Cancer & Last Days
| Between Christmas and New Years, Shirley started experiencing tingling in various parts of her body. This was shortly followed by dizziness. Shirley was immediately admitted to the hospital to await a brain scan. Over the next days her coordination and motor skills rapidly deteriorated to the point where she could no longer walk. A brain MRI confirmed that her cancer had metastasized and at this point she was diagnosed with incurable stage 4 cancer. Radiation was started immediately. |
|
Ten rounds of radiation later, Shirley started to show signs that it was working. This was a very difficult period because not only could she do very little, but while in the hospital, she could see how cancer affected other terminal cancer patients around her. Her balance slowly started to return.
|
 |
 |
Progress was slow but steady. Support from friends and family through this period was incredible. A silver lining in all this craziness has been the realization of her inner strength, how much she was loved and the respect others had for her artistry with the camera. She was moved to the physical therapy ward where she continued to recover her coordination. After being in the hospital for two months, Shirley was never so happy to finally come home. |
|
Life had become more difficult now but Shirley persevered. The radiation to her head had affected her short-term memory making tasks and relationships more challenging. More scans were done to discover that she had a blood clot that had to be dealt with. On the positive side, there was no cancer found in her body and the tumours in her brain had shrunk substantially. Shirley's blog April 2014:: "Finally. Some good news! I responded well to radiation. Tumours have shrunk significantly. Now stay that way you little buggers. The puffy face will take time." |
 |
 |
May 2014: "My perfect day. I walked Sam to the park. Took pictures of flowers. Saw the park people with their dogs again AND got a dose of puppy. Yup. Perfect." .... "When in London at the grocery store, as I was leaving, a man reached out and gave me a bunch of tulips and said have a good day. How sweet!" Shirley's blog June 2014: "I carried my big lens to the park attempting dog photography. My weenie arms are still shaking when holding the lens but it was fun... Practiced taking florals again today, thanks to Crystal for inspiring me." |
|
Then in July the symptoms and tumours had returned. More radiation targetting the tumours beat-back the symptoms and caused more hair loss. Ofcourse Shirley was upset that the tumours had returned so quickly but did not let it consume her. In a symbol of defiance, her baldness became a canvas for a beautiful henna tatoo. August 2014: "If you know someone with Cancer who is giving up or always sad, I can appreciate that but there is a mind-body connection. Stay positive, be with those you love. Enjoy today. I posted the books I'm reading. Also, I'm going to say Im lucky to be with and talk to caring people. That is something that happened through all of this. It makes me happy. And puts things in perspective." July 2014: "Breakfast at Wild Oat, A pedi, yummy lunch at "Bite", did some painting, gardening, and shopping. A very full day (with my sister Brigitte). I'm trying!!" |
 |
|
A follow-up visit with the radiation oncologist confirmed that the tumours had shrunk again. Shirley asked how many more times she could get radiated. The oncologist said, "Let's deal with that when it happens." And with that, Shirley and Dan went on a vacation visiting friends and family including going out to the east-coast to see her childhood friend Ann-Marie and her family.
|
