Surgery is on Monday

On Thursday around noon, I was spinning my wheels. I’d made all the phone calls I could to get progress started, but kept hearing I was on their radar and just had to sit tight. Around 2:00 pm, I reached out to PHSA about my case and made a complaint through their online form. Then a few hours later, at 3:30, I finally got the call from the surgeon who said he’d fit me in for surgery on Monday. He said to go to the hospital at 10:00 am and be prepared to wait. The clear PET scan confused him, and he said melanoma doesn’t typically grow that quickly, which put my mind at ease.

On Friday morning, I got a call from the OR, and they informed me to be at the hospital at 12:45, and ran through the list of pre-operative instructions. You have to be fasted and unshaven without any appliances, such as contact lenses or piercings, on your body.

I’ve been taking it easy since that call. I’m glad to have progress. The growth on my scar has increased in size, and it is sore in that area. I’m hoping for relief after all that tissue is removed, analysed in biopsy, and any changes to the treatment plan can be identified. I’m really looking forward to starting treatment, though I don’t know what side-effects I’ll experience. I am eager to find out so I can plan for a return to work.

Yesterday, I went with my mother to watch music in Colville. It was about 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and not widely attended. The festival was at the fair grounds where they have their rodeo. I was exhausted from the beginning, started the day with a diet Coke, then got a dozen mini donuts dusted with cinnamon sugar. For lunch, I got a beef sausage wrapped in lettuce and a can of Ginger ale because the packaging appealed to me.

We watched my mom’s boyfriend’s band perform, but when they finished at 2:30, i was so tired and so hot. When we left we had ICEEs, which are like a Slurpee, then went to Walmart before going home. The Walmart in Colville has a frozen food section 5 aisles deep. It’s a different experience than shopping in Walmart in Trail. There are quite a lot of hot sauce options, small bottles for $1. However, food is as expensive down there as it is here.

When we arrived back in Rossland, we went to the Flying Steamshovel for dinner. They have chicken & waffles now, so I don’t get my standard lemon/pepper wings anymore. The chicken was over fried, but it had good flavours and with a 12 oz. Pear cider I felt very full.

I watched a bit of CNN covering the Trump assassination attempt, before heading home at 7:30. As I watched podcasts, and thought about life, I started to feel like my cancer saga is essentially over. Once I get on those pills and adapt to taking them, it’s only been a scare. Yes, I’ll have to get checked more often for at least 5 years and I have to stay aware of symptoms and monitor my health more actively. I’ll have to be more careful in the sun forever, but ultimately, this has been more of a wake up call than a real existential threat.

I know I have to be proactive, to have activities planned for my weekends, to go somewhere and do something new at least monthly. I have to travel, and meet new people, and see the world.