Today was a busy day in terms of treatment. Today I started out with some blood tests at 9:30, had local hyperthermia with vitamin infusions at 10:15, had an ultrasound at 11:30, got a massage at 13:00 and finished the day with an EKG and a lung function test at 14:30. It was a full day but the treatments were spaced out enough that it wasn't too hectic. I've learned to find my way around this place for the most part although all roads seem to lead to the kitchen which isn't so good since there is always something yummy there to snack on.
This afternoon while I had treatment Penny walked over the hill to Nidda (pronounced nid-ah). She bought a bunch of stuff at the pharmacy, tried to find some workout gear at a sports store, and pcked up some beer and wine at the grocery. She (and I) were amazed at the price of alcohol. She picked up a good bottle of Italian wine and 3 half litter bottles of decent german pilsner all for less than 3 euros! If you happened to be an alcoholic, this would an economical place to get your drink on.
After I wrapped up my treatments today I ventured out into the town with my camera. I found the train station (the bahnhoff) just up the hill from the klinik and snapped some shots. I was fortunate to be there when a train came through. As I've mentioned before this is a very scenic spot and there are limitless walking opportunities.
Ok Dr. Herzog just came in to chat. It's 10:15 at night here! I guess that's the benefit of owning the clinc and having a private living suite on the top floor. The plan is to continue with treatments as planned this week and have the full body hyperthermia next week in conjunction with chemotherapy. I'm exhausted now and am off to bed. overall I'm feeling pretty good but in the past few days I've had increasing pain in my tailbone region. It hurts to sit for long periods and even lying on my back on this hard bed can be awkward. Hopefully this pain goes away in the next few days.
Side note: Is the Frankfurt weather badge on the blog working? From here it never works but perhaps its working there? Could someone please post a comment and let me know? Thanks!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Sunday Off
Things pretty much shut down around here on Sundays. All of the staff is gone except the doctor on call and the nurses. I still got Vitamin B and C infusions today but nothing else. We slept in, got some lunch and spent the afternoon in the room. Penny did a puzzle while I played with my camera and we both listened to the Girl Who Played WIth Fire book on tape. Its a very captivating story, and we must have listened to three hours worth today! Supper was awesome with tons of fresh fruit including kiwi fruit, peaches, plums and passion fruit! Very tasty indeed. On our daily walk we saw two interesting things: The first was a weird carved sign (see picture on flickr) and the second was a big box labeled "chemo" (see picture above). I'm not sure what's in the box. Perhaps chemo means "sand" in German?
Today I got a schedule for my treatment this week. I have lots going on with two or three appointments each day. I will go into the details of what each treatment is at another time hopefully with some pictorial assistance (if I can figure out my flash!).
We've chatted up a few other patients here at the klinik and have met two interesting couples. One from Nanaimo BC and one from Aldergrove BC. There have been many interesting conversations and both couples can sure talk! George from Nanaimo has colon cancer like me while Carol from Aldergrove has breast cancer. It's been great to chat about cancer with other survivors and of course meeting fellow BCers is always a pleasure.
I hope everyone at home is doing well. Our thoughts are constantly with all the New Zealanders in Christchurch who are no doubt still reeling from this past weeks revolt by mother nature. Keep your chins up.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Klinik, Day One
We met Dr Herzog himself this morning. He looks like some kind of composer from the 19th century with crazy long-ish white hair on top of his 6 foot 2 plus lanky frame. He speaks very good English and I feel pretty comfortable with him. His plan is to do some treatments today and Sunday to get my strength up and then Monday do some blood work to see whats going on there. After that we should have a detailed plan for the weeks to come.
Penny and I got out and took a long walk this morning. This little town has a couple of hotels, the klinik, a salt water swimming pool, a small shopping street and lots of parkland. It is a very quiet village and a pleasant place to walk about and spend time. Dad, when you come, make sure to bring some comfortable walking shoes. The climate here is strikingly Victoria-like. We are hoping to be able to rent some bicycles to get around. With some pedal-powered transportation we would easily be able to make it to the larger town of Nidda 2 or 3 kilometers away over the hill. Penny and I walked most of the way there this morning but biking would be faster. I posted a few pictures from our walk on Flickr. Now it's off to lunch and then local hyperthermia, vit C and vit B.
Penny and I got out and took a long walk this morning. This little town has a couple of hotels, the klinik, a salt water swimming pool, a small shopping street and lots of parkland. It is a very quiet village and a pleasant place to walk about and spend time. Dad, when you come, make sure to bring some comfortable walking shoes. The climate here is strikingly Victoria-like. We are hoping to be able to rent some bicycles to get around. With some pedal-powered transportation we would easily be able to make it to the larger town of Nidda 2 or 3 kilometers away over the hill. Penny and I walked most of the way there this morning but biking would be faster. I posted a few pictures from our walk on Flickr. Now it's off to lunch and then local hyperthermia, vit C and vit B.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Photo Issues
I discovered the problem I've had with uploading pictures. I have my camera set to RAW. Flickr won't accept pictures in RAW format. I have changed my camera so tomorrow I should be able to post some better full sized pictures.
Fach Klinik
We finally arrive at the Fach Klinik this afternoon. To those of you who think from the title of the this post that we are at a fertility clinic, I say, that is entirely incorrect. This clinic specializes in the treatment of cancer, specifically for those people for whom the conventional medical system has not found an answer. While we have only been here a few hours, I can tell already that these people are passionate about what they do.
This morning we had a great breakfast at the hotel in Munich, walked to the main train station a couple of blocks away with our bags and hopped a train back to the airport at Frankfurt. There we were met by a smiling young lad with a sign. He took us to his car and drove us to the clinic. Our first experience with the autobahn was fairly positive. While the speeds are quite fast (our driver seem a little mad that the volume of cars on the road prevented him from going any faster than 165km/h) the drivers seem good and most of the cars (Audis, Volkswagons and BMWs) are in good shape. OUr driver was quit most of the ride but seemed really enthusiastic when we started asking about cars. He told us about one particularly important piece of German philosophy: (his words) "the most important child of the German man is his car, second is his children and third is his woman". Judging by the number of fancy cars here, I think that philosophy might just be true.
Once we arrived at the clinic we were given a tour, showed our room and promptly escored off for our (my) first treatment here. I went straight to the local hyperthermia room for an hour. I came out an hour later with a right lung cooked medium/well and my veins coursing with Vitamin C and B. Following that we met with a very nice physician who's third or fourth language was english. He took my medical history and did an exam. I'm sure the entire process would have looked to someone peering in through the window more like a game of charades than a medical interview. In the end all the pertinent data was collected and we headed off for supper. The evening meal was very good and I can tell we will be well fed here. Lots of fruits and vegetables with a great salad bar and even a juicing station!
Tomorrow I have an appointment for more local hyperthermia and vitamin treatments. I will also meet with the man himself, Dr. Herzog. I'm also looking forward to getting out to explore Bad Salzausen and perhaps take some pictures. It seems like a very pleasant little town. I'll try to post a few pictures now from our Castle tour yesterday.
Tutt out.
This morning we had a great breakfast at the hotel in Munich, walked to the main train station a couple of blocks away with our bags and hopped a train back to the airport at Frankfurt. There we were met by a smiling young lad with a sign. He took us to his car and drove us to the clinic. Our first experience with the autobahn was fairly positive. While the speeds are quite fast (our driver seem a little mad that the volume of cars on the road prevented him from going any faster than 165km/h) the drivers seem good and most of the cars (Audis, Volkswagons and BMWs) are in good shape. OUr driver was quit most of the ride but seemed really enthusiastic when we started asking about cars. He told us about one particularly important piece of German philosophy: (his words) "the most important child of the German man is his car, second is his children and third is his woman". Judging by the number of fancy cars here, I think that philosophy might just be true.
Once we arrived at the clinic we were given a tour, showed our room and promptly escored off for our (my) first treatment here. I went straight to the local hyperthermia room for an hour. I came out an hour later with a right lung cooked medium/well and my veins coursing with Vitamin C and B. Following that we met with a very nice physician who's third or fourth language was english. He took my medical history and did an exam. I'm sure the entire process would have looked to someone peering in through the window more like a game of charades than a medical interview. In the end all the pertinent data was collected and we headed off for supper. The evening meal was very good and I can tell we will be well fed here. Lots of fruits and vegetables with a great salad bar and even a juicing station!
Tomorrow I have an appointment for more local hyperthermia and vitamin treatments. I will also meet with the man himself, Dr. Herzog. I'm also looking forward to getting out to explore Bad Salzausen and perhaps take some pictures. It seems like a very pleasant little town. I'll try to post a few pictures now from our Castle tour yesterday.
Tutt out.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Castle Day
Instead of renting a car for the day to see some sights outside of Munich, we did a bus tour. It turned out to be a pretty good option. We got picked up right at our hotel and, as we were the first people on the bus, we got the best seats. We sat upstairs (yup, it was a super-fancy new double decker) right at the front. It totally made the trip. We had the best view from the elevated, driver-like position. We ended up sitting next to two really funny Japanese girls. They kept copying what the tour guide said and we all ended up laughing at their attempt at pronouncing words like Schloss Neuschwanstein. The tour guide was a crazy older multilingual lady who stood all of about 4 foot 7. We nicknamed her Yoda for her stature and her speech. She kept saying Hmmm. Like Yoda does. "On the left you see the maypole, hmmmm and after that the painted houses, hmmmmm. Very pretty hmmmm". She was a stickler for being on time. It stressed her out when her count of people on the bus didn't match the number she was looking for, even though it wasn't time to meet at the bus yet. She wasn't the best tour guide ever but her unique nature was sure entertaining.
In the end we saw a couple of pretty cool castles and got out of Munich for the day to southern Bavaria. Mission accomplished. Tomorrow we take the train back to Frankfurt then hitch a ride to the klinik.
Bedtime now. I'll try to post pictures tomorrow.
In the end we saw a couple of pretty cool castles and got out of Munich for the day to southern Bavaria. Mission accomplished. Tomorrow we take the train back to Frankfurt then hitch a ride to the klinik.
Bedtime now. I'll try to post pictures tomorrow.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Dachau
Today we headed to Dachau. The trip was so easy. One 10 minute walk, one 20 minute train, one 7 minute bus. The only trouble we had was finding the right ticket to buy. We must have looked like tourists because two ladies stopped to help us buy the right ticket. The train and bus system here is magnificent. So easy, so fast and always on time.
Dachau was a humbling experience. One of our books says that it is part of the German school curriculum that every student must visit a concentration camp. I think it should be mandatory for school children around the world. There is nothing that sticks with you more than actually standing in a place where 40000+ people died uspeakably horrible deaths at the hands of fellow human beings. The museum and setup there is world class. Well worth the visit, as depressing as it can be.
Supper tonight was at an Italian restaurant close by. Good food and a funny italian/german server who kept us laughing. Good wine too. On the way back from supper we stopped at a grocery store across the street. We were blown away at how cheap food is (well certain foods anyway). We picked up 2 1.5L bottles of water, a pack of mixed nuts, and a chocolate bar all for 3 Euros. The water cost 0.18 Euros each plus a 0.25 Euro recycling fee. I think we paid 3 Euros for 1.5L of water at the train station the day before. Amazing. The best part though was when we came to pay. A new till opened up just as we got there so we moved towards it. We were practically there when out of nowhere some guy pushed past us and plopped his things on the belt. I was shocked and ready to laugh at his callous lack of awareness of other people when Penny, not to be outdone, pushed passed him, pushed his crap ot of the way and put our stuff on the belt! The dude looked at her for just a second like "shit, I'm not going to mess with you" and then happily resigned himself to being second in line. The whole time this was going on I was standing back aghast with my jaw practically on the floor, half getting ready to fight and half holding back laughter. Way to stand up to the man Penny!
Dachau was a humbling experience. One of our books says that it is part of the German school curriculum that every student must visit a concentration camp. I think it should be mandatory for school children around the world. There is nothing that sticks with you more than actually standing in a place where 40000+ people died uspeakably horrible deaths at the hands of fellow human beings. The museum and setup there is world class. Well worth the visit, as depressing as it can be.
Supper tonight was at an Italian restaurant close by. Good food and a funny italian/german server who kept us laughing. Good wine too. On the way back from supper we stopped at a grocery store across the street. We were blown away at how cheap food is (well certain foods anyway). We picked up 2 1.5L bottles of water, a pack of mixed nuts, and a chocolate bar all for 3 Euros. The water cost 0.18 Euros each plus a 0.25 Euro recycling fee. I think we paid 3 Euros for 1.5L of water at the train station the day before. Amazing. The best part though was when we came to pay. A new till opened up just as we got there so we moved towards it. We were practically there when out of nowhere some guy pushed past us and plopped his things on the belt. I was shocked and ready to laugh at his callous lack of awareness of other people when Penny, not to be outdone, pushed passed him, pushed his crap ot of the way and put our stuff on the belt! The dude looked at her for just a second like "shit, I'm not going to mess with you" and then happily resigned himself to being second in line. The whole time this was going on I was standing back aghast with my jaw practically on the floor, half getting ready to fight and half holding back laughter. Way to stand up to the man Penny!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Munich Day One and der Hodensack
So far so good in Munich. I tried to upload pictures to Flickr but the combination of no outgoing email and a poorly designed Flickr app means I could only upload thumbnails. Better than nothing I guess. It was cool here today, probably a high of -1 or so(?). The wind made toques and gloves necessary for all the walking around. We walked into the centre of town (~15 minutes or so) and did a sort of self guided walking tour of all the sights. We saw a couple of neat churches (they don't bother with small ones here!), went to the Munich museum, had a beer at the haufbrauhouse and did a little shopping. Munich is easy to walk around but if you like, the transit system seems to be very efficient. We are headed out for a light supper soon then bed. Not sure exactly what we'll get up to tomorrow, so much to see and so little time...
On the language front we're lucky most people speak English. We are both lost when it comes to German as some of the words are downright comical and invariably difficult to wrap our unseasoned tongues around. So far I know only 4 real German words. Bitte = please, Danke = thank you, nein = no and hodensack = scrotum. That last one doesn't fit I know. I'll blame it on Courtenay for lending us her English/German picture dictionary. It's a real useful book but rather than putting all the useful phrases and words up front, they start right in on human anatomy. Literally the first page I opened had the male human body and I laughed for a long time at the German word for scrotum, so I guess it stuck in my head. I'll have to try and venture past the human anatomy pages before our next venture outside so I have a chance at learning a word I can actually use.
I guess that's all for now.
On the language front we're lucky most people speak English. We are both lost when it comes to German as some of the words are downright comical and invariably difficult to wrap our unseasoned tongues around. So far I know only 4 real German words. Bitte = please, Danke = thank you, nein = no and hodensack = scrotum. That last one doesn't fit I know. I'll blame it on Courtenay for lending us her English/German picture dictionary. It's a real useful book but rather than putting all the useful phrases and words up front, they start right in on human anatomy. Literally the first page I opened had the male human body and I laughed for a long time at the German word for scrotum, so I guess it stuck in my head. I'll have to try and venture past the human anatomy pages before our next venture outside so I have a chance at learning a word I can actually use.
I guess that's all for now.
We are in Munich!
We made it to Munich last night at about midnight. Once we left Calgary in a plane that worked things went smoothly. We arrived in Frankfurt and went to book a train. As luck would have it we were able to get on one that left 17 minutes later. The Germans sure know their trains. The guy that booked us said that we had lots of time to get from his office to the platform. It took us exactly 5 minutes to walk there and the train left exactly on time. We had a great meal on the train and got to Munich at 11:30pm. Hopped a cab to the hotel, took some melatonin and SLEPT! Our hotel had a great breakfast this morning and we took full advantage. We woke up feeling pretty good and are ready for a day of who-knows-what? Perhaps a beer and some of that famous German tubular meat?
Special thanks to Heidi who took 3 days out of her life to fly us over here on standby. It was great to have her company on the flight and her calm laid back attitude contributed to a thoroughly enjoyable travel experience, despite the delay leaving Calgary. Also thanks to Courtenay who provided some last minute travel essentials.
I think I can upload pictures through my iPad. I'll give it a try tonight after we tour around and take some snapshots.
It appears we can receive email easily but sending is more difficult. As such we will reply to essential emails only.
Special thanks to Heidi who took 3 days out of her life to fly us over here on standby. It was great to have her company on the flight and her calm laid back attitude contributed to a thoroughly enjoyable travel experience, despite the delay leaving Calgary. Also thanks to Courtenay who provided some last minute travel essentials.
I think I can upload pictures through my iPad. I'll give it a try tonight after we tour around and take some snapshots.
It appears we can receive email easily but sending is more difficult. As such we will reply to essential emails only.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Crap.
I totally jinxed it with my last post. Apparently our 767 is broken. We sat on the tarmac for a couple of hours and watched a movie while the crew trouble shooted the problem. In the end they couldn't fix it so we all had to offload, go through Canadian customs(?) and now were waiting in Kelseys having a beer. Apparently they are flying in another plane from Vancouver but that won't be here until 11:30 ish at the earliest. So, until then we wait.
Up Up and Away
We just boarded and will be on our way shortly. We have a whole row to ourselves. Next stop Frankfurt!
On Our Way!
We're on our way to Germany today. Just packing a few last minute things and prepping the kids for some time without us. They can't wait for us to leave since it means the arrival of their cousins and some fun times.
Thanks to all of you who have sent messages of encouragement/support in the past week or two. It means a lot to us to know we have so many friends out there.
Stay tuned here for updates as internet access allows. Happy Sunday!
Monday, February 14, 2011
Valentine's Day
The plan is coming together for Germany. It's looking like travel on the 20th and return on the 19th of March. Still some balls in the air about exact plans but that should be resolved shortly.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
Bad Salzhausen Germany
Here is a map that shows where we're headed in Germany. The town is called Bad Salzhausen and it's about a 45 minute drive NE from the Frankfurt airport. I'm still waiting to get "official" confirmation from the clinic on an arrival date but I expect that very soon. I spoke with the clinic last night and they are just sorting out which room to put me in. I'm getting pretty excited about the trip and can't wait to get over there and get started. I've been practicing with my new camera and even got the little doohickey that lets me upload pictures right to my ipad. That way all I need is a wi-fi connection and I can blog and upload pictures over there till the cows come home. Yahoo!
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