Round # 2

For the remaining Chemo treatments Laurice starts the day with a blood test, they do this to make sure her white blood cell count is at an acceptable level and that she is not fighting any infections.  We arrived at  9:00am to get blood taken.  Laurice hates any sort of needles, but she is getting better at dealing with it each time. Marrisa the head of the oncology unit does not mess around,  she found a vein first try and was soon drawing blood. Then it was off to visit Prof Collins, the breast surgeon for a check up. We had an hour to wait for the blood work results then back to visit Michael Green Laurice's Oncologist. His office was backed up and they were  running late so had to wait until 11:30 to see him, he asked how Laurice was doing and she said "fantastic! never better!"

By 12 noon Laurice was seated in an arm chair and beginning the pre-meds for her chemo treatment. They use the same line they used for her blood test. I think the chemo nurses must have a done a plumbing apprenticeship because they had tubes and valves and pumps running all over the place.  it took a few minutes but Laurice finally realised that Marissa put the IV line in the back of Laurice's hand so she couldn't type! "that's my computer hand!" Rahani the Chemo nurse told Laurice she could do without her computer for a couple of hours and just chill out! So Laurice  called for her a"Special French Chemo" and so I hooked her up below. . .

We were worried what the other patients would think but there were calls of "I'll have what she's having!! One of the other patients said that she was going home to drink her champers and will be doing the same thing at her next treatment.

Now for the technical stuff; Since Laurice had an allergic reaction to the Taxotere on the first round, this time she was given oral antihistamine (Fenrgen) and an IV course of the the anti nausea medications and interestingly IV Zantac (which apparently helps the gut handle the Taxotere). This cocktail was then washed down with a big bag of saline. They then started  the Cyclophospamide, apart from a slight metallic taste and a cold arm Laurice handled this OK.

The Fenergen was kicking in, Laurice was feeling good  like she had just polished off a bottle of red, she was giggling and talking crap so we figured she was ready for the 2nd Chemo drug Taxotere. Laurice kept begging me to get her a coffee, but as many of you know she is a coffee snob and I couldn't just go down stairs and get her a Hudson's coffee, no, she made me go a few blocks away to get s boutique coffee! Of course while I'm away she texted me to say they were starting the Taxotere, so I raced back (and since I'm not exactly in peak condition it took some effort!!) I got back in time to see three nurses standing around Laurice to see if she would react to the Taxotere again. . . Laurice did not disappoint!! within a couple of minutes she started to feel like her chest and head where being crushed, she turned red and got hot , the nurses were ready and had pumped her with drugs to reverse the effects.

They let Laurice sit for another hour flushing her with saline and  then giving her IV fenergen this time,  Laurice was already feeling a bit silly and giggly, when across the room a nurse was bending down behind a patients recliner chair to plug in a cable, just then the elderly patient decided he wanted to get out of the chair, he reached for the chair's controls and pressed the wrong button, The chair reclined and  the nurse was pinned between the wall and the chair  with her bum in the air  legs kicking and little cries of help! help!. Well I expected the   two caring nurses looking after Laurice to jump into action and save their colleague, instead they burst out laughing!, Laurice already feeling a bit silly started laughing also, all three of them had  tears  of laughter flowing down their cheeks! The poor woman got released from behind the chair and Laurice's nurses had to turn away  because they started laughing and convulsing again!. Ahh life on the chemo ward. .

By 4pm we were done, Laurice was feeling a little tired but no nausea,  a few aches (side effect of the chemo is that the joints and back aches) she got home and fell asleep quickly.

This morning as a bright golden sunrise was breaking over the hills, some  hot air balloons drifted  above the light mist hanging over the Yarra Valley signalling another beautiful day was on the way, and we got past another treatment.

And to Team Laurice . . .THANK YOU SO MUCH  for the all the meals, love and support from both near and far, it all goes a long way in helping with the healing process and we thank you!

Prep for Chemo Number 2

This weekend has been about preparing this week after I've had the chemo cocktail day tomorrow.  I've made some of the food and special chai tea that really made a difference last time (thank you to my girlfriend Christine as she provided the book "Cancer Fighting Kitchen" that provided some awesome recipes.  I've had Team Laurice members dropping food off for this weekend (they too have been using recipes from this book so that's been awesome!), on top of the regular texts and phone messages of support.  Great stuff team!

So what is important this week?

1.  Good rest
Helps the body in general in fighting off any infection and the fatigue.

2.  Lots of vitamin C
This helps fight off any germs.  Since the chemo wipes out the immune system the body is very      open to getting attacked by germs of all kinds starting with simple colds.  I noticed a cut on my hand would not heal right after chemo for example.

3.  LOTS of water (hydration in general)
This helps the body in many ways including constipation brought on by chemo treatment, good for the skin which is getting attacked, and helps with the fogginess in the head (or so it seemed to me)

4.  Lots of exercise
Oxygen helps combat the cancer.  It helps clear the head.  It helps fight off the fatigue that is brought on by the chemo.

So, off to bed tonight for an early morning and off for round two.  By the end of tomorrow I can say I've made it 50% of the way through with the treatment!  Woo Hoo!

Thanks Team Laurice for all the support going into tomorrow!

A story of courage and support!

My friend Sue has opted to ensure that I am not the only one that was bald at this time in my journey!  Sue took time out several hours ago in Costa Rica (she is travelling around the world) to shave her head to raise money for the Mothers Day Classic to support - Team Laurice.  Now THAT shows one hell of a courageous woman! THANK YOU SUE and to all those who are supporting Sue support the cause to help find out how to erradicate cancer from our lives and support all those wonderful people at Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA) who are helping people like myself through the journey. 

Sue - you are a legend!

"Are you tired of talking about this?"

This is a question many people have asked over the past week.  This answer is no. What I know is the more I talk about it the more likely I will be able to save someone else by making them aware and do some self checks or go get a mammogram...this could save a life!

At work they have agreed to let me do an information session so we can talk about it as a group.  As far as I'm concerned we need greater awareness to ensure all of us understand it more!  Many of the studies continue to point to our diet / processed foods as the potential main contributor to many of the common day diseases.  Something to think more about.

Here is a note my father wrote today that I thought I would share:

Dear Friends, Relatives, and Colleagues,

I’m forwarding for your information the “Team Laurice” blog http://teamlaurice.blogspot.com.au/ as she is treated for triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) in facilities near her residence in Melbourne, Australia. Laurice is my daughter and youngest child.

The driver for sharing this blog widely is as an information source for anyone interested in knowing about the development of and treatment for TNBC. For example, it is extremely important that all women, in this case relatively young women, perform breast self-exams on a regular (monthly or more frequent) basis. There is a free app on iTunes and for Androids called “Your Man Reminder” that can help you remember to do a regular exam http://rethinkbreastcancer.com/breast-cancer/breast-awareness/your-man-reminder-app-free-on-itunes-and-android/. This personal behavior is particularly important given that: 1) Laurice detected her tumor via a self exam and 2) Fu Sing detected both her breast cancer and her sarcoma cancer five years later via self exams; the latter ~one month after a mammogram had been clear.

What does triple negative mean? It means that the patient’s DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) has a genetic structure that makes the body less susceptible to the standard chemotherapy medicines used in most breast cancer treatments. It has to do with the acceptance of three hormones (estrogen, progesterone, and Her2/neu) of the chemo treatment. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Triple-negative_breast_cancer.

This is sometimes call the “young women’s cancer.” And it can recur quite quickly, frequently within the first five years and it can be quite aggressive. It calls for immediate treatment: Laurice was operated on less than 2 weeks from the time of diagnosis. This is also why a specially designed “cocktail” of chemotherapy medications is administered even though preliminary tests during or after surgery a) sentinel lymph nodes, b) CAT scans, and c) bone scans test negative.

Sincerely,

Ed

Back on Deck...

Last week I was in Perth and this week I'm back at work in the Melbourne office.  I started my day off yesterday by meeting with the onsite nurse to talk through how I felt and what my plan was about returning to work. 

The discussion went something like this...

Q:  How do I feel?
A:  I feel really excited to be back at work to be honest.  I have a great team and wonderful people I work with so it's fantastic to be around such great people.  When I walked through the doors my whole team stood and clapped and came over to greet me...how good is that?! 
(the nurse smiled and said that made her hair stand up on the back of her neck)

Q:  Am I felt fatigued? 
A:  No.  I feel normal...except for sporting my new haircut that is.  Maybe a bitter cooler than normal.
(She laughed and said she could well imagine)

Q:  Is it hard to get back into the routine? 
A:  No.  My challenge though is to ensure I don't get caught up in working too many hours like I have in the past year. But I promised my husband and all of Team Laurice that I would not work those hours so will be asking for assistance to make sure I get out the door early/ontime.

So we started to wrap up the conversation and I mentioned how I wanted to bring in Breast Cancer Network Association for a healthcare discussion for others in the company (my team have been working on such an event for me).  The nurse said that if I didn't get any support from elsewhere in the company that she would ensure she would sponsor the initiative.  Fantastic!

She concluded our chat by summing up:
1.  that I seemed to be a very positive person
2   just let her know what I needed at any time

Later on I chatted with my dear friend Gavin and he laughed as I told him about how good I felt...he reflected upon our similarities.  He had said that he had some sort of personality assessment done about 8 years ago at work and he was deemed, "Dangerously Optimistic".  We both laughed and understood why we were such good friends.

Laughter is good for the soul.

New hair style...the big shave

So this morning I knew what I had to do....only one thing that MUST happen today and that was to shave the head. It started to fall out yesterday (just exactly when they said it would).  So I slept in (due to late arrival last night...see last blog) before heading out to get the big shave.

Tony has always said he would also shave his when I did mine so we both went in and they shaved us both at the same time....very cute.  We were then joined by a couple girlfriends for a celebratory coffee...why not? Probably should have been champagne but we were all driving.

The kids keep touching my head and say how weird it feels.  It a weird sensation, especially when pulling the beanie on and off.

Now each day it will take less time to get ready due to no hair styling time, but more time time to decide what kind of beanie to wear! Decisions decisions!

Where did Laurice go?

Hi all....thanks for the texts and calls asking where I am...I ended up starting back to work this week. As promised, I started out nice and slow....my commute to work on Wednesday took a bit longer than usual as I joined my leadership team for meetings off in Perth (and Rottnest Island)!  Okay, so the commute was a bit longer than normal (3000 km) but relaxing. I was welcomed back with an overwhelmingly heartwarming embrace by all my peers. We spent the first day with a team building exercise by bike riding around Rottnest Island...what a beautiful island!  Exercise of course being VERY good for me right now so really enjoyed that, on top of the great company and warm weather.

The next couple days were in meetings and meeting up with the Perth teams ....so was fantastic to get to meet as many of them as I could.  Yesterday our flight was delayed by 5 hours though so ended up being a long trip home.

I knew yesterday that today would be the day the head was going to have to be the say to shave my head as my hair was starting to fall out....so I text the family and some of Team Laurice to say lets meet for a coffee and a shave(me, not them for the shave...although Tony joined me...what a husband!). So the next blog will be about that along with photos of my new "hair do"!

I am feeling great!

Stress and Exercise

The key in going forward is to increase the exercise (oxygen helps fight the cancer as well as the fatigue).  This means when feeling tired, yes it's good to rest, but it's just as important to take a walk and get  up and moving.

Secondly, is the lower the stress.  This one continues to be an interesting discussion point in my life.  What is considered stressful to some is not necessarily to others.  Things that DO stress me out are:

1.  Laundry and Ironing - ugh...almost nothing worse in life for me!
2.  Doing house work - yet another necesssary evil
3.  Dealing with negative people - I try to avoid

Things that DO NOT stress me out:

1.  Work in general - in fact it makes me feel really good (unless dealing with negative people)
2.  Walks - especially if going to get a good coffee!  LOL
3.  Spending time with family and friends - yes, the "life" routine of ironing uniforms, asking the kids to do their homework and house work, etc are stressful....but they don't stress me out if that makes sense.

So it's now a matter of working hard at insuring that I work on the balance.  We are all different in how we manage our lives....I promise Team Laurice that I will work hard at putting my hand up and saying the balance is not right and to ask for help. 

Thank you all for continuing to remind me that you all are out there and watching me in this space!

Sunday Quote

I like this quote.  It's one that I share with my kids often.

 

Argue for your limitations, and sure enough they're yours.

Richard Bach

Wedding

Today Tony and I are our dear friends, Simon and Laura's, wedding.  I wasn't sure I would be able to make it a month ago (missed hens night)....but feel blessed to be here today. I ran into another friend who said a friend of hers is battling BC as well. Then chatted with Laura for two seconds (now between wedding and reception so will get more time with her when out on the dance floor!)... In those two seconds she remarked how two out of her three bridesmaids had gone through the same thing. WTF!?  I continue to be astounded how many people are affected by cancer. As my GF Andrea text me today, cancer sucks. Indeed it does. But life is beautiful. Enjoying the moments!!!!

Work...yes, I will be going back to work

So this is an interesting point in time.  It makes everyone very uneasy.  The expectation, so I have learned, is that many people have an expectation that when people go through chemo / cancer treatment, that they would stay home and not work during this time.  I must admit, I had never thought about it previously as I haven't had any context before.  But what really happens is that people get on with life in whatever manner they feel comfortable with.  There are SO MANY different types of cancer and cancer treatments that you can't compare any to each other and you can't compare how people will react to them.  It's sort of a private journey in that regard.

But what the oncologist and surgeon have said to me in my cancer and treatment is:

GET BACK TO YOUR LIFE

This doesn't of course mean crazy hours like I was working.  It means I need to get back into what I love to do (which is work, be a mum, contribute to my community, etc).  But I will need to be more realistic and need to focus in on getting my priorities in a different order including (as stated in the blog a couple nights ago) more exercise and rest.

So, in the coming week I'll start to work.  I'm very blessed to work for a great company that supports flexible working arrangements and will work with them on how best to support me and the company during this time.

That may be stressful for all of you (especially if you work in my team!  LOL) but for me it makes me feel good!  Watch this space.

Note:  Today, my dear friend Marge left.  She has been here since I was in hospital and helping out the family in every way possible.  So I raise a glass of champagne to Marge...the world...my world...is a better place with Marge in it!  I thank many of you who have made her visit that much more special by getting to know her whilst she was here.  Her hubby Scottie will be happy to have her home!

A funny thing happened on the way to the forum (I mean chemo...)

So I went to get the mail today at the post office box....only to find that I had a speeding fine waiting for me?!  Now, I am not someone who speeds so I immediately figured it must have been Tony that had been driving (not that he speeds either but it CERTAINLY wasn't me!).  But Marge and I traced the time back to when the alleged offence occurred...and low and behold it was  on the way to meet with the chemo nurse the day before chemo. 

I was confused because this certainly was NOT the frame of mind I was in...to speed in to see the chemo nurse?  Is this some kind of sick joke?  But then Narelle and Marge pointed out to me that I had been in a very BAD space that day due to the cold that I had the day before chemo.  So perhaps between wanting to get some of the errands done that I had on my list that morning (getting the kids school uniforms dry-cleaned, getting the "working with children" forms done for the school board, and getting the kids a bite to eat) prior to heading to the city for the meeting....PERHAPS I was a bit out of whack and went the alleged 6kmph over the speed limit.  Grrr.

I think I'll fight this one .....who in the world would be rushing off to listen to the chemo nurse tell me about all the terrible things that are going to occur in the next 3 months...certainly NOT me!  It wasn't me!

(FYI - the chemo nurse, Marisa, called today...she asked how I was.  I happily said, "I feel great, and how are you?"...there was a sharp silence at the other end of the phone and then Marisa slowly said, "hmmm, that's not typically the type of response I get just after the first round of chemo".  A well, you can't always be the average bear!). 

First week over and done

Yesterday and today were pretty significant days.  This now marks the end of "round one" and all the effects that I'll have to go with it ("yes waiter, I'll have an order of chemo with the "effects" to the side please").  Someone I met with today said, "you seem to be ignoring the fact that you've had chemo...surprise surprise".  Yes, I am trying to ignore it and just push through when I hit rough patches.

I think my son summed it up pretty well the other day.  He was talking about how he was stressed out. He was stressed because I was asking him (and his sister) to do more things to help out...and that Dad was sick with a cold, and that Keeley was not feeling well, and that, well...soon I might not be feeling well either.  I had to laugh...everyone else was sick at the moment except for me! 

The main thing I will need to change though in the coming months is to:

1.  Not work until midnight most nights (yes, I will be going back to work soon)
2.  Leave work at a reasonable time (yes, that means leave the office and not turn out the lights)
3.  Continue to eat and drink healthily (LOTS of water is key right now)

Should be no problemo...

Day 3 & 4

So the oncologist said today would be like "being hit by a truck" ...always something to look forward to?  I will admit that I felt pretty darn good yesterday...but today I was a wee bit more tired.  Okay, whilst I didn't feel like I got hit by a truck it was a bit more "in my face" to start the day.  But I kept the Doors song in mind and kept singing, "break on through to the other side" and that seemed to get me through.  You do whatever it takes at times like these!

This should be the worst of the days (although a cumulative effect as it will get a little bit worse each time).  So I am feeling blessed.

Day 2...fatigue or not to fatigue

Another great day today....They say that the real fatigue is to set in ...tomorrow or the next day.  Well, today I felt a little less energetic but as suggested by the doctor, I went for a walk when feeling this way.  It was a gorgeous day and the family went out for a couple hours along the Warrandyte trail.  And that pretty much kept today's fatigue at bay.

I plan on doing the same tomorrow.  No need to play into the "average" type person  symptoms I say...after all, I was in the 1 percent margin for having the reaction the other day.  Why not be in the small percentage that don't feel the major fatigue? 

Or...is it per the film we watched tonight, The Castle, "you're dreamin'?".  I will let you know tomorrow!

How cool is this...

I just got a call from the Royal Childrens hospital and they wanted to know if they can use my breast tissue that was removed for cancer research!  What an honour to be helping others get rid of this nasty piece of work in our world! 

How do I feel today?!  Day one after chemo is going really well!  I got my walk in.  Had a coffee and a beautiful breakfast ...it tasted a little like tin foil but was able to mask that taste as per the directions in the cookbook I talked about in an earlier blog.  So great outcome.   Have been drinking LOTS of water to flush the system. 

The coming 2-3 days is when I will probably the fatigue and exercise is best to combat that so will go for another walk later today when a bit cooler.  One day closer to the end of this journey.  I love the sounds of that!

Round One

This morning Laurice  had her first session of Chemo;

The morning started with a visit with her Oncologist Prof Michael Green,  He began with some great news in that Laurice wouldn't not be needing Radiation Therapy!!

Prof Green once again explained some of the possible side effects of her particular chemo cocktail, stressing that she would be pumped full of pre-chemo meds to ward off nausea before the chemo starts and that there was a remote chance (1% of cases)  that there may be an allergic reaction to one of the drugs ; Taxotere.

The Chemo Clinic is right across the hall from  Prof Green's office, so  before long Laurice was seated in a big recliner, the room was full of patients receiving  various forms of chemo. Laurice was the youngest in the room and a quick look around was enough to convince her that life is too short to wear bad wigs and when her time comes to loose her hair ( in the next 2 weeks!) she will proudly be bold and go bald! rather than suffer under one of the favoured polyester wigs we spotted today.

Lucy the Chemo Nurse began searching in vain for vein (pardon the pun) but after 3 attempts gave up and deferred to her colleague, Amy who looked like she was fresh out of nursing school. However Amy was clearly in charge of the oncology unit and didn't mess around,  she looked Laurice's arm up and down , grabbed a needle and got a vein at first try ( much to Laurice's 'the needle-phobe's' delight). First came the pre chemo meds and a flu shot, Laurice had no problem, then came the Cyclophosphamide, apart from being able to "feel" the drug entering her body and a faint metallic taste, Laurice was feeling OK and spent her time chatting and reading.

Just as we were enjoying some cheese and crackers, the patient next to Laurice started getting her dose of Taxotere. ( the 2nd of Laurice's chemo cocktail)  Within  5 mins she started feeling hot and had tightness in her chest, the nurses recognising an allergic reaction and  quickly administered drugs to reverse the reaction and bring the unfortunate lady back to normal again. I said to Laurice that this was her lucky day, since if this reaction happens in 1% of cases, the lady next to her was the 1% and Laurice would now "statistically" be more likely to fall in the 99 %!

Well no one told the statisticians  that Laurice was supposed to be in the 99%!!! . Just  3 mins  into  her scheduled 1hr dose, Laurice had an allergic reaction. She felt the drug go into her arm , her chest tightened and she began to find it hard to breathe, she turn bright red and her temperature shot way up. her head was swimming and she felt like passing out. The nurse quickly turned off the IV gave her
hydrocortisone to reverse the effects of the Taxotere. They then gave her a huge dose of fenergen ( an antihistamine ) After half an hour   she started feeling a bit drowsy so Laurice said to me " get me 300mls of strong iced coffee STAT!!!" I fetched the coffee and Laurice self-administered  over the next 20 mins, while the last of the fenergen went into her arm.  Then it was time for the Taxotere again, this time around Laurice broke through the 3 minute barrier without any issues!!

Laurice has alway taken pride in her project management capabilities however what was supposed to be a 3 hour morning turned into a long 7 hour day!  Being behind schedule NEVER makes Laurice comfortable!

Armed with a bag full of anti nausea drugs I took a slightly groggy but otherwise fine Laurice home. The next few days will be all about managing nausea and waiting for the chemo truck to hit around day 4!

 Thank you for all of your messages of support  and a huge thank you  to  the Team Laurice  Support crew for stocking up the fridge and freezer while we were at the hospital,

More updates soon

Team Laurice

Blah

I was in a terrible space today.  I woke up with a headache and a very sore throat.  Since I am a person that is NEVER sick this not only made me not feel well but messed with my head!  One is not supposed to be sick prior to going into chemo.  So my apologies to those I came across today and especially Marge, Tony, Keeley and Zac who had to put up with my miserable grouchy space!

All fine at the surgeon, although it was a surreal scene out of Pulp Fiction (when the needle is sticking out of Uma Thurman's chest) for about 10 minutes.  Ugh.

Then off to the oncology dept to get the run down on all the possible ways I am going to feel horrible in the coming week/months.  I told Marissa I had been looking forward to meeting with her but I took it all back after our talk.  She said she gets that a lot.  I asked her why she did what she did for a living...but it sounded kind of like my job...she loves what she does and she meets great people (just not always given the greatest of circumstances).  I get that.

Off I go to bed...in a sour space (but feel like I've almost kicked the worst of it with the 20 000 mg of Vitamin C I put in me on top of washing it down with the Green Gunk (made especially by Tony) and the Everything Juice (made by me) and the mint and lemongrass tea (made straight from the garden).  Tomorrow I'll be back on track and ready to get on the chemotrain.

C Day - Thursday!

Tomorrow (or now today as it's early morning as I write this) I am off to see the surgeon and then the chemo-ologist (I just made that up as I was writing a friend of mine...I kind of like it).  Her name is Marissa.  Marissa will take me through all the  do's and dont's, the questions, the layout of the routine, how to make yourself feel better when going through the down times, etc.  I met her last week - I like her!

So we'll have a fun day with the kids (Keeley has asked to go to one of the universities and walk around...can't help but to feed THAT passion!).  I've been wanting to go to a Thai place down near University of Melbourne so we might hit both and call it a successful day!

Then Thursday will be the day I start chemo.  I basically meet with the Oncologist first for a couple minutes, then head off to meet Marissa.  The whole "routine" will take around 3 hours.  Then they say typically you don't feel too bad for around 12-24 hours...then you feel like BLEEP BLEEP!  So the doors will be locked and the shades down as I hole myself up if I feel like BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP!

The three week cycle for people typically means that for a week you feel really horrible and very fatigued and your taste buds usually are struggling to work with much enthusiasm since the chemo strips them right back (a very important reason why to get the food intake right to be able to keep the strength up).  Then the second week you start to get some taste back and the third week the body starts to feel "okay" again...then they fill you up for the next dose.  now, that's how a lot of people feel on average but everyone feels different.   So I'll work out how I feel and then respond accordingly.

It will be really important to stay healthy and strong at this time.  The white blood cell count is key as the immune system is extremely vulnerable.  So this is where the food / hydration is quite important.

I met with some of the key members of Team Laurice today who are contributing to the food during this cycle.  A friend loaned me a cookbook which she used whilst supporting someone else going through this .... (Book is:  The Cancer Fighting Kitchen  http://rebeccakatz.com/books/the-cancer-fighting-kitchen/)  A good book to have at this point in time!

So that's it for now.  If I don't get online tomorrow then the next blog may be from Tony giving you an update on things!

Thanks for your continued support my friends!

Shave for a Cure - Thanks for your support!

Keeley and I wanted to thank everyone who helped us raise money for the World's Greatest Shave.  Keeley was the only one in the Junior school that participated (dying her hair red).  The local hair dresser (Adina at McAdam Square) sponsored me by cutting my hair quite short (in anticipation of losing it all in the next three weeks-it will be more forgiving as I lose it with this style!) and putting a flare of red and blond in it as well.

We raised just over $600 so we thank everyone for their very kind donations!  Check out Team Laurice here:

http://my.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/TeamPage.aspx?Referrer=http%3a%2f%2fwww.worldsgreatestshave.com%2fsupport&teamID=76179

In the past week we have learned of several friends who are supporting their friends children who are currently battling Leukemia.  It's a horrendous cancer so to hear of 5 children under the age of 21 in just the past week (by two degrees of separation) is quite profound.

It's a small effort we did but as we all know ...a small effort goes a long ways!

To give and then not feel that one has given is the very best of all ways of giving.
Max Beerbohm