Pea Sandwich

Gentle readers, and all other interested parties: Just a note to let you know that I am continuing on the current chemo regime for the foreseeable future. Some of you asked if the positive CT scan results meant that it was no longer needed. Yes, it is still very much needed. I will attended St Mary's ACU every week for the same two meds as I have been taking since April. The amount of drug has been reduced not due to the CT scan results but rather a reduction in my weight (woohoo!) since starting treatment and the reduction in my white blood cell count which is a side effect of any chemo treatment. How long will I be on said drugs? The short answer: it depends. Long answer: until the drugs no longer work (there is visible evidence the cancer is growing), or until I develop a resistance or an allergy/other dangerous side effect to them. Right now, my main issue is fatigue. Yes, I have great spurts of energy, but I'm also entering another phase marked by regular bouts of fatigue - when I'm tired, I can do nothing but sleep (especially on Wed after chemo and on Thurs). Fingers continue to cramp at the oddest of times, but no recent issues re my feet (i.e. no more gout) other than the occasional bit of tingling or mild cramp in the arch. The most annoying side effect, however, is the recurring aching in my right forearm. This is the area that has been subjected to the most needles, both for blood tests and for IVs during various surgeries and when the port-a-cath failed to co-operate. Sometimes the aching is very mild, other times very deep. Sometimes it is confined to the thick part of the forearm near the elbow, other times it extends from finger tips to elbow tip, and occasionally continues up to the shoulder. I strongly suspect some degree of tennis elbow/carpel tunnel is also at play. Whatever, last night the arching was enough to wake me at 3am. Tylenol doesn't cut it for that type of pain (I have few alternatives due to the chemo drugs), so the ice plan cameth. Cometh? Came? Despite the fact that my first aid training ended as abruptly as my Girl Guide career, I seem to recall that cold helps reduce inflammation. And so it was that my relief solution reconnoitering brought me face-to-face with a freezer completely void of any form of ice-like substance. Somehow the tuna loin recently purchased at the Sechelt Farmers' Market didn't look quite up to the task at hand/arm. Nor did the lobster, the last edible vestige of my pilgrimage to the lands of the east. Ice cream presented an interesting possibility, but since I have long known of my inability to easily lick either elbow, that, too, seemed a less-than appropriate solution. Then it dawned on me; peas! Yes, the very same vegetable that put a certain Vancouver waiter and I in a rather awkward situation when I had my original biopsy two years ago. The very tiny green round morsels of succulent sweetness that send shivers down the brain stems of some (Jo? John?) while exciting the taste buds of others. A pea sandwich was just what I needed! With the aid of a towel, I placed my arm between two frozen slabs of green peas. The towel acted as a drip barrier lest someone (Mother?) think I wet the bed. It also served to keep the icy blocks positioned where I needed them the most. My long-sleeved T-shirt cum pj top served as a barrier between the peas and my bare arm. No desire for freezer burn if I happened to fall asleep mid-treatment. Worked like a charm, albeit not the most comfortable one. In any case, I awoke in the a of m with a much relieved forearm - and two fewer packs of peas in the freezer.

About the concept of a REAL pea sandwich. Some foreign menus, in an effort to provide English descriptions for the convenience of out-of-town guests, create more interesting meals in the minds of some than what might otherwise be presented on the plate. Witness some of the concoctions listed in the book "Lost in Translation" by Charlie Croker (thanks to Deidre for the hours of entertainment this has provided):

Half a lawyer with prawns (Switzerland)
Pee soup (Beijing)
Goulash two cats (Marianske Lazne, Czech Republic)
Depressed soup (Russia)

Ham sand witches (India)
Homelettes (Greece)
Stewed language in assorted prinkles (Spain)
Charcoal grilled chicken wings or fried in garlic source (London)
Crap meat omelet (Thailand)
Eggs with Beacons (Costa Rica)
Bowels with organ blight (Greece)
Bored meat stew (Slovenia)
Chicken tikka masala with free rice or nun (UK)
Corrugated iron beef (Beijing)
Bowels stuffed in spleen (Piraeus)
Lame kebab (Iran)
Instantaneous steak ('minute steak' on a 1960s menu in Mozambique)
Roast mammary glad of sheep (Bulgaria)
Mixed grill with lamb cubs (London)