but it's a matter of getting myself to that point that is the hard part. So, to counter this, I am starting to force myself to wake up and get outside right away first thing for a walk (and soon, hopefully bike ride as well) and so far it's worked.

Because of my recent mood swings, I saw a social worker at the Grand River Regional Cancer Centre who referred me to a psychiatrist. I was prescribed an anti-depressant, but based on my own research, side effects, and some recent conversations I've had, I'm holding off taking yet another drug and will try to get my spirits up in a more natural way. I'm seeing the psychiatrist again in two weeks and will discuss all of this further.

My back pain has been much better recently, but not sure if this is a result of new pain meds or the fact that the spinal compression fracture is actually slowly healing on it's own. It's been quite amazing to be rid of that extreme pain that was persistent for many months! I feel good!

I love spring, it's my favourite time of year. I'm looking forward to working on my backyard lawn once again, my annual thing. The big trees and lack of sunlight out back makes it quite the challenge! Each year I've been over-seeding but I may just break down this year and try sod.  I miss my good friend and next door neighbor Mel who passed away after his own cancer battle a couple of years ago. Mel used to regularly lean over the fence and jokingly give me a hard time about how much time I spend on that darn lawn!

Kathryn has decided to take a 6 month leave of absence from work starting in July which is great news. It will be nice to spend more time together and I know that she deserves this break from work as she's been going full throttle for many years now. Time to relax, chill out, and enjoy time with family and friends.

Every day I think about how lucky I am. I'm overwhelmed when I look around at the amazing friends and family I have who have been so good to me particularly since my diagnosis back in October. I'm doing my best to remain positive and fight rather than lie down, sometimes easier said than done. Recently I've immersed myself in watching and reading countless inspirational stories of Stage 4 cancer survivors who refused to give in. This is one that I particularly enjoyed by a new inspiration of mine, Stage 4 cancer survivor Beverlye Hyman Fead: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HArX5_oL0g
 
I've been thinking about a return visit to Lesotho, Africa this September. Currently there is a group going through Bracelet of Hope in the first two weeks of September. If my cancer treatments continue to go well this spring and summer, and if my back pain continues to improve, then I will seriously consider going back. My previous trip there back in October 2014 was an incredibly rewarding experience.

So, many things to be happy and positive about. Thanks again to all my family and friends for your unbelievable support! Every day is a gift.

Spring is here !!!!

Leaving you with a quote from 4th Stage Cancer Survivor, artist, author, documentary filmmaker and my new inspiration, Beverlye Hyman Fead:

“When you are diagnosed, that's not the time to lie down, that's the time to stand up and fight”

from her video “Stage IV: Living with Cancer” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HArX5_oL0g

 Fun at Sandbanks Provincial Park - March break 2017

The aftermath

We are now into a regular monthly routine with my cancer treatments. Near the end of each month, I go for blood tests whereby the primary goal is to evaluate my PSA level, followed a few days later by an appointment with my Urologist to go over the blood test results. If the results are OK, I continue with my monthly Firmagon injections into my stomach (which hurts like hell for the first week and beyond!). My PSA was 1,060 back in November, but went down to 41.1 in December, 1.0 in January, and now, down to 0.95 in February. It needs to be 1.0 or lower so this is great news. As I mentioned before, this treatment is not a long-term solution, so the hope is to have it work for as long as possible before "Plan B" is put into action - but so far, so good. Also my back pain has been much better lately as I've been put on a different pain medication.

I feel like the month of February represents the aftermath of a hurricane - when the smoke and dust settles and you see clearly the result of the devastation.

Ever since this ordeal began in October, things happened quickly and we were busy with appointments, the holidays, visits, our trip to Europe - and believe it or not there didn't seem to be a lot of time to really sit back and reflect. In the month of February, I kept a relatively low profile, getting back into work as best I could, but also made lots of time to myself to think and evaluate the "aftermath".

Remember back in my very first blog, I wrote about how I refuse to ask “why me?” - refuse to feel sorry for myself - refuse to ask “why this again?” - well, lately I’ve been doing a lot of “asking” and feeling sorry for myself. Not sure if it’s the weather, lack of sunlight, or perhaps some kind of inevitable delayed reaction. I imagine that a lot of this has to do with the drugs. The Dexamethasone I was on back then gave me bouts of euphoria (sometimes followed closely by bouts of depression), and it seems that my current box of drugs does not seem to have as much of a positive effect, but more of a "downer".

One of the things that makes this tough is the fact that I can’t do everything that I was able to do before. I can’t drive. I can’t run my kids’ hockey team practice (can’t even get on skates). I can’t lift things, can’t do basic things around the house that I used to do. It makes you feel rather useless most of the time which is not a good feeling.

I feel this overwhelming desire to do "something". Back in October of 2014 I went to Lesotho, Africa with an amazing group of people through the organization Bracelet of Hope, and found it to be an extremely rewarding experience. I'm in the process of speaking to a few people to see if a return trip to Lesotho is feasible and worthwhile. I've already put the bug in Kathryn's ear . . .

I've been thinking a lot lately about what to say to my kids. Right now, they know daddy has been sick and is now recovering, but in case things start to go the other way, I feel the need to be prepared on how to explain things to them in the best possible way. This is the main thing that's been on my mind lately, and something that's been bothering me quite a bit. I saw a therapist a couple of weeks ago that was available through the Grand River Cancer Centre, and this was the first step in learning and figuring a few of these things out.

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to some sunshine in March, the March break vacation with Kat and the kids, and hopefully being able to do more such as taking the kids to school and activities.

February was good, March is going to be even better!

The new normal

I’ve been getting some comments and complaints from friends and family that they haven’t heard from me in a while and that I haven’t been posting updates to my blog as frequently as before. Yes, that’s true and I apologize. I tend to write more when I’m feeling good and drop off a bit when I’m not feeling so good. The last few weeks have been hard but I’m optimistic that things are going well so far and will slowly get better.

I received more blood results last week and my PSA is down to 1 so this is good news. In fact it couldn't be better. That means that the hormone-based cancer treatment that Dr. M has me on is working. I’ve gone from PSA 1,060 in November to 41 in December, and now down to 1. Although this is great news, keep in mind that this particular treatment is not a cure, and usually only works for between 2 and 4 years on average. Eventually, the cancer will “outsmart” it and we will then have to go to another treatment, such as chemotherapy or other.

I’ve been told there is no cure for what I have, particularly since it has spread (metastasis) and gone into my bones and spine, so the best they can do is to come up with ways of prolonging my life as much as possible. There are new discoveries and treatments coming out every day, and I’ve looked into a great many alternatives as suggested by friends and family so it’s a matter of keeping at it.

I received some really nice news last week. I met with Kathleen Buckley, a Genetics specialist at the Grand River Cancer Centre. She went through my family medical history with me, and then was able to connect me with a group in Toronto at Sunnybrook Hospital that are doing a cancer research study. She thought that my situation might be perfect for what they are currently working on, so I was able to meet with them last week at Sunnybrook to get things started. I’m so grateful to Kathleen - there always seems to be someone out there looking out for me.

The world of genetics is a really fascinating area and must be a very interesting field to work in. Over the next few weeks, the team at Sunnybrook will be performing some tests on me to see if I have a specific genetic mutation and if so, I may be eligible to try these new drugs they are working with which they’ve had success with so far. It’s all new and experimental, but I’m very happy to have been included in this because it can’t hurt and at this point anything new is always worth a try!

I’ve slowly been getting accustomed to my “new normal”. The back pain is still there although over the past 5 days it seems to be slowly getting better. I’m hopeful that this will continue and that I will not require surgery for my spinal compression fracture. I’m also trying to get used to the fatigue that comes with the cancer medication, and this one is also tough to deal with. Sometimes I have to force myself to wake up otherwise I could sleep all day. I need to kick myself in the butt - accept it, get used to it, and deal with it! I’m getting frequent “hot flashes”, a side effect of the cancer medication, which my Urologist compares to what women go through during menopause, and have been given yet another drug to deal with it. These things combined have brought me down a bit over the past few weeks but as I mentioned before I am optimistic that the month of February will be better!

Last Saturday, my 6-year old daughter Anika performed at Van Gogh’s Ear, a local restaurant/pub here in Guelph through her music school, Jam School. When her teacher Mikaela first mentioned it I wasn’t too sure she was ready. She has been playing piano for a couple of years, but only started the voice lessons with Mikaela at Jam School a couple of months ago. She really believed in her and was confident that she could do it. Mikaela is awesome!!

Anika performed the song “Feel the Light” by Jennifer Lopez (from the movie “Home”), playing the piano and singing (solo). When she was finished, I became very emotional, not just because she played well, but just the fact that she had the courage at age 6 to get up there and perform with such confidence in front of such a large group of people, and even work through a couple of minor errors just like she was taught to do (just keep going!).

Kathryn and both kids have really inspired me and despite the odds, despite the discomfort, I am ready to work through and just keep on going just like Anika did last Saturday afternoon on the Van Gogh stage!

I’m hoping to get out more in the month of February and am currently working on arranging that music night I promised a few weeks back - so stay tuned. Once again, thanks to all my family and friends for all your amazing support. I’m still enjoying that cooler full of frozen food and restaurant gift certificates that my good friends at Manulife gave to me a few weeks ago, and as always, appreciate everyone’s kindness and concern.

Here’s to an amazing month of February!!!

My inspiration: Anika performing at Van Gogh’s Ear in Guelph on Saturday, January 28

 

A new year

We've just returned from our Europe vacation and it was everything we hoped it would be and more. After spending Christmas with both families first in Richmond Hill then Montreal, we boarded our plane for Europe during a crazy Quebec storm 3 hours late and barely made our connection flight through London! It was quite the adventure running through Heathrow airport with the kids with collective hearts pounding. Amazingly, we got on our connection flight to Zagreb, Croatia with mere minutes to spare - and even more incredible, our luggage arrived as well!

Our first stop was Cakovec, Croatia and the kids were amazed at how many "cousins" there were to meet. At each visit the kids didn't want to leave (a sure sign they were having a good time), it was great fun and we were welcomed and treated like royalty. Thanks so much to everyone for making our visit so memorable. I'm proud of my family in Croatia and you were all amazing especially Pero and Zeljka for co-ordinating all our visits with relatives and making our trip perfect! Kathryn was also great with booking and arranging everything.

Next was Zurich, Switzerland, a city I've been to many times and always loved. We spent New Years Eve and a relaxing 4 days there. Zurich is a beautiful, clean city and it was nice spending some time there.

Finally, we arrived in Paris and Anika was able to fulfill her dream of seeing the Eiffel Tower and she was not to be disappointed. We had a fantastic lunch in the Eiffel Tower restaurant something we will always remember. It was a lot of fun exploring Paris with the kids and showing them how fun and interesting it can be to explore a new country and city. We got a tour of the Louvre and explored Montmartre and Sacré Coeur Basilica.

It was nice to see our kids enjoy and appreciate the same things that we do such as the great food of Paris. Every restaurant, pastry shop, and coffee shop was fantastic!

Although we did have a great time and enjoyed it very much, it was a challenge for me at times. The current cancer medications that I am on make me very drowsy and being off the Dexamethasone has been a factor. The back pain is unbearable at times as I'm sometimes unable to walk because of my spinal compression fracture, but hopefully this will soon be rectified or at least alleviated upon my return.

Before I left I received good news as my PSA levels are down from over 1,000 to 40 which means the cancer medications are working so far. The bad news is that if the back pain persists then I will require surgery.

It was an emotional roller coaster ride with fatigue, depression and pain mixed in with a truly memorable experience with my family. It was great to see our kids enjoy travel as much as Kathryn and I do. It was fun doing simple things like spending time together talking, learning, taking photographs, and laughing.

As the saying goes "nothing worthwhile is easy". As hard as it was at times physically for me, it was an experience we will never forget so well worth it.

In terms of cancer treatment, the plan is to continue on the current path using hormone-based drugs and injections and monitor the results. Prostate cancer cells feed on testosterone so that is the current plan, and there is no telling how long this can be effective so we need to just re-evaluate and adjust the strategy as we go. 

Despite the persistent fatigue and chronic back pain, I am still optimistic and am enjoying each day as it comes. It's amazing how small things can bring you joy: watching your kids get excited about exploring a new city, seeing them using the french they've learned in school by ordering in a Parisian restaurant (and see how much the waiter/waitress appreciate this!), watching them take turns playing songs on the piano with cousins they've just met, and just seeing them enjoy life because that's what it's all about in the end. This was my 4th visit to Paris but by far the most important and memorable.

At this point I just need to focus on what I need to do to get better. I admit it's not always easy to remain positive and I've definitely had my moments. I'm not going to lie, the last few weeks have been tough.

As I look out the window of the airplane on our flight home from Paris - Toronto, I think about how lucky I've been to have travelled to so many countries - almost 40 in total - for both work and play. As I gaze out the window, Shayne points to the gorgeous sky and yells out "look out there it's amazing daddy get the camera out right now". All I can do is smile and feel incredibly happy and proud.

 The view from the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France

Right here, right now

Last night I watched the short documentary film “Cristina” on Netflix, the story about an amazing 37-year old woman with cancer and her ongoing battle with the disease. Although our cancers and situations are quite different, I could still however relate to much of what Cristina went through each step of the way in her journey, and of course, was pulling for her right until the end in her courageous battle.

Cristina made some very powerful and meaningful observations and quotes which I could relate to and that really inspired me.

“Every day counts. The blessing of cancer is living right now. It’s almost like the closer you are to dying the more alive you become, and that to me is really the truth”

After watching this film, I began to once again think about the concept of “enjoying the moment”, something that I have thought long and hard about particularly in the past six years since surviving my heart incident against those crazy odds.

It’s easy to say things like “enjoy life”, “enjoy the moment”, “love your family”, and “appreciate what you have” - but actually “living it” is much more difficult and something that we don’t always do. It shouldn’t have to be this way. Sometimes we may feel guilty about perhaps not always “living” this way in our daily lives, but the fact is that our lives are busy and we are constantly under pressure at work, at home, and within our family/children and relationships. It’s not always easy to just sit back, take a deep breath, and slow things down and enjoy the moment. This is perhaps where yoga and meditation comes in. I started getting back into yoga a few weeks ago and it’s helped a lot.

It’s unfortunate that in today’s society we tend to measure a lot of things in dollars, but this is the world we live in. Particularly when we compare different jobs, job titles, levels, careers, we always tend to look at the hourly wage or annual salary. Satisfaction and time don’t seem to fare into it as much, yet these are factors that greatly contribute to whether you find happiness or misery in your work, and whichever that is, it trickles down into every aspect of your everyday life.

Many years ago I left a fairly stressful but high paying job for a lower paying, low stress job, one that allowed me to work regular (normal) hours, something I hadn’t done for many years. I came to realize how important it was to have that stress removed, and to have all that extra time to be able to do things that were previously not possible. It definitely allowed me to have a look at things from a completely different perspective, and to subsequently become aware and have an appreciation of a different way of measuring and prioritizing what is important in life.

Right at the very end of the documentary film, Cristina talks about how she feels that perhaps her purpose in life was to tell people to “Wake Up”. In her own words:

“Tomorrow is never really there, yesterday is definitely gone. So right now is the only gift you have and that is what you have to share with everybody”

As I watched the film last night, I hoped for a happy ending. I was somehow thinking that it might end with Cristina beating the disease. I realize of course that at these stages you can’t ever beat it as becomes an ongoing, lifelong battle, but I was still hoping that it would end on some sort of a positive note.

Sadly, Cristina Weigmann lost her battle with cancer 5 months after her second cancer diagnosis (she initially had breast cancer and it returned). Doctors had initially told her that she could have years to live, which gave her hope, but it was not meant to be. I’ve also had a number of different opinions and prognosis over the past few weeks but it’s one of those things that you can’t rely on or think about too much, particularly since the variables seem to change almost daily. The best you can do is to remain positive and optimistic and hope for the best.

Cristina's life and words have inspired me and will have a lasting impact. She is 100% right, all we have is “Right here, right now”.

Tomorrow I will have my blood test which will determine whether my cancer treatments have been effective or not, and I will likely know the results next Wednesday. The best case scenario would be that my PSA levels have dropped significantly in response to the cancer medications and that the current method is working. So, as per usual, a few more days of waiting and suspense - something that we’ve grown accustomed to over the past couple of months.

I will keep you all posted with the latest news. In the meantime friends enjoy each moment that we have here on this earth and appreciate life, I think it's the best we can do!



Documentary: “Cristina”, Director Michèle Ohayon - http://www.cristinathemovie.com/