blogging off!

Hi bloggees

Been a while since I last posted.... have been so busy which is great. When I got sick I used to worry that it would take me ages to get my business going again - worries were obviously unfounded as the work has been pouring in since I felt well enough to do some... must be the divine playing his/her part? I have been bouncing up and down to Joburg like a rubber ball (am posting this wi-fi from Joburg so am finally getting the IT sorted) - have even been offered some work in Namibia!

In spite of the "work" thing am still following the hippie trail. Our latest thing is "raw food" - in order to create an environment where cancer cannot (re)flourish have been advised to aim for an alkaline diet so we are now attending "raw food cookery classes"(!) - good fun and result is surprisingly delicious - check it out on www.superfoods.co.za . Djembe drumming is still improving and on Saturday Vincent and I are leading a teambuilding workshop of 87 teenagers based around drumming - eeek! Vincent is at a yoga class as I speak whereas I am in a Joburg hotel room in anticipation of a workshop I am running tomorrow. Its Vincent birthday on 14th June so we are off to Scarborough (SA not UK) to buy a new djembe and a bonsai tree...

Not long till our European trip now - can't wait to see Oli who is promising me VIP type evenings "up west"... and of course Barbs and "the girls"...

This will probably be my last blog (for a while anyway!) as the comments bit doesnt work and lets face it I am now almost healthy and my "ordinary life" doesnt really merit a blog...

Oli has dragged me onto facebook so check me out there and throw me a sheep... ;-)

Seriously though bloggers (you know who you are) you helped to save my life - so let me leave you with one thought - love those around you and treasure the moment because thats all there is...

hugs from janet xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mauritius!

What a beautiful island - reminded me of Barbados. Here I am striding out purposefully to the bar to collect my daily (medicinal) Pina Colada. Can't stand the things normally but they taste just right in that environment. Lovely flowers and birds everywhere and water warm enough to swim in. Was a nice break although the journey there was quite an epic. I was under the impression that it was "round the corner" but in fact it took us two flights to get there and then a road trip from one side of the island to the other. A bit like travelling to Europe (!)

Holiday in Mauritius was an effort to "draw a line" under the cancer trauma so am trying to continue that line of thought by going back to work. Have started working for Dynamo again and made it up to their Joburg office last week - was great to see everybody again and to do something which was unrelated to cancer! I still feel a bit weak and wobbly at times but just the fact that I can work again is nice. This month I have workshops to design and run for a new client so plenty to keep me busy.

Still persevering with alternative treatments - had reiki treatment yesterday and our drumming teacher comes this afternoon! On the medical side have been exploring natural progesterone - recommend that lady bloggers check out www.progesterone.com...

Now that we have recovered from Mauritius jaunt we are busy planning European trip in late July/early August - am missing my son a lot and hungry for an "Olifix"...

Sorry to any bloggees who try to post a comment - even the ever-loyal Mands has been beaten by the technology - Vicky is the only one who seems able to post but will keep blogging away as I know there are a few people out there is cyberspace who are reading...

love to all bloggees
janet xxxx

Visitors (part 2) - for Vicky!

Just a very quick bloggette in response to Vicky's request for complete set of PRN girls (actually we have to add Mandy at some point!)

So here is Kim who arrived in SA for her annual trip a few days ago - she is doing fine and still combining high powered job with bringing up of her three boys! Also keeping fit and running home from the City to Fulham on regular basis - talk about superwoman!

Vicky we enjoyed your comment on last blog and think we need some pictures from you of gorillas (or guerillas!) or chimpanzees so that I can post them on the blog. Lots of bloggees have been struggling with the password etc needed to post comments - even Mandy has been struck down by technical problems although I know she is planning another try!

I am doing fine although still struck by a hot flush every hour - in fact I am having one of this photo! Looking forward to our holiday in Mauritius next week - can't wait to swim in the Indian Ocean - although the beaches here are fantastic its actually too cold to swim in sea so it will be a real treat.

Better go now as this was only supposed to be a "bloggette" - will post again after Mauritius..

Love to bloggees

janet xxxx

Visitors!

Hi Bloggees

Just recovering from first wave of partying with Barbs (aka Binky) and Paulie and chums. We had lots of fun showing them our favourite Cape Town things. Taking a breather before the arrival of Kim and co. next week..

Would like to congratulate one of my most faithfull bloggees Mandy on giving birth to her third beautiful daughter - Layla Rose. Mandy is so accomplished at childbirth that she delivered the baby in the car - presumably to save time and trouble for the nurses at the hospital ;-)

25 radiotherapy treatments now behind me - apart from feeling tired and having a burnt shoulder it was a piece of cake - maybe down to the fact that my Reiki practitioner made me inhale various "Aura-soma" perfumes six times a day in order to prevent the radiation rays from "piercing my aura"....

My main problem at the moment is "hot flushes" (or flashes as the Americans call them for some reason!) - they are an ongoing side effect from the chemotherapy and arrive on the hour, every hour, 24/7. If anyone out there has a remedy I would be most grateful...

Vincent has won the Herceptin battle with the health insurance company and they have now agreed to cough up 80% of the cost - this is a great relief after a lot of uncertainty - for example last month I was hooked up to the IV waiting for the Herceptin bag to arrive and the nurse announced that it was not "authorised" and that I would have to pay her R19,000 if I wanted to proceed with that days treatment (!) - this invoked a great deal of French shouting from Vincent who finally convinced the health insurance co. to "authorise" that day's dose - at least now we have an agreement in writing regarding the next 11 sessions..

We have decided to go away to Mauritius for a few days holiday later this month - now that the nastiest treatments are over and the psychological shock is receding it seems like a good time to take a break and draw a line under the last seven months and look towards a healthy future.

The "alternative" agenda continues to flourish - Vincent spent a whole day meditating and doing yoga last week - all in silence - even the lunch(!).. he returned home looking quite serene..

I have been offered some interesting work-related projects which I will make a start on very soon - the challenge will be to keep a balance with the mind, body and spirit as I restart some of my professional life and continue to build up my health.

Thats all for now!

janet xxxxxxxx

A word from Vincent....

This blog update is for Connie who is requesting a higher profile from Vincent....as is a recent picture of us with our young friend MK..

Bonjour bloggees!

Cancer has been a revolution in our lives - in more ways than one... If I put aside some extremely dark moments, what is now emerging is a new way of living... living the "now" is our new philisophy - trying hard not to dwell on the past or worry too much about the future. It is surprisingly powerful and has opened our circle of friends dramatically..

By any standards I am amazed by how well Janet has responded to this huge challenge to a point where she makes all our "cancer buddies" slightly envious (!) - I measure this every morning with a ruler to appreciate the new hair growth - I have seen her evolve from soccer ball bald, to worn tennis ball fuzzy and now she closely resembles a young pelican.

This experience has opened our minds and hearts to all sorts of alternative activities - for example drumming is helping us to focus on "feeling" rather than "thinking" - thinking is something we have both done far too much of in the past in our corporate lives.

I would like to thank bloggees for the enormous emotional support that our network of friends and family have provided - it would have been impossible for us to go through this ordeal without that support. Most of the hard treatment is behind us and we are looking forward to recovering control of our time although I am sure we will continue with our more newly discovered "trippy" interests - so don't be surprised if the next blog comes from Tibet and Janet and I are pictured in orange robes as we sit at the feet of our latest guru!

As I say at the beginning and end of each of our Yoga sessions ...Oum Oum.. Oum...

May the Divine watch over all bloggees (!)

Je vous embrasse tous

v xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chemo'ed!

This is me after 6 cycles of chemotherapy - no hair, no brows, no lashes, no strength - and (hopefully) no cancer cells either. The frustrating thing about this illness is that after treatment the docs. don't say "OK, you're cured", they just say "you have finished your treatment and now have to come back every 3 months for check ups" - am sure I will be a nervous wreck at these "check ups" - in fact I just had a liver scan and was so relieved when they said it was fine. I have read "Untold Stories" by Alan Bennett recently (thanks Linda and Vicky for both buying me this!) and he talks about his three month check ups as being "golden parcels of life" handed to him each time - a nice analogy and encouragement to enjoy every moment.

I have 25 radiotherapy sessions to get through now and they start on Monday. I have already been "tattoo'd" - in preparation for this - I always kind of hankered after a tatoo but was thinking of a nice butterfly on my shoulder - not black dots around my boobs!

The spiritual journey continues.... we are heavily into Reiki and Yoga - had our first djembe drumming lesson last week and signed up to a Mind Based Stress Reduction Course (MBSR). The MBSR course consist of 8 evenings + a full day when we just sit there in silence all day. Am already quite stressed wondering how on earth I will manage to keep quiet for a whole day or cope without a book to read but we will see... Currently reading DeepakChopra as a first stab at the reading list my health coach gave me... talking of books I have just finished "No, I don't want to join a bookclub" by Virginia Ironside - its absolutely brilliant - all about a child of the sixties turning sixty - hilarious - makes me quite look forward to being sixty!

Thanks Connie for all your messages and thanks to Mandy and Vicky for taking up key positions in the "blog police" - maybe one of you guys can advise some of my bloggees (including the younger generation - hi Olski) who are struggling to post their comments due to annoying questions around "password not recognised" etc...

Am looking forward to Barbs visit in a few weeks and then Kim in April so the British girls are holding me up and giving me strength..

love to all bloggees - think of me while I am being "nuked"!

janet xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

What's the alternative?

My philosophy in life has always been to "work hard and play hard" which resulted in an interesting career and plenty of fun times. However this experience is forcing me to open my mind to more spiritual matters and accept that I have not developed that side of me. My dilemma has been that I could never relate to any organised "religion" but living in Cape Town has made me realise there are plenty of other paths to developing the soul... 2007 will be the year when I put my British cynicism aside and dabble in all sorts of whacky things - searching for something that resonates and tempts me to learn more..

Here are some of the things on my "spiritual agenda" - more suggestions from bloggees are welcome!

• Quantum Touch - is based on the fact that we are all made up of energy and Ayala (in the picture) literally "runs energy through me" before and after each chemo session - its calming, relaxing and sometimes makes me feel that I am floating away..
  
• Reiki - Apart from the therapy which we both have when we visit our "Reiki Master" we indulge in deep discussions with her about life in general and why we are put on this planet - she is fast becoming our spiritual guide - an ex corporate hotshot who has devoted the last 20 years to educating herself about alternative therapies. Very interesting lady, in great demand with a lot of experience treating cancer patients.
  
• Homeopathy - have a great homeopath who has been helping me cope with the many side effects of my treatment - again she is a very "wise" person who is suggesting that whereas my mind/left brain is very well developed I will benefit from putting more emphasis on creativity and my emotional side. She has got me into drawing to express my feelings..
• Journalling - have kept a detailed diary since diagnosis trying to make sense of this journey - and the blog of course is a way of tracking milestones and collecting emotional support from my bloggees!
• Yoga - twice a week classes and work at home to create a space for meditation
• Massage and reflexology from my beautician who knew me before all this happened and has been with me all the way...
  
• Drumming - this is the year when Vincent and I will become accomplished djembe players - a very soulful instrument!

So my focus for 2007 is to restore health, appearance and some semblance of professional life but also to add a spiritual balance to the usual work and play mix... watch this space!

On the medical side I just have one more chemo to go (hooray!) on 24th Jan - it has certainly worn me down and my eyelashes and brows have now vanished which makes me look like a chemo victim rather than just a lady in an Afro headscarf! The next part of treatment will be radiotherapy - Monday to Friday for 5 weeks (will be like going to an office again!), then Herceptin every 3 weeks for the rest of the year. Psychologically this will be hard as it will be in the chemo unit and given intraveniously but the side effects are minimal and I should be able to grow back hair and lashes and start to look like a normal person again! Still no formal confirmation that my medical aid will foot the bill for Herceptin but they havn't said no so fingers crossed.

So Happy New Year to all bloggees - please stay with me on this journey...

Janet xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx