We have had a few changes this last week: more regular forest walks, a move from The Boat Works to Marina Mirage in Southport, a swap of our friends’ car for a hire car, a move to a different cancer treatment stage.
Change of address & wheels
After nearly two months of weekly calls to four marinas in Southport, we finally have a spot at Marina Mirage till the end of April. We are now a short hop across to the ocean for walks and for Wade to go surfing, a much-needed distraction from the tedium of our days of medical treatment. It is a little less expensive than the Boat Works and the big advantage is that we have a complimentary membership to a Yoga/Pilates studio, something particularly useful to help our battered bodies get fitter.
And we have returned the car we had borrowed from our friends Wendy and Alex as they are back from Indonesia early, and we have hired another set of wheels for two months… canary yellow… hard to miss!
Medical Update
Our days seem to be punctuated by endless medical appointments. Our schedule this week included a visit to the Occupational Therapist to check shoulder movement and get exercises to help with nerve pain, a Bone Scan pre hormone blockers, a visit to our GP to adjust nerve pain medication, and the big one with the Radiation Oncologist in preparation for the forthcoming radiotherapy. Although not looking forward to it, as Chris was diagnosed with both ductal and lobular forms of invasive carcinomas, radiotherapy after breast conserving surgery is a must. It gives the best chance of maintaining a low risk of local recurrence and best chance of overall survival.
We met the team of radiologists and nurses at Genesys Cancer Care for a simulation and planning session. They did a whole lot of measuring and marking so the CT scan records precisely where the radiation needs to be delivered and for Chris to be in exactly the same position for each session. Then a practice at deep breath hold followed. The entire breast will be irradiated, but to protect the heart from radiation you are taught to inflate your lungs as much as possible which pushes the heart down. You hold your breath in that position for 20 seconds, during which the radiation is delivered. It is repeated a few times while the Linear Accelerator rotates around at different angles. This type of breathing was quite familiar to Chris after the free diving training!
Although just a simulation, this appointment felt quite weighty. The gravity of it all really hit Chris.
So we are ready. Daily radiation starts on the 6th of March and goes on for 15 sessions. We are told the effects are cumulative. Chris will start feeling weary and her skin will “pink up” after the 10th session of radiation. The effects will worsen during the third week of treatment and peak a week or two after the end of the radiation – fatigue and bad burns on the breast and armpit is what we are in for. Sigh! Once again you get worse before you get better.
Emotions are still very raw. The psychological and physical demands of a cancer journey take their toll. With all the stress, pain and anxiety, thinking and memory problems creep in and you feel like you are losing your brains. Things occur, conversations happen which can disappear in a kind of fog. You can’t remember stuff, you can’t focus, you most definitely can’t multitask. All this can lead to misunderstandings and upsets. It is really challenging.
Forest frolicking to the rescue
It could be the peace, the distraction, the fact our brains can relax, the sounds, or even the chemicals exuded by trees… Whatever it is, frolicking in the forest makes the wait for the next cancer treatment more bearable.
We close our eyes in the rainforest, listening to birdsong and rustling leaves, smelling moss, oaks, eucalypts, ferns, flowers in bloom, and we breathe deep. During our bush walks we saw a few critters, undeterred by the weather conditions. We spotted a few Green Tree Frogs after heavy downpours hit the region, grazing Grey Kangaroos looking a bit soggy in the rain, some shy red legged Pademelons hiding in the undergrowth and Lace Monitors hogging the track.
This week we did several walks at Mount Tamborine where palm groves as well as other tropical tree species were in abundance. Some of the palms had thin, tall trunks going straight up to the sky. Others were smaller species, some with bright red seeds. We also saw hoop or bunya pines, eucalypts and brush box. Wiry vines, smaller epiphytic ferns, orchids, tree ferns, cycads, ground ferns and lichen-covered tree trunks were spectacular. We have quite a few pictures for you.
Our favourite trees in the rainforest are the buttress trees such as the Red Carabeen, with their large, wide flanges on all sides of their trunk. They are found in nutrient-poor tropical forest soils that may not be very deep and can often be waterlogged. The buttresses give support to the tree and help transport more sap and nutrients. We are also partial to the strangler figs which end up killing their host over time but look so gnarly and sculptural!
Now that we have moved next to the ocean beach, we hope to bring you a few seaside shots in our next posts. As always, don’t just read and stay silent. Do take the time to leave us a comment!
Sv-Anui 
So many positives as your lives move forward in amongst the tough stuff. Love your pictures of critters and plant life, so many good memories for us. Be well guys!
Hi Guys, yes it feels better as you say ‘among the tough stuff’. Lots of ups and downs and easily out of whack!
Hi Chris feel for you just finished a year of immunotherapy.
Good luck with it .Treatment these days is amazing, last time I saw you
was at Maggie. Wade and I walked over to the pub and got a couple of bottles
of wine. I had Mitch with me, my old red staffy cross (mv focus)
Thanks David, sounds like you too have had a rude interruption to your cruising life! All the best for your recovery.
I do love the forests there, they are very beautiful and nothing like we have in my home state of Michigan! Thanks for sharing, guys. And, thank you for the update on Chris. Difficult times need hugs from people far away that you’ve never actually met! ❤️❤️😊🌴
Yes hugs are welcome John, and even though we haven’t met in person you have been following our journeys for years and commenting every week. That’s precious! Many people we do know don’t!
Really? That’s a bummer. I love seeing you guys in my inbox, you are friends from many thousands of miles away in a country I’d love to see someday! More hugs! 🤗😊🇦🇺
So glad you are closer to the ocean and all the peace that brings for both of you. And the yoga space would be such a blessing.
Sending much love
H n G xxx
Thanks Helene, making good use of everything that’s on offer!
So glad you’ve been able to move to Southport. Closer to treatment and also the ocean which I know you will both appreciate. Take care. A
Yes it makes a big difference and the bonus of the free health club is appreciated. All around a much better option. Thanks Amanda.
A few steps further along the path . . . glad to follow your story. Read the practicalities of it with interest as technicalities have changed so hugely ‘since my day’. Anyways by your current time I had turned away from Western medicine into a Chinese-influenced life pattern. As long as matters work with no harm and hopeful success I do not think it matters. So glad you got a berth at Southport – know the area well . . . and love to walk with you amongst the green . . . what beautiful photos . . . hour by hour, day by day . . . try and find the best during each . . . hugs galore always . . .
Hello Eha, always looking forward to your comments. Yes things are looking up before the next onslaught. Yoga and Pilates help so much with getting the body moving as do our rainforest wanders.
Have been thinking of you as I work. Am a little bothered by your usage of the word ‘onslaught’. Am worried that you are seeing more ‘horrors’ ahead than there will be. I do not like the fact you seem to think there will be ‘burns’. You see mind-body medicine is very much a real thing – not only will you be fearful until the treatment begins, but the side effects may be there and more severe because you unnecessarily think of them ahead. Chris – every person reacts differently – I have known many who have worked fulltime throughout and just felt a little tired. Yes, you may feel sleepy and have some redness on the spot and a few other possible things but the procedures are not going to ‘burn’ you! And everything dies down pretty quickly!
For goodness sake, go have some fun with friends for the next fortnight – the beastie is GONE and the rest is just insurance! Oh, I read up about Genesys also . . . interesting . . .
I hope you are right Eha, but we have a few friends who describe their bout of radio differently to you and have now been briefed by the radiologist on what to expect. But yes we are going to the rainforest and beach as often as possible. And what will be will be!
Hi Chris and Wade
Good news th
Hi guys, your comment didn’t quite get through!
Great that you are now nearer the ocean. I saw an ABC doco last night about ductal breast cancer. Looks like it can be hard to detect, so good work by the radiologist there.
Lovely forest photos. Great escape. Enjoy the frolickings and careful not to step on any lizard tails.
Hi Graham, it was interesting to listen to the reporter’s experience and realising I was lucky that my ‘double header’ ductal and lobular cancers were detected during the first biopsy! Pleased you like the nature photos.
Onward & upward Chris!
You have lots of good news in this post and the walks in nature are SUCH a “Value Add” to the process.
Radiotherapy is tough, there’s no doubt about it. But the benefits will be worth it!
I LOVE that Goanna – what a whopper!!
Matty xx
Hi Matty, yes the walks up in the hinterland are great and glad you like the goanna. The close up showed so much detail in its reptilian skin! Yes not looking forward to the next phase but as Eha said, it’s my insurance policy and it gets us closer to freedom!
Great photos, as always.
All will be well, I am sure 🥰
Thanks Bill!
Lovely meandering through the forest Chris, the light filtering through the palms & the grey green moss & orange bark on the base of the buttress tree and the twist of the liana vine looks like the beginnings of tying a bowline. Hoping all goes well with the radiation therapy & perhaps with the deep breath holding you may be able to visualise a deep dive to distract you from thinking about the radiation. Glad you can now visit the beach more easily. All the best from us
Hi Lindy, it is fascinating to look at the details in the rainforest trees. Palms and vines and see what you notice.
What a brilliant idea about the breath hold visualisation! Will definitely do that. Have been doing some breath work/meditation and when the instructor talks about your happy place, it is always underwater at the reef. Funny enough I tried the rainforest but it is too busy! 😘