3D REFLECTIONS OF LIFE

Folk are curious about how my system is coping with the radiotherapy treatment that I am currently receiving.  I prefer to talk about the impact of the radiotherapy on my entire being because your entire   person is affected. And this is the beauty of this journey for me, despite the gravity of the situation. I am in a good space spiritually, emotionally and physically. I have to give thanks to my Lord who has never forsaken me during all this time. In fact, I have never felt closer to my Maker who has surrounded me with hosts of angels in the form of my family, friends, strangers, the medical staff and my church family. Since people have heard that I have been diagnosed with breast cancer, I have been flooded with inspirational messages, prayers, love, friendship, advice and uplifting stories. The painting above has been inspired by a picture that I took when Basil and I went back to the Kob Inn along the Wild Coast last year. The ferryman transports you across the Qor...

Yes! I reached the halfway mark of my radiotherapy treatment. Today was session 15. There are 15 sessions left.  I will tell you in the next post about how my system is managing the radiation treatment, but I want to share these tidbits with you. When you visit the GVI Oncology department on a daily basis like I do, you are bound to become more aware of your surroundings. Institutional tell-tale signs you pick up over time I am getting used to the rather sharp bends of the underground parking at the hospital. All GVI patients can park for free on level 5.  Initially I was apprehensive about snaking round the bends up to the fifth floor. I would drive slowly, apply brakes at every corner, look into the mounted mirrors, double check that the nose of the car and the lights really belong to my car and then creep round the bend. You can seriously get drunk just trekking up the levels. Then it's time to take the lift to the Lower Ground floor where the treatment room is...

Neelum, Raheema, Jessica and Kulthum I know I said I wasn't going to swamp you with a blow-by-blow account of my daily radiotherapy sessions at the GVI Oncology wing at Rondebosch Memorial Hospital. But today there was a lovely twist. When I arrived at the Radiotherapy treatment centre, I was welcomed by Kulthum, the Lead Radiotherapist. The rest of the team stood in the corridor, smiling at me. "I read your blog, Mrs Lewin," said Kulthum. This caught me by surprise. I laughed and asked her how, within under 24 hours, they knew about the blog post I had written.  This was the power of sharing on the internet. Kulthum explained that one of her Facebook friends sent her the link to the post. By now the others had joined us and they were as excited to discuss the blog post. "This is fascinating," I said. Now the world knows what you guys are up to here at the radiotherapy wing." You are being watched by the blog camera." "We wil...

Tuesday was a much better day for me in the hospital after my lumpectomy surgery. I was free from the IV Drip contraption and my nausea had subsided dramatically. Besides enjoying the nursing staff in Ward 5B, I also met a wonderful patient, Regina and a Reach for Recovery, breast cancer support volunteer, Julia. Up Close with the nursing staff in Ward 5B. We had two awesome nurses caring for us. The one was Ongezwa Jonga, a beautiful young woman who lit up the room with her sunny personality. She wore bright pink lipstick that complemented her huge smile. Whenever we had the BP routine, Ongezwa and I had great fun. Ongezwa is going on study leave in June. She wants to become a staff nurse and then study further to become a nursing sister. When I told her she must aim high and work towards becoming a manager she said: Yoh.. yoh.. me? I don't think so.  Being a manager looks like hard work. When I look at the managers here, they always looks so stressed and they ar...

A week after I had been diagnosed with breast cancer, I was booked for a lumpectomy and a sentinel node biopsy. Early Monday morning, Basil and I drove to Christiaan Barnard Hospital where I was going to have my surgery. When we arrived at the Admissions Desk at about 6:05, there were already many folk waiting to be admitted.  The decor and the coffee aroma created a pleasant ambience for the stressed occupants of this area, except of course,  for my dearest hubby.  We left  our home later than I had anticipated and Basil had to cut his morning routine short.  This freshly-ground coffee aroma in the Admissions area wreaked havoc and forced Basil to flee down the corridor.  Fortunately Levona, my sister and Trevor, my only brother, arrived to fill this gap with light conversation and jokes. Trevor had obviously worked hard on his repertoire of jokes because I was chuckling away most of the time.  Soon after a visibly lighter, relieved Basil joined ...