Sorry to not have written since December 15 when Catherine came home but days are full full full.

Catherine is in the chemo cycle now the new year has arrived without a holiday every time you turned around. It's two weeks on and one week off. She gets Taxol, herceptin and pertusimab week one, a Taxol week two and then a rest week. She's just finishing the last feeling quite strong, working on her books with friends, walking some every day and a decent appetite. On Monday were back into T, H and P and though they take a toll, she's done well on them before but the fatigue will probably return. A CT scan taken late in December showed encouraging results when compared with the one taken in September..the spots on the liver had diminished. The bed sores are closing slowly and continue to impress those who have not seen them for a while. The post nasal drip is largely gone. As the home care goes on we develop questions but sadly our Friday home appointment with her doctor was cancelled due to the doctor being ill.

The house routine has been very engaging with every minute full of her needs and dealing with the many services of personal care workers, nurses, OTs, blood labs and now the agencies providing the overnight coverage from Monday to Friday plus reports for her insurance company which is covering about 20% of the overnight costs.

We developed the routines while Elijah and Jess were here over Christmas swapping the many and varied tasks. Since they had to go back to New York we've been blessed with huge and caring blocks of time from Amy, my brother David, and Marlene and weekends with Karina and Marc and David Liang. Peter Outridge will show up this week and soon after that Lucy Warner is trying to get here from Colorado.

CCAC has found an extra 3 hours of respite time for me which really just means shopping and Hospice Quinte found us Ann who donates 4 hours on Fridays as a companion. I actually got my hair cut this last Friday after dropping off the blood. They need her blood weekly so her counts are available Monday at Oncology. The daily single hours with the personal care worker are giving me a chance to walk up the hill for some exercise. Our little walkie talkies can actually communicate from the farthest points I walk to...tho I'm not sure I could run back anyway.

Catherine is planning four books: poetry with pictures underway as of yesterday with the brilliant help of Anne Toffalo Philpot, two text only books on Buddhist-Christian dialogue and Meditations for Daily Living, a compilation of her columns for the e-zine Parvati with pictures taken on by the super busy Kyra Aylesworth. Waiting in the wings is a book that follows the alphabet with humourous and serious passages from her life called Hunting for Truffles.

Catherine has truly been touched by your messages and offers of help. She often remarks about sensing the energy in your Prayers and sending of Light.

Love from here to you all.

Friends of the Heart