Author Archives: Catherine Brunelle

Wisdom Tooth Countdown

Posted in Life by

I can’t run away from this any longer. Or I could, but it would only get worse. Five years ago I was told I’d need to remove my wisdom teeth. Ha! That was Catherine-ese for “You need to stop going to the dentist,” and so I did.

The infections come and they go, but my wisdom teeth have remained in place.

Except for now. For some reason I’ve suddenly pooled courage and decided to get the suckers pulled one at a time. (I’m only getting 2 removed since the others seem fine. We’ll see how it goes.) Why now? Why not five years ago? Actually I don’t know. Circumstances have lined up this way, and I’m actually a great believer in circumstances. So it’s on, baby. (Unless I run away.)

There are many, many YouTube videos online explaining how an impacted tooth is removed from the jaw. I can see them in the list of results, but haven’t actually clicked upon them as of yet. One lady told me they need to unhinge your jaw. HOLY S. What kind of crazy is that?

Okay. Status has changed:

I just watched 49 seconds of a 1:11 min video. That was enough. It was a very straightforward cartoon. I hope this is a straightforward procedure, because Catherine won’t be taking a nap during the event. Bring on the numbing agents!

Maybe this is just the distraction I need from the scans that follow my upcoming birthday. Got scanxiety? Get your wisdom tooth removed!

Bah!

T-minus 10 days and counting till tooth removal. This is now the part where you say it’s no big deal, and far more like playing with a puppy while floating on a cloud. That sounds about right. Right?

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The Moment I Knew For Sure

Posted in Bumpboobs, Life, Love by

So I have this memory burned into my mind.

This memory is me at a train station in Amsterdam. My younger brother is standing behind me on the train platform and we’re waiting for this train to pull away. The train station is perfectly European as in the ceilings stretch up high and pigeons fly amoungst the raftors. The announcements in this far-off echo and bounce around the massive place as we stand there waiting.

And then I see him. I see Zsolt find his seat inside of the train. Only seconds ago he was with me in my arms, and now he’s there inside of this train about to pull out of the station. It’s funny how one second you can be wrapped up in this world of love and excitement, and then – almost inevitably – the next second you are sobbing on a train platform as your heart breaks and you wonder, “will I ever see him again?”

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Zsolt is inside of this train waiting to pull out of the Amsterdam train station. He’s sitting by the window next to the platform. I slow down the tears as much as possible and go up to that window, and wait till he notices me.

He notices me.

He smiles.

I smile.

I put my hand against the window; it’s cold and it’s dirty, but he’s right there on the other side and only moments before he was next to me kissing me goodbye. Zsolt puts his hand upon the window against mine so that all there is between us is this cold pane of glass – that and a train that is now about to leave the station.

But just there in that ten second window before I need to step back, I make the decision that will change my life. I decide that no matter what happens, I will see him again. No matter what, we will be together again.

At that point, I’d known Zsolt for about three weeks, and had spent about nine of those days together with him. It was enough to know I wouldn’t give up on us. It was enough to change my life.

So, when I start to think about the things I’d rather not think about, I try and remember that moment on the platform – grimy glass and all – and focus on my hand against his hand. It is the moment that I carry with me through all of this, and keep safe with a sense of certainty. It’s the bright side when I go to the hard places. It is my power. It is our love.

 

P.S. It’s our five year wedding anniversary today, hence this sentimental post! 🙂

 

A Petition for #FairCancerCare

Posted in Bumpboobs, Treatment by

This is just one of the many reasons, and many stories lived and/or heard, that make me want to support #FairCancerCare:

When I was told it was definitely breast cancer in my lungs, I was also told it was slightly estrogen receptive. That means it kinda likes to eat estrogen. (A change from the first time, when it really liked to eat estrogen.) My options in this case involved hormone therapy.

Except I’d already been on Tamoxifen, the only breast cancer hormone therapy I know of for women before menopause, and it had stopped working.

That meant I needed to but put into menopause.

I would be put (back) on Zoladex, I was told, which is a drug that puts your ovaries to sleep. Zoladex is not covered by OHIP. The oncologist wasn’t sure if it would help, but he figured we should try that first and foremost before doing anything else. Except. . . except that monthly shot costs about 500 bucks a pop. Or I could pay 1500 a go and get the three month shot.

But insurance would pay for it.

Right?

…

Oh wait, you don’t have insurance? Well then, you need to have your ovaries removed via surgery.

!!

That is seriously what I was told. And if this post seems a bit fragmented in pace, it’s because to this day I’m stupefied by the solution to my struggling to afford medication – cut out perfectly healthy pieces of my body, despite there being an effective pill that could do the same thing minus the traumatic surgery.

Ultimately I was able to get onto Trillium because we’re a lower income family. Though even that has had its challenges – and of course I am grateful to have that. But for many others they end up paying loads out of pocket (not on the table here, but also worth mentioning is the cost of alternative treatments. Wouldn’t it be lovely if the cost of complimentary health care was built into our treatment plans?)

facingcancercare

Anyhow, for many, many reasons, I want to direct you to #FairCancerCare, an online petition for Ontario healthcare that moves for more treatment coverage. They want to gather signatures before the provincial election to bring urgency to these needs.

“As Canadians, many of us are understandably proud of our health care system. In Ontario, most of us believe that, should we ever be unfortunate enough to get cancer, OHIP will cover us. Unfortunately, in far too many cases this doesn’t happen.

Sometimes, the very best treatment that your doctor prescribes for your cancer is not covered by provincial insurance. Patients have to choose between a fully-covered treatment plan that may be less effective, or following the recommendation of their doctor and paying the high cost for chemotherapy out of pocket.

This is two-tiered health care. Wealthy patients and those with good private insurance have access to the best care. Those who are not so lucky either go deeply in debt or take their chances with what OHIP will cover.

In 2014, no Ontario cancer patient should be accumulating thousands of dollars of debt. And yet it’s happening more often than most of us would think.”

If  agree with their mission, then do sign the petition and please share their campaign.