Dear all,
Last friday I had another appointment with my oncologist. Because Victor is studying hard for his exam on Wednesday I drove myself and my sister Nancy met me at the hospital. It’s getting harder for the nurses to get blood from my veins, they have to use the little needles (they call them butterfly needles here) and the nurse had to try my right hand first, and then decided to try the left one. I was very relieved when the blood finally started to flow. Apparently I have narrow veins and thick walled arteries.
My oncologist seemed pleased enough with the results. The liver values are a tad higher (bilirubin at 12, white blood cells at 3.8L, other results aren’t in yet), but she says that’s probably due to the treatment I’m taking now. I will get two more cycles of the Xeloda (Capecitabine) but I can take them 12 days instead of 14 to reduce the sensitivity in my hands and feet. After these two cycles of three weeks she’ll start me on hormone therapy, which takes a few weeks to take effect. This wasn’t an option before because of the liver, but I guess we have the time now, which is good news. In 4 weeks time they’ll make new scans. So I have appointments on April 12th with another oncologist (Dr. Baars is attending a congress in London), an MRI on April 22nd (our wedding day), CT on April 25th, and the results on May 3rd. Add to that the Penn alumni drinks date at the Skylounge in the Doubletree hotel on April 29th, Queens’ day on April 30th, a seminar on investing on the 23rd and I’ve got April filled before it’s even started. Not bad for someone who intends to live in the moment and stopped using a calendar altogether a few months ago!
On March 17th and 24th I had several friends over for a high tea. Of course we made way too much food, but it was a lot of fun. It was nice to see friends together as well. Many thanks to my mom and sister for taking our dog Flo for long walks. I had also signed up for an introduction to yoga course at the Yoga Lounge in Hilversum (thanks to my cousin Ineke for the tip!). I really enjoyed it! It was a nearly private lesson since there were two students (including me!) and one teacher. She was great. I’m convinced now to sign up for more classes! The first session was challenging since my feet were hurting badly but I found Sunday’s session a lot more relaxing than I had expected.
Last night I had a sudden moment of sadness. What to do? What are my passion? Do I really want to write? Sometimes I do, and sometimes I think it’s a waste of time. What if I start yet another book and can’t finish it. But then I decided today that even that doesn’t really matter. I just ordered “The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles” by Steven Pressfield. Only I won’t get it until May 8th, because I also pre-ordered Star Trek The Next Generation Season 3 on Blue-Ray – yes I am a die-hard Trekkie (only TNG though), and that doesn’t come out until April 29th. Fortunately its region free, because the Downton Abbey Season 3 that nancy bought me in LA is not! Does anyone know how to make our Philips blue-ray player region free (its region free for DVD;s but not for Blue ray disks). Anyway, I’m rambling and didn’t even tell you the news. Got called by a headhunter. A small company in Amsterdam is looking for a Content Management lead and want to meet me. I told him I’m still recovering from an illness and if I can work (which I’m not sure about) I can only work part-time. They still want to meet me so I have a meeting on Thursday. In the afternoon I have a Liferay User group meeting, so should be fun! I will keep you posted!
Sheila Ghosh - blog 
Hi Sheila, ik ben trots op je! Was super gezellig gisteren op de high tea! Tot snel! Liefs, Sandra
Mooie post. Met dat schrijven komt het wel goed.
Out of all that information in this latest post, my jaw is still hanging open with the new knowledge that you’re a Trekkie!
Hallo Sheila, zo goed te lezen dat het allemaal beter gaat, wie had dat aan het begin van de roler coaster gedacht…..Ben vanaf midden April weer in het NLandse, hoop je snel te zien ! Het ga je goed.
Hi Sheila, it’s always great to get news from you. Didn’t know you’re a Trekkie. I’m envious that you have season 3 of Downton Abbey. Sounds like much fun install for you. Have lots of fun :-)))
Hoi Sheila
leuk hoor gevraagd te worden, geeft toch een opkikkertje! Wat betreft region free Blu ray spelers, sommige spelers kunnen eenvoudig herprogammeerd worden om alle discs te spelen zie bv http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85EGKzJpFUY
Hangt er dus van af wat voor speler je hebt. Koop anders een goedkope tweede speler zoals de Toshiba uit de youtube film. Veel liefs van Paul en Isabelle
Hi Sheila,
De berichten klinken alweer positiever! Dat is mooi, al blijven het onzekere tijden… Fijn dat je ook een paar weken niet naar het ziekenhuis hoeft!
Wat leuk dat men je ondanks alles, graag aan het werk wil zien! Dat streelt uiteraard je ego, maar pas goed op jezelf! Doe geen dingen die teveel energie kosten en volg vooral je gevoel… Niets moet, wat men er ook van zegt of denkt. Je leeft uiteindelijk in quality time!
Mijn tumormarker was maandag jl. weer stabiel. Dus ik heb pas over 3 maanden weer controle!
Het allerbeste en tot horens!
Groetjes, Marianne (en ook van Cees natuurlijk)
Dag Sheila, ik hoop van harte dat het lukt met je nieuwe, aangeboden, job! Fijn dat alles weer wat beter gaat. Groeten , ook van Harrie, Christine
allemaal goed nieuws Sheila!
Lieve Sheila,
Ik ben blij dat het wat beter me je aan het gaan is. Daar was je ook wel een beetje aan toe. We mogen vertrouwen dat het vanaf nu steeds beter blijft gaan.
Ik zit nu voor een adviesklus in Casablanca. Begin april ben ik weer in Nederland; dan stuur ik je een wat uitgebreidere mail.
Sterkte en groeten,
Ruud Groenendijk
Hi Sheila, Alle goeds toegewenst. Het beste ook met de behandeling en in alles wat je onderneemt. Veel respect en waardering voor de manier waarop je dat oppakt. Fijne feestdagen als je dit bericht vandaag of morgen nog leest.
Groet, Henk
Hi Sheila! Sounds like good news with the treatment! I love the fact that you’ve picked up yoga, you’re finding multiple ways to explore your creativity even further and I wonder if it’ll be another form of inspiration in writing that book! Also, congratulations with the job, sounds like an amazing opportunity. So happy that we had the chance to meet up and that I get a little window into your life by reading this blog. Take care Sheila!
ā¤ Payal
So glad you had a good trip to the West Coast, Sheila! I hope you can visit the East Coast once I’m back from Tokyo! I think I knew about your Trekkie status…and Dann is one, too! š Hope all continues to go well! Love, Jen