Take Two Update and Goodbye Dr. Paul Klimo :(

So we ventured back to Lions Gate Hospital yesterday morning and I had my first treatment of this new protocol. So far, doing pretty well. I managed to get in touch with some of the women who have been on this set of drugs in the clinical trial setting and they all said that they look minimal anti-nausea drugs and steroids and did fine so that's good enough for me. To be honest, although I am grateful for all the different meds we have now adays to combat the side effects of chemotherapy, sometimes it's just too much and it's actually these meds that cause some of the worse side effects. For example, Decadron is a steroid (i think) almost always give through iv before your chemotherapy starts. It's suppose to reduce the chances of an allergic reaction. However, it causes you to feel really wired and not in any sort of a good way. It's very hard to relax but you can't think straight so it's hard to get anything done; hard to even have a normal conversation. It's just a really crappy feeling and then the next morning you feel like you have a bad hang over. I always thought it was the Decadron that made me feel this way and now thanks to getting a hefty dose it by itself the other day, now I know that it is the Decadron. I am going to ask for at least half doses from now on. One of the nurses I asked yesterday said it shouldn't be a problem; especially now that I have had my first treatment without a reaction.

I've also heard from a woman on the Triple Negative Foundation discussion forums (continue to be SO helpful!) that there is a cream called Miltex that can really help with triple negative skin mets. But of course it comes form GERMANY!! Actually, I should mention that my dear friend Kathy was the first to tell me of this cream but when I first tried looking it up it seemed it was impossible to get hold of and couldn't really get any good info about it. Anyway, thanks Kath! When the name of that cream came up on the discussion forums I was able to get some more detailed info about how to go about getting it.

Today is officially Dr. Klimo's last day. I don't think it's really sunk in yet; it was just such a short time ago that he seemed to be my only hope. I really wanted to attend his retirement tea this past Friday but it was Treydon's sports day and I couldn't miss that.

Over the past six months that I've been writing this blog I can't tell you how many people have sent me messages to tell me of their experiences with Dr. Klimo. Every single person has reassured me that I was in the best possible hands; he has saved so many lives. Even people that didn't have personal experiences with him have "heard" that he is the best. So even though I have this ridiculous, horrible, rare form of breast cancer, I truly felt that I was in the best hands. My only regret is that I didn't switch over from the Cancer Agency sooner :(

This is a very sad day for many cancer patients. I'm really going to miss waiting in the chemotherapy ward for my appointments. It was always a long wait but so much fun to watch "the Dr. Klimo" show (as I liked to call it) The way he would be going back and forth seeing more than patient at a time and then just randomly pulling people in from the waiting room; much to the frustration of the clerk trying to keep track of all the patients he needed see in that day! It was crazy but it was his way and it WORKED! Anyone who has sat in that waiting room more than once knows exactly what I'm talking about. It makes me laugh just to think of it!

I'm so sorry that I missed his retirement tea but maybe one day someone from his family will come across my little blog and can report back to him that yet, another person has been so touched by his true dedication and commitment to giving people the best damn cancer treatment available.

So here's to Dr. Klimo! May you have many, many years of good health to do whatever it is that brings you happiness. May you live the rest of your life KNOWING that you have MADE A DIFFERENCE!

I came across this article if anyone is interested to read more about him:

http://www.nsnews.com/entertainment/movie-guide/education.0899/Last+call/4971585/story.html?id=4971585

PS I was very surprised to learn that he will be turning 70! Wow. He doesn't look it at all.