CancerHacker

Ten months. Long enough to have a baby. Long enough to lose several friends to cancer. Not long enough to figure out if I have a recurrence. Ten months ago I complained to my radiation oncologist about severe pain I've been having in the same quadrant of my body where a team of crack scientists poisoned, cut and burned the cancer in me two years ago. An MRI was ordered, but due to the shortage of MR machines in the province the scan was not until six weeks later. In the interim other odd symptoms started popping up.

Last week was my final session with the Sutherland Chan breast massage clinic in Toronto. I highly recommend it to anyone who is finding that they are still stiff from surgery. The name of the clinic is a little misleading, as the focus is on treating the effects of surgery, radiation, etc. in the breast area which have caused pain or reduced range of motion. Patients are assigned to a single student therapist for 8 weeks. All of the students are in their final semester of the program. There are two instructors, Debra and Sasha, who supervise the students. The instructors are closely involved with the initial assessment and treatment plan and also make rounds during the sessions to observe and demonstrate techniques. Sasha is a Vodder trained lymphedema therapist. Debra is one of the owners of the school and has almost 30 years of experience. While the students I had were good, I melted for the 5 minutes each session when either Debra or Sasha would stop by to demonstrate a lymph

I wish I had known about this moisturizer when I was having radiation. It's water-based, unscented, petroleum/mineral oil free, and paraben free. It can be purchased at any of the four  Sugarmoon locations in Toronto and St. Catherines. They often have sales on their products. I believe it may be the same product as Alexandria Restore Hydrating Lotion , but don't quote me on that. This moisturizer contains aloe and is designed for use after sugaring or waxing, perfect for irritated, radiated skin. It is thinner than Glaxal Base Cream, so more frequent use would be necessary during treatment.