December 18, 2003

Manon was diagnosed with advanced colon cancer in December 2003. Advanced because it had spread to her liver.

December 25, 2003

Surgery at VGH to remove the primary cancer.

The Boler—Travelling in Comfort

January 2004–April 2005

Standard chemo treatments at BCCA with occasional breaks.

Boogie Woman in Maui Jan 2005

50th Birthday March 2005

April 2005

Exploring options as benefits from standard chemo stopped.

Scrabble and Camping

Vancouver with Carole

Manon had a PET scan at a private clinic on UBC campus. Results showed no cancer outside Manon’s liver.

50th “Bonne Fête” in Point des Cascades

Charette Family

May 2005

In May 2005 Manon started receiving a new drug that is not yet approved in Canada. We travelled to the States to access the drug. This drug is Erbitux.

Fun Run

June 2005

Patsy, Ros and Manon

Sointula

The New Hairdo

July 10, 2005

Unfortunately, the drug was found to be not beneficial and Manon is no longer taking it. We are exploring other options with her doctor.

Pacific Rim

July 14, 2005

Manon is now facing important decisions about how to proceed. It is our objective to choose the best possible treatments delivered as soon as possible. These may entail further costs. Right now we know we will have expenses, but we are not sure of their magnitude.

Manon, Kieran and Teagan

July 16, 2005

Manon started her third chemo drug combination in May 2005. It was a brand new drug called Erbitux and was combined with Irinotecan. The goal was to achieve further shrinkage of the cancer in her liver so that Manon could have surgery on her liver. This has been the goal throughout all the chemo treatments over the past 18 months. Manon's surgery in December 2003 had removed the cancer in her colon, but did not address the metastatic cancer in her liver. Subsequent chemo has been working on her liver. When the effects of the new drug were assessed after six weeks of treatment it was clear the new drug was not working well, so Manon stopped taking it a few weeks ago. We then discussed and explored options for further treatments with doctors. There are some promising drugs being used in trials at the cancer agency, and Manon selected one of these as the next step. It is a drug combination enclosed in a liposome which was actually developed at the BC Cancer Research Centre and UBC. The trial was to start next week and Manon went through all the screening and preparation this week. On Thursday we had a surprise meeting with the liver surgeon and received the great news that he wants to assess Manon for liver surgery. Manon will have a laparoscopy on Thursday so he can check things out to see if he can actually go ahead and schedule a liver resection. We opted for the laparoscopy at a private clinic because the wait time was otherwise >=2 months. If things work out next week Manon will likely have a big liver operation soon. If not, she will start the clinical trial with the promising new drug. As it has been for the past 18 months, it's one step at a time. So send some energy to Manon on Thursday, do a dance, say a prayer.

Manon, Kieran and Teagan

July 21, 2005

Manon had a laparoscopy in a private clinic (to avoid 2-month wait) by the liver surgeon. The initial report was good, and we are waiting until Aug 3 for the full result. Manon will have to take some preparatory steps towards liver surgery which would be 6-8 weeks later.

Fundraising Raffle with Gail

July 23, 2005

Manon is now under the care of a liver surgeon specialist as well as her regular oncologist.

August 3, 2005

Good news! Met the surgeon today and got the go ahead for surgery in the fall. He found she had a fatty liver and wants it improved before he operates. This will be done by drugs and diet. We met the dietician and are now on a diabetes diet with very low fat. He is also referring Manon for a portal vein embolization to further prepare her liver for surgery.

August 5, 2005

Manon is scheduled for a portal vein embolization on Monday Aug 8. It will mean a one-night stay at Vancouver Hospital.

August 11, 2005

As some of you already know Manon is on the path to surgery on her liver which is great news. She now has a surgery date September 28. There are some preparatory steps. Step one was to start a low-fat diet to remove the fat in her liver. Step two was a portal vein embolization to shrink the right side of her liver which will be removed and grow the left which will remain. The embolization procedure was on August 8 2005 at VGH.

It turned into a two-night stay in a nice 9th floor private room. The procedure went well but involved more than an hour of poking around and it turned out Manon lost blood internally. On the second day she needed an infusion of red blood cells. Before that she had surprised and delighted all the nurses, residents and fellows by going for a vigorous walk around the ward when her hemoglobin level (52, instead of 140) dictated that she should have been horizontal and very pale.. well that's Manon.

Now with the embolization behind her, we are on track for surgery. It is scheduled for September 28th 2005. Now we just have to focus on a low-fat diet to get her liver into top shape.

August 16, 2005

Manon went back into the hospital for some observation and tests.

August 19, 2005

Manon got discharged today finally after a three night stay at the hospital to look into complications from the embolization. After many tests and long waits it ended with the bad news that there is spread of cancer to her lungs (for the longest time the cancer was confined to her liver). So the liver surgery is not going to happen as planned. We'll be going back to the cancer agency after our trip to Montreal to see what other options there are. And we'll be doing our own research and talking to other people as well. One possibility is to get back into a clinical trial like the she was prepping for when the call from the surgeon came.

Mt Baker with Carole

August 23, 2005

Carole is back!!! We are very happy and very fortunate to have her living with us again. She moved in with us last fall, but went home to Montreal for the summer. And now she is back with us. We think she likes it here.

August 29, 2005

Friends who organized the 'Vancouver Idol' the latest fundraising event for Manon came over and we all viewed the video of the August 27 evening. What a fun, successful evening...and what talent.

Watching Vancouver Idol Fundraiser

September 9, 2005

We are back from a one-week trip to Montreal to visit Manon's family and our friends. Had a great Charette family BBQ. Spent one day at St. Mary's Hospital checking out the facilities, staff and specialists (while they checked out Manon). Also spent a couple of days up at Lac Huard (Loon Lake) where friends have a house. It was very peaceful.

Lac Huard

September 11, 2005

The Lucie Blue Tremblay Concert organized by our friends was a moving and wonderful evening.

Fundraising Lucie Blue Concert

September 15, 2005

Home from two days camping at Comox Lake on Vancouver Island. It was a little autumn Boler trip with friends and dogs. We were treated to home made pasta, and enjoyed the comforts of our friends' relatively large RV.

Vancouver Island

September 18, 2005

We got home yesterday evening in time for a great salmon dinner prepared by Carole. It was nice to be home after a day and a half in hospital. We had had the 'opportunity' to evaluate yet another hospital accessed through its Emergency department. Manon checked in on Friday morning. Richmond Hospital compared favourably with VGH. It was clean, efficient and the staff nurses,doctors and specialists were great. Manon was there for anemia and received four pints. Her chemo has been delayed until next week.

As usual Manon was an entertaining guest and tried to engage the nurse taking her measurements in a friendly sword fight. Manon was brandishing a mini light-saber that they use to measure oxygen saturation in the fingertip with a bright red LED.

Once again Manon decided when it was time to leave the hospital and in her new-found hospital savvy told the nurses she was signing herself out instead of waiting more 2 hours to be told she was fine. After a lively discussion at the nursing station she returned to reading the newspaper with me and waiting for the official word. It is hard to argue with nurses.

October 8, 2005

Happy Thanksgiving! Manon has been feeling much better, and is getting on fine with the new chemo regimen. We were up Grouse Mountain this week to look around, have a walk and visit the captive wildlife. The summer weather seems to have gone, so there has been lots of Scrabble games, visits from friends, walks, and watching hockey. We'll have two Thanksgiving dinners this week-end: one with the Findlay clan, and one with the Hogarth Household.

October 17, 2005

The Pub Night and Rhonda's head shave fundraiser on Saturday October 15 was a great boost! Once again surrounded by friends we realized how much people care. It was a wonderful evening.

Rhonda Headshave

November 4, 2005

Two new drugs important in treating colon cancer are available this week: Erbitux and Avastin. One we had previously accessed in the US at huge cost. The second we anticipate Manon using in the future, so it is good news that Health Canada has approved it and we'll be able to buy it locally.

November 10, 2005

We bought another camper trailer! It's a 1984 Bigfoot loaded with luxuries including an oven, a fridge that actually works, a microwave oven, a DVD player, and even a little bathroom. It's longer, wider and higher than the Boler. Now we are going to sell our dear little Boler. We had fun in it and went on a dozen trips or more including X-Canada. It's time to move up! Tomorrow we leave for Tofino and Ucluelet for a few days for our first Bigfoot trip.

Camper Upgrade

November 15, 2005

We are just back from a 4-night trip to the wild west coast of Vancouver Island in our trailer. We had a few learning moments of course. The 30-second awning actually took 15 minutes to deploy, and the stabilizing jacks were tricky the first time. Of course our very first set-up had to be in the dark and in the rain. And there were a few little problems: the furnace blew a fuse the first night. And when we were driving every time we turned right the plug (that allows the brakes and signal lights to work) came undone and we had to stop and plug it in again. But all in all it was a fantastic trip. We enjoyed the new little luxuries, like the water heater, and the oven, the DVD player, and the shower!

Mackenzie Beach

We walked part of the new trail in Ucluelet The Wild Pacific Trail...which is well worth seeing. And we spent time on the beaches and in the towns.

Scrabble and Wine

November 26, 2005

We received an update from the oncologist yesterday based on the latest scan and tests. The current treatment (mitomycin) does not seem to be working significantly, so Manon's now on a break from chemo for a couple of weeks while we line up the next process. Two possibilities we will now explore are the new drug 'avastin', and clinical trial options. Avastin has just received Health Canada approval and is available, but we have to access it outside of the BC Cancer Agency. Manon's regular oncologist is referring Manon to an outside specialist. We will also be talking again to the clinical trials coordinator at BCCA. We'll take advantage of the break in treatment to take a couple of trips. Also, rumour has it Manon is ‘training’ for playing in a pick-up hockey game December 20th! Talk to Mary for details.

November 30, 2005

A few days camping at Harrison Hot Springs became a visit to a winter wonderland! There were flurries the first night, and the last day was steady snow all morning. The trailer performed well. Jessie played in the lake and the snowy sand while Charley searched out old beached salmon. Manon and Judy played scrabble, visited the local places still open and swam in the hot springs.

Harrison

December 12, 2005

Back from one week in Montreal to visit friends at Lac Huard and Manon's family. It was an immersion in winter with -10C temperatures and lots of snow fall...lovely.

Lac Huard

December 15, 2005

Manon started avastin therapy. Avastin is a new anti-angiogenetic drug recently made available in Canada. It is proven to be effective in metastatic colon cancer as a first-line treatment, so we are very hopeful it will help Manon. Manon is on her 'fifth line' which means she has already been on four other types of drug treatments. BCCA will not fund or deliver the treatment so Manon is now receiving treatment in North Vancouver every three weeks.

December 20, 2005

Manon was back on the hockey rink! Quite unbelievable that woman is, considering she spent the afternoon at the cancer agency, and started to suffer a bit of jaundice and fatigue this week. Sister Carole (aka mini-Manon) had her hockey debut as a winger. Other beginners and some more seasoned players filled out the rosters in this fun game. Kieran was great in goal. The game was followed up by a wonderful get-together and dinner at Mary and Diane's.

December 23, 2005

A meeting with the oncologist yesterday resulted in an ultrasound scheduled today to determine the cause of Manon's jaundice. It showed that part of the problem is caused by a blockage of her bile duct, leading to a build-up of bilirubin in her blood. Manon has been referred to a specialist to see if he can put a stent in. Things are fairly closed down over the holidays, so we expected this to happen in early January.

Xmas, 2005

Despite feeling under the weather Manon managed to continue her tradition and she produced a set of french canadian tourtieres in time for Christmas!

Quiet get-togethers at Hogarth Drive on the 24th and 25th, and with Judy's family on the 26th. Manon got more jaundiced and exhausted over the Xmas season, and we decided to try to expedite her meeting with the liver specialist.

Wells Grey

Happy Christmas and Good Health in 2006 to all our friends and family

December 29, 2005

Manon was in at the cancer agency all day for a drain procedure to remove a build-up of fluid and to discuss her increasing liver woes with doctors. The current plan is to have a stent placed into her bile duct to clear the main blockage. If we are lucky, this may happen tomorrow (December 30). Cross your fingers, and send some good vibes during the day. If not tomorrow, then it will be scheduled for next week after the New Year holiday.

December 30, 2005

Manon had her stent procedure today at VGH. The gastro doc was pleased with how it went. It should help bile drain normally and allow Manon to feel better and lose some of her yellow hue. We are back home after 3 hours recovery time. Manon declined a suggestion to stay overnight at VGH. What a superstar Manon is!

January 4, 2006

Sadly, Manon passed away the morning of January 1, 2006. Manon had wakened the morning of December 31 feeling very weak after spending the night at home in the watchful care of Judy, Ros and Patsy. We drove to Richmond Hospital. Within two hours of being there she fell into a coma and remained in the coma until she passed away 20 hours later, at 7AM on New Year's Day. The diagnosis had been liver failure and kidney failure which the doctor tried to reverse with drug treatments. Manon had spent the day and night in a private room surrounded by the love of friends. As the night ended, Manon took her leave very peacefully in the presence of Judy, Carole, Debbie and Gail. May her spirit continue to soar.

The service will be Saturday Jan 7 2006 at 4pm at the Richmond Funeral Home. See details above.