Another Interpretation

Dr. Hugh Tildesley

The health report: I met with Drs Renouf and Wong to go over my CT results. They actually had a more positive interpretation of the scan than I had. My initial CT at St Pauls was in early April; this essentially made the diagnosis confirmed by a biopsy a few days later. This was described in my initial blog:

https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4765583819184202368#editor/target=post;postID=5326657798622048953;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=15;src=postname

At that time after seeing my oncologists I decided to wait. I wanted to know the “ footprint” of the cancer, was it deep, meaning aggressive or soft. A second scan was done a month later and changes suggested a soft footprint, there was growth but it appeared slow. It was only then that I decided on therapy, which did not start until early June. I completed 4 cycles and the last CT scan done July 24, was as described last week, that is the multiple “ small” deposits in the left lobe of the liver had shrunk considerably, the larger lesion in the right lobe had grown slightly. Their interpretation of the changes in the large liver tumour was that it had probably shrunk if we had had a scan from just prior to the start of Chemo. A very positive message that was welcome. The decision therefore is to carry on with what appears to be working with a comparative scan scheduled in mid September.

At today’s meeting we discussed my POG results. ( POG: Personalized Onco-Genomics). Outlined were some of the observations, which I will share in a general sense.

Firstly I have the commonly observed mutations, KARS, being one of them. This really has little bearing on choice of therapy.

A very positive observation was the stromal mutation was weak. Simply put the biology that makes pancreatic cancer so resistant is that the tumour surrounds itself with a thick wall, which does not allow chemotherapeutic agents to penetrate. My walls seem to be weak.

There were also promising observations that would predict my potential response to immune therapy.

Just Positive Vibes Man

To sum it all up we will continue to follow a pragmatic approach, using what is currently working and evaluating the biology and genetics of what we know about my disease to target therapy.

As Donald Sutherland often repeated in Kelly’s heroes… “Just positive vibes man, just positive vibes”.

I am so proud of Catherine! Finished her 10 K race in 47:17. Well under her goal. To be frank her training was limited by time, working and preparing for interviews re a summer job in local law firms and pesky knee discomfort. To her credit we discussed a race strategy, which she executed beautifully.

 

Catherine running smoothly at 5 K

At Rosemere High School I was coached by George Gluppe, before he had any Olympic experience, in fact, he was still competing at a national level in the 400 in his mid 30’s. He grew up in Hawkesbury and won a track scholarship to Michigan State. Can you imagine, he hitchhiked from there to Ann Arbor as funds were at a premium? He eventually got his Masters and was a highly successful coach and educator. You had no option but to respect him

Great Race Kid

He was a great believer in the 12-minute run as a test to screen for elite runners. It was with this test that he found Nancy Rooks in a gym class. She had no running experience and he coached her to be a 1988 Olympian. There is a correlation with distance run in 12 minutes and ultimate distance abilities. There are now tables to rate these performances. Catherine was in the 97 Th percentile for her age. Her inaugural race was consistent with her 12 minute run data. Like all who race, focusing on process rather than outcome, is a huge challenge, although she kept nagging me for her predicted time all I said, “It will be better than you think.”

July 30 was big day. I took delivery of the Tesla. We said goodbye to the red EOS and Deborah and I spent 2 hours learning about the new beast. I must admit I now have my high school leaving certificate in the car and am working on my bachelors! The PhD is a few weeks away. Every drive I find some new nuance.

Each day at Point Grey there is a gathering at the bar of a group of pals I affectionately call the 5 o’clock club. All of my children have attended this gathering and writer Hamish mostly sat and listened. He volunteered that the banter was some of the most intelligent and entertaining he had ever witnessed, unscripted with good-natured zingers with no prisoners taken.

Work in Progress

I showed up with my new car the day I took delivery, but nobody asked me about it! I left after the usual hour a little disappointed. The next day, fortunately Bob Duncan was there and that was the first question he posed. Happily his query allowed me to recount the virtues of the car. As 6 o’clock rolled around the collective group headed to the parking lot. We loaded up with the judge (Bastin), and Duncan in the back seat, radar (Reid Dewson), in the front. The short trip included some nice acceleration onto Marine drive; the faces in the back seat were contorted like astronauts during lift off. The judge, not known for exaggeration stated it was the best car he has been in, the every penny pinching Scotsman, Duncan, had already done the comparative math with a Mercedes and decided it was a good deal. Dewson was atypically silent.

A future posting will give both positive and negatives about the car but such commentary is premature at this point.

Rantage continues: Vancouver Sun Headline

TransLink bus driver left me at the curb, 100-year-old B.C. woman says

Many of my comments have been highly critical of Translink governance, inflated middle management numbers and salaries. For the most part the employees have escaped negative commentary.

This 100-year-old lady could not get her walker on the bus. The female driver refused her request for help citing “ insurance reasons”, so Mary Anne Cooper, asked 'Does this mean I can't ride on your bus?' And the driver said, 'Yes, that's what it means.'"

 

Mary Ann Cooper 100 years old

Although 100 years old she has a PhD, and still her wits if not her previous strength.

Unbelievable treatment !!

The rot has spread from the top down, would this woman have treated her Mother or Grandmother in such a callous manner.

Now the real problem. Jennifer Morland, a “spokeswoman “ for Translink stated: "We regret to hear about that incident and she should file a complaint."

File a complaint!! You got the story lady, get off your ass and get to the bottom of this. Got knows what she is paid, but sounds like she and the driver should be culled (defn: to remove undesirable characteristics from a group).

Until next time.