Two weeks have passed since we turned tail, put our Tasmanian trip on hold and returned to Southport. What a health challenge!
Firstly, sorry about mucking up the publication of the last post. Some of you had trouble accessing it and we ended up having to publish it twice, which resulted in your comments being split across two posts. The brain is shot… can’t think straight for some reason! The WordPress instructions have come to the rescue, your comments manually combined into one post and the duplicate deleted. It is not perfect but will have to do. We promise this update is trouble free!
So how are things?
Since coming back to the Gold Coast to follow up on the dodgy breast screen, the ride has been rough. We have tried to keep busy to make the waiting easier: a few strolls, some catching up with friends and cruising mates, a morning surf for Wade. But with the poor weather there has been a lot of sitting around twiddling our thumbs and at times it has been unbearable. As we said last week, the waiting is a tough part of the process.
And then there was Tuesday… Tuesday was what we called A-Day: A for Assessment… A for AH SHIT!
Chris went for a 3D mammogram, allowing for better visualization of the size and borders of the spot on her left breast, followed by an ultrasound which was very revealing. These can differentiate between a liquid-filled cyst and a solid mass, a defined or irregular tumour. Both tests and the physical examination clearly show there is an abnormality and the medicos suspect it is cancer. So unfortunately the next step that morning was a core biopsy guided by ultrasound which will confirm the nitty gritty.
We have another week of waiting to get the definitive diagnosis and find out the recommended course of action. A breast surgeon will be at that appointment. The early indication from the radiologist and doctor is that « it is not looking good » and « we will be on the Gold Coast for a while ». The one big positive is that they could not see any abnormality in the lymph nodes. So hopefully if it is breast cancer, we have caught it early.
We can’t stress enough the importance of regular breast screens. Girls, they can detect something abnormal even before you can feel any change. No silly excuses about discomfort or the number of false positives… get it done! It can save your life.
Other practicalities
We are doing the Broadwater Shuffle: anchor in one spot for a week then move somewhere else. For now, this is working fine.
If we end up needing to stay much longer, things will get tough and dinghy trips across the Broadwater in all weather just won’t be what we want to do. We are on the wait list for a marina berth at Southport which might become available later this month. We have also approached The Boat Works. We are long term clients of theirs and they are willing to assist if we get stuck but being in an industrial area it is not our preference.
We have access to a pontoon in one of the canals which although we cannot use as a live aboard spot, can provide shelter if extreme weather threatens while we are at anchor.
Our friends Wendy and Alex on Gipsy have offered us their car while they are cruising in Indonesia. If treatment is required, we will be able to get around.
And last but not least we have a network of close friends, some with first hand experience of what we are going through, supporting us and responding to the odd freakout. Thank you guys for being here!
So there you have it. The hits keep on coming and are testing our resilience. Dealing with this latest blow is siphoning out a lot of energy and leaving us – Chris in particular – feeling exhausted and flat. Once we know the path ahead and we have a safe place to berth, some of the pressure will ease, till the next stage of the process starts!
If you wonder whether to comment or call, don’t hesitate. It helps. Silence does not.
Sv-Anui 
I love that beautiful wave photo! I hope you guys get great news from your doctor(s) very soon! 🙏🏻❤️
That wave… a swamper!… a bit like the news we just got.
I hope Chris is negative! 🙏🏻❤️
Hi Chris. Hope all goes smoothly and you get everything sorted health wise. Regular testing is so important. All the best. Regards Caroline
Thanks Caroline. Yes, testing is very important! If you catch nasties when they are small you have a chance of cure.
Great advice to all ladies there Chris. Keep your chin up. We, your cruising mates, need you and the Barrier Reef even more so.
I’m just home from Malaysia head back in April.
Hi Simon, you have had a hell of a trip this last year. Well done! Thanks for the encouragement. Every body tells me that I am strong, but I feel like I am breaking and the treatment has not even started yet!
Sending many hugs and much love to you both at a difficult time. Hope the yacht club comes through for you xxx
Thanks Helene. Hope one of the marinas in Southport comes through too. It would make things easier.
Your news was roughly what I expected. Hugely frustrating times until the final diagnosis can be made. The very most important part is the fact the lymph nodes are clear – Eureka! The suspicious area sounds so small I truly feel the matter has been caught in time. Thank God for that if it had to be! Try to be as mobile in the sun as can be should that be impossible for a while. Stand in front of a mirror , look at yourself and use every swearword you know – it truly helps . . . this will be over and done with soon . . . bestest huge hugs . . .
Oh Eha there has been a huge amount of swearing in quite a few languages happening and my mouth is going to be foul for a while! Thanks for being one of our faithful followers. It means a lot.
A Friday afternoon ‘smiley’ message . . . I can manage swearing in 31.2 languages . . . some culturally rather ‘funny’ – Schweinehund’ in German and ‘Kuradi kurat’ in Estonian – ‘Pig’s dog’ and ‘Devil’s devil’ – and these really are rude !!!!!!! . .
LOL 😜 You wait until the next post if the big C is confirmed!
The biggest of hugs and best wishes to you both
We need all the hugs we can get, Mick, your bear hugs especially!
Best wishes Chris & Wade. You are in our thoughts…….. Mark & Joanne from SV Araluen
Thank you guys, appreciate it.
Sorry to hear your news, Chris, but glad that the lymph nodes are clear. I hope that your anchorage issue get sorted soon too. Best wishes for your forthcoming treatment. Xx
Thank you Jan.
Oh Chris,
What difficult news!
I hope and pray that you have caught the damned thing early and that treatment can be soon, easy and effective.
I’m sending you and Wade every good wish!
Matty
Thanks Matty. Appreciate your good wishes. I know you understand the rocky road we are on. It will be a while before we see you in Sydney but we can talk! Keep well and enjoy life.
So sorry to hear what you guys are going through. Hoping for a good outcome from the latest tests – our thoughts are with you. We are at Home Cove, Waterloo Bay tonight – an old favourite of yours!
Oh Ian and Wendie, we can just picture you there! Such a nice part of the Prom where we wish we were right now! It has been pretty rough but the good thing is the chance to reconnect with old mates during this shitty process. Be well and have fun!
Chris and Wade, our thoughts and prayers are with you each day. Big challenges and suffering for both of you. Great to hear that you have so much support out of your own home town, people’s kindness is a real blessing for you.
I have a medical story for you. Yesterday went to a Dr after 10 months of being with this post viral fatigue. Compared to you guys, this malady seems rather insignificant. It is challenging, cos even though I can do normal housey things like washing dishes cleaning bathrooms, if I walk at my old brisk pace, lift heavy things, I can be knackered for 3-4 days. So there was a very attractive student Dr checking my pulse under my shirt and blood pressure (under supervision), so my blood-pressure was way high! Checked it at home later and it was quite normal. There’s a lesson for doctors training doctors!
Anyway, they found a slight miss in the heartbeat, so they decided to take a few litres of blood for testing and off for an ecg next week. Seems they’re finally finding proof of my mortality …. at least I was able to have a laugh with Claire about the super high blood pressure reading!
I imagine that they have super good doctors at the Gold Coast oncology departments, no doubt you’ll get the best care Chris.
Our best wishes for your upcoming trials and tribulations.
Post viral fatigue… that’s a great description of how we have both been feeling… with a good dose of shock! Now your blood pressure story made us laugh… you dag! On the serious side, an irregular heart beat is something to investigate! Keep us posted.
Your comment about people’s kindness is so true. We are finding that some we had not heard from for ages are getting in touch, and it helps. Mind you, we also find one or two that have ‘gone into hiding’! People’s reaction to bad news is interesting.
Your posts are so heartfelt my beautiful friend and the comments are totally worth a read, a little tear for one friend, another giggle from another, hugs and shouts 😠😆 in the mirror 😂 now that is a fabulous new therapy I am going to try ✔️ I didn’t have a new task this year yet but I have now, learn to swear in as many languages as I can 😂
Big hugs, oceans of love 🥰
Love you Wendy! A silver lining to our story: friends rallying around us.
Oh Crap! I will ring you when we get back across the Tasman! xT
Looking forward to a chat. Off walking Monday and medical stuff Tuesday though.
Back on Tuesday..Will call you at end of week!❤️