So that everyone is aware, Liz has given me permission to write this up and share it with you all.
By now, you have probably caught up with the news about Liz having a reoccurrence of the Cervical Cancer that she finished treatment for about 18 months ago.
It started just over a month ago now when Liz had a couple of episodes of waking up at night feeling nauseous and then fainting. She took herself off to the hospital to get it checked out.
They scanned her brain and her heart and found that she had a condition in her heart which required a pacemaker. They also found a lesion in her brain.
So they put in the pacemaker to help her heart at night and scanned the rest of her body to see if there was cancer anywhere due to her history. They found cancer in her lungs and identified the lesion in her brain as cancer as well.
If that wasn't scary enough, Liz had some additional symptoms about a week later where she was feeling short of breath and was regurgitating her food. She mentioned this to her doctor during a routine meeting to discuss the treatment plan.
What was discovered was a SVCO (goggle it!) and this was affecting her heart. After some scary talk from the doctor and lots of serious faces they started radiation on her chest straight away. A week in hospital followed this latest development. The good news is that the cancer that was affecting her heart responded to the radiation.
The bad news is that the cancer in her lungs seems to have increased in the last couple of weeks. The treatment plan is for 15 sessions of radiation on her chest and 15 on her head (the chest and head will be radiated on the same day). After this it will be 15 weeks of chemo.
There is additional worry over the pacemaker being in the way of the radiation on her lungs. So the choice is to either move the pacemaker out of the way or remove it completely for the time being.
So that is a quick summary thus far! Over the weekend, Liz attended her school reunion and ended up with a hoarse voice on Sunday. She attributed this to speaking pretty much non-stop for 3 hours in a noisy bar. However, her voice hasn't recovered.
Today she went to the hospital to have it checked out. Super hero sister Helen drove her there at 6.30am. They have found another cancer tumour which is pressing on her voice box which is affecting her vocal chords. Her left vocal chord is working away as normal but her right vocal chord is not doing anything! The ENT doctor said he only sees this a couple of times a year. If you didn't already know that Liz was special then this would prove it to you!
The plan now is for the treatment to start next Tuesday (30th of July). It starts with radiation over the next 2-3 weeks. After that the chemo starts.
When the radiation starts on her head, Liz will start to lose her hair. She is already prepared with a wig and beanie. I suggested that she maybe could use this as an opportunity to live life as a blonde for a while but she is sticking with the brunette theme! Guess people will take her more seriously!
Even without the use of one of her vocal chords, it is hard for Liz to update everyone with all the changes. You can imagine how it can be emotional and also difficult to tell the same thing over and over. Hopefully this way I can help spread the news and keep everyone updated. I know that you all are worried about Liz and want to support her. This is one way in which I hope I can be helpful. If at any time Liz doesn't want to share something, I will stop.
I hope my next entry will be to celebrate the start of the treatment and then to hear the news that the cancers are getting smaller and smaller. I apologise to Liz if I have made any mistakes on this!
Peace and happiness.
Yvette
I've tried to post a couple of comments here, Yvette, but they keep disappearing into cyberspace. I hope this one doesn't!
ReplyDeleteI just want to say what a wonderful mate you are to Liz in starting this blog.
To put your hand up to be the disseminator of news on how she's doing
(as well as the gatekeeper) is such a practical act of love and support. Good on you!
Just letting other mates of Liz who might wish to comment here know that when you press 'publish', you'll be taken to a google page where you register - after which your comments will appear.
DeleteAs a techno -dill, it took me a few goes to realise this. (duhh!!!)
Thanks again Yvette. And Liz knows that we love her lots!!
Hi Yvette and Liz, what a practical and organised idea, we all want Liz to focus on getting better and this is such a useful tool to help everyone stay in the loop. As Mary says you're a true friend Yvette and while we're all delighted that Liz is our dear friend we welcome you as well.
ReplyDeletesending love and hugs to you both and thank you Yvette for setting this up. Loads of love.
Thank you Yvette. A wonderful way to give our friend a voice. Liz, I am sure you are reading this as well so I want to say you have been and continue to be the most wonderful support for me during my struggles and I hope I can return this support xxx
ReplyDeleteWell done Yvette, and all the very best Liz. Beat this damned annoyance! xxx
ReplyDeleteHi Liz and Yvette,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the super hero sister comment. I think the car drove itself to RNS. We have made many trips since that morning of June 20th. Thanks Yvette. Keep smiling Liz!
Thanks for the update Yvette - Lizzy we're thinking of you and sending you all our love and positive energy.
ReplyDeleteKaty Sheppard
xxoo
Thanks for this Yvette. See you at the footy Liz xxxx
ReplyDeleteThanks for this Yvette, from Liz's Uncle David in the UK
ReplyDeleteThanks Yvette - very grateful for your effort here. much love to our Liz xx
ReplyDeleteThanks heaps, Yvette. It's fantastic to have the information without having to ask Liz about it. It must just be exhausting for her. What a great friend you are. xxx
ReplyDeleteThank you Yevette, a blog is such a good idea, and takes the pressure off the family repeating the same news all the time Liz is one strong lady. She is in my thoughts and prayers. xxxxx Robyn Horn
ReplyDeleteThanks Yvette, you are a great friend to Liz and Jas and this is a great help to us all. Dani x
ReplyDeleteThanks yvette for keeping us all up to speed
ReplyDeleteThanks Yvette and Hello all,
ReplyDeleteBy way of introduction: Josh has been playing Australian Rules football for four years at our club, the North Ryde Dockers, and I have had the pleasure of coaching Josh and seeing his skills develop. And again seeing Nell excel at Ryde Athletics and Ruby graduates from Tots this year to join the 6's. Liz and Jason are magnetic people who engage and contribute in every way they can and are a pleasure to seek out for their company. Liz was effervescent when I spoke with her on Sunday and love radiates from the joy she shares. Please let me know if there is anything we can do to assist and we will rally the team.
Thomas Jubb, President of North Ryde Dockers.