CT Scan of Liver

Grandma went for a CT Scan of her liver. Since my mom was at a workshop, a friend came over to provide transportation. After the test, Grandma had to drink ten cups of fluids. When my mom arrived home, Grandma stated she drank so much that she was almost nauseated. She didn't really want any supper. My mom waited till later and fried her an egg. Grandma ate the egg, toast and soup.

Grandma is really not comfortable with bothering others. She told my mom how long the test took thinking that my mom will pay our friend by the hour. My mom told Grandma that our friend helped us out of love. She didn't do it for money.

Best Behavior

My mom attended an all day workshop to learn about creating a good life for me and planning for my future. Since nobody was available to support me at home for the day, I got to tag along. I was in my best behavior the whole time and my mom is very proud of me. I got quite a few compliments from other participants.

My mom brought along a few flyers and catalogues, pen and paper, scissors, and my iPod for keeping me busy. We walked into the room and my attention was totally captured by the nicely decorated Christmas tree with flashing lights. I started off looking at the flyers and catalogues. This is a great time of the year for me. I enjoyed the pictures of colorful Christmas trees and decorations. Then I started drawing and scribbling. My mom whispered to me from time to time. She took turns with me drawing and coloring when I needed some attention. As my demand for attention increased, she pulled out my iPod. There is new music on my iPod! She must have figured out that I got tired of the music I had on it previously. I bounced with the rhythm and occasionally I hummed along. When I smiled and appeared to be enjoying the music, my mom got curious and took one of my earphones to listen in to find out what was amusing to me. We need to get something to allow both of us to listen to the music at the same time, so that she does not have to snatch my earphone.

Half way through the afternoon, the music went dead. I handed the iPod back to my mom. She figured the battery must be dead. I resumed my drawing and scribbling on the flyers. I was behaving so well that my mom didn't need to employ alternative strategies, such as scissors.

Radiation Therapy

Grandma attended her pre-treatment appointment at the WW Cross Cancer Institute this morning. She has become the first person in our family to have "tattoos". They are permanent on her chest to mark the area for radiation.

There is a waiting period of about 3 weeks, so treatments won't start till around Christmas. My mom wants to be present for at least the first few treatments, so she told them about our Disneyworld trip from December 25 to January 5. If the treatment cannot start on December 22, it will be postponed to after we return to Edmonton.

Social Activities

Since the drains were removed, Grandma feels more comfortable in resuming some of her usual social activities. She went to church on Sunday and she is attending the senior's fellowship this morning. She will go out for lunch with her friends before coming home. It is good for Grandma to get back to some kind of normalcy before she starts her radiation treatments.

Grandma has a pre-treatment appointment at the WW Cross Cancer Institute tomorrow morning. She will be measured and the radiation dosage will be calculated. We do not know when the radiation treatments will commence. We only know that it will be 20 treatments. The radiation department closes on weekends and holidays. Even if the treatments can start on December 1, her course of treatment will span over the Christmas holidays.

Emily and Peter are going to take me and my mom to Disneyworld leaving on December 25. That means we won't be home when Grandma gets her last few treatments. My mom will have to make arrangements for someone else to transport her to and from the cancer hospital.

Dance Dance Revolution

It is so nice to have Emily and Peter home this week. They brought the Wii and a new game - Dance Dance Revolution (DDR). I love the game as it has music, flashing lights, and spinning images. I ask for it by saying, "tap, tap".

I have been reluctant to visit my mom for some time lately. Now that there is the DDR at mom's home, I keep coming to the door and knock on it.

Emily and Peter will be going back to Vancouver tomorrow. We are going to miss them a lot.

Tamoxifen

Grandma starts taking Tamoxifen today. The pharmacist gave her a list of natural health products to avoid. Grandma does not go to health stores to buy supplements. However, the list contains foods that Grandma eats. My mom searched the net to make sure she knows all the listed items and was glad she did. She didn't know anise is the spice we sometimes use in our cooking. She knows the Chinese name but not its English name. Wild yam is on the list and it is a relief to find out that it is not the yam and sweet potato we eat as foods. Grandma loves sweet potatoes.

The following are foods that Grandma should avoid:

* alfalfa
* anise (八角)
* bitter melon (苦瓜)
* dong quai (當歸)
* all types of ginseng (參)
* flaxseed
* licorice
* milk thistle

Oncology Consultation

Grandma saw the oncologist (a fancy name for cancer specialist) this morning at the WW Cross Cancer Institute. The doctor recommended a course of radiation (20 treatments) plus Tamoxifen for five years. Grandma's immediate response was she would not take the radiation treatments. My mom asked for more time to make a decision. The doctor was going to call us in a week and she explained that the sooner the radiation treatments start after surgery the better.

After my mom talked it over with Grandma, she indicated that she did not want to bother others in terms of transportation daily for four weeks. My mom told her that not wanting to inconvenient others is not a good enough reason to refuse radiation. Eventually Grandma agreed to the radiation treatments. She has an appointment to go back on November 26 to do the preparation work for radiation.