Christine Penner

At the beginning of November I met with Dr. Pitz and was thrilled to hear that there had been no change in the size of my remaining brain tumour. We had a conversation about adjusting the drugs to minimize side effects. In the past, my chemo drugs and study drugs affected my blood work which meant I was taken off all medications for an extended period of time. I now have been taken off of my chemo drugs (which I typically take every six weeks), and have stayed on my liquid study drugs   (which I take every day for two weeks then have one week off). To stay healthy I have continued to take my daily Kepra pills (for my seizures - I haven't had a seizure since March), and my daily stomach needle which helps keep my blood thin (a few times I had to stop my needles for a short period of time as my blood was much too thin). At the end of my last doctor’s meeting I asked if I could get my driver’s license. The clear answer I got from my doctor was “No!...

My beautiful granddaughter Molly Kate was born on Saturday, November 10, 2018. My husband and I went to see her the following day. Our grandson Finn gave Molly lots of special attention. What a beautiful family – my son Ryan, daughter-in-law Missy, grandson Finn, and granddaughter Kate. I love them all! My beautiful granddaughter Molly Kate!      Missy is a beautiful mother for her children.    Ryan is thrilled to have a son and a daughter.    Finn is gentle when he holds his sister...   ...and is excited about having a little one at home.    I am thrilled to have a grandson and  a granddaughter - Finn and Molly.

October was a better month for me. I started taking my liquid study drugs on Friday, October 5, 2018. I was glad that I was back on these drugs as I had been off for five weeks. In addition to study drugs, I was able to start my injections again which kept my blood thin. At the end of the month I had a hearing test, a respiratory test, and an MRI. I met Dr. Pitz on Friday, November 2, 2018, and was told that there has been no change in my remaining brain tumour. I was grateful that everything had stayed the same since August. I have now been taken off of my chemo drugs since they have regularly dropped my platelet and white blood cell counts, but continue to take my liquid study drugs. My hope is that I will be able to stay on the liquid drugs on a regular basis. Moving forward. My dad is still in the hospital in Rehab. He started working on physiotherapy, then sadly developed another infection and was in isolation for another week. His infection is now gone and he is c...

My month of September has been interesting. I stopped taking my liquid drugs the entire month because my blood levels were down. I was off of these drugs for five weeks - August 29, 2018, to October 5, 2018. In addition to my low blood levels, I also had very thin blood. For two weeks I stopped taking my daily blood thinner needles - September 6, 2018, to September 20, 2018. On September 21, 2018, I went back to my blood thinning process. I hope that as I move forward I will be able to stay on my drugs on a regular basis. Throughout September 2018, I was very concerned about my parents. After dad's first hospital stay September 8-12, I spent as much time as I could at their home to help them with all the health issues they were dealing with. Sadly, on Monday, September 24, another ambulance was called to drive dad back to the hospital. He developed an infection as a result of the antibiotics he received during his first hospital stay, and had t...

On Saturday, September 8, 2018, I got a call from my brother letting me know that my dad had fallen in his hallway and had been taken to the Steinbach hospital by ambulance. My husband and I were at our cottage so we packed up and drove to the Steinbach hospital to see him. When I met my dad I was grateful that he could talk to me. The next few days I went back to the hospital to visit with him wearing a surgical mask as my white blood cell counts have become low again. My dad has diabetes and struggled with a few issues. Gradually he started walking and was able to go home on Wednesday, September 12. The following weekend I went to my parents for night. I was grateful to see that his diabetic issues are slowly getting better. I am madly in love with my parents and so grateful that, at this point, they are managing their health issues.   I visited dad in the hospital. I was grateful that we had a wonderful conversation. Mom was in ...

In the month of August I had a few ups and downs regarding my brain cancer. My four main cancer updates are as follows.      1.    O n Friday, July 20, 2018, I started taking my liquid drugs again as my blood platelets, hemoglobin, and white blood cell levels had improved. This enabled me to continue taking my liquid drugs in August.     2.   On Friday, August 3, 2018, I took my chemotherapy pills which I take every six weeks. This time, to keep me as healthy as possible, I was only given half the dose. 3.    On Friday, August 10, 2018, I was thrilled when a doctor told me that my brain tumour had shrunk. On March 29, 2018, during my second surgery, 80% of my brain tumour was taken out – I had 20% of the tumour left in my brain.   On Friday, August 10, I was told that half of my remaining tumour had shrunk. I was thrilled! 4. On Wednesday, August 29, 2018, I got a call from my nurse. My blood test given that morn...