Tests and Saw the Onc

Yesterday I was at the clinic for blood tests and to see the Onc. First stop was to get my blood drawn out of my PICC line and then have it redressed. Then I stopped at the coffee shop for a bite to eat and a small coffee before my Onc appointment. As I was sitting there looking ever so relaxed, the trials nurse happen to walk by and said, would you mind if I check your bp? Sure, she went and got a bp monitor and proceeded to take my bp. Unfortunately, It was still high. She then said let’s go find a bed and see if we can get a better reading. After a couple more readings, it’s still high and maybe a tick higher.

The nurse left to talk to the Onc and before you know it, around the corner here he comes. He listened to my heart and took my pulse and poked around my liver. He asked how I was feeling and I told him that I’m feeling better but struggle with irregularity. He said … well ... that’s par for the course.

The Onc and nurse both left for a short while and then the nurse returned with another bp prescription, 5 mg of Amlodipine. And that’s on top of my 10 mg of Ramipril. She also said I should purchase my own bp monitor with a leg cuff to read between clinic appointments.

Then we looked at my blood work which showed a further improvement in liver function. Sorry I don’t have any numbers for you … I was a bit distracted with the high bp. On the down side, the protein level in my blood is down so I need to increase my protein intake. So to help get that going, the nurse gave me a few protein shake samples.

I am Feeling Much Better

Last Tuesday, to help get my high blood pressure under control, I started taking 10 mg of Ramipril, up from my original 5mg dosage. It was early that afternoon when it occurred to me … I am feeling much better. I said to D, wow no headache, no chills and there was less dizziness and next to no nausea. Today I’m feeling better yet. It looks like the Ramipril is doing its stuff to counter the chemo.

The next issue on my list is irregularity. If you remember I was constipated mid last week and then diarrhea on Sunday and then constipated again the next day. I took a couple of Senekot S on Tuesday night and finally it happened … a bm late Wednesday. Hurray! This is probably way too much information but no cancer blog is complete without some discussion on poop.

I’ve been eating lots and lots of fruit and drinking oodles of water. I sure hope I get this irregularity figured out soon.

New Canadian Cancer Staging Initiative

We now have a new National Staging Initiative to collect standardized data about cancer stage across Canada. It’s a first- of- its-kind long-term collaboration that should improve care and save lives.

Staging refers to the classification of patients with cancer into similar groups according to the extent of disease. On an individual basis, physicians need staging in order to determine prognosis and make informed treatment decisions. On a national basis, staging is important because government can use staging to determine survival by stage, to evaluate screening and treatment, to compare information across the population and over time and for planning and administration.

To read more about the initiative … http://www.partnershipagainstcancer.ca/2010/10/20/canadians-to-benefit-as-better-cancer-data-translates/

Blood Pressure Update

Yesterday I had an appointment at the clinic to have my bp checked. So the research nurse called me in and I assumed the position, laid down and on my back. We have to use my leg to take readings because we can’t use my arms. I have a PICC line in one arm and lymphedema in the other. She took three readings, all being around 168/85. That’s down from 170/101 last Thursday because of 5mg of Ramipril that I’m on. She asked me if I was still having headaches and I said yes. They seem to be with me all the time to some degree even tho I take aspirin.

OK she says, I’ll go see the Onc to see what he has to say about these numbers. She came back and took one more reading … 140/85. That’s much better I thought. She then said the Onc wants you to double your Ramipril and we’ll reevaluate this coming Thursday.

Boys and Science

God, I realised I had finished my blog by getting ready for Teasy Pleasy, promising you photos and post about it then clean forgot. Oops…

Not like there is anyone to tell me off.

So, Teasy Pleasy was a good night all round. A few sound hiccups at the start didn’t distract too much from the night. Domino Burlesk was every bit as delightful as I remembered her to be as was Glory Pearl, Raspberry Ripples and the other performers. One again Miss Anticipation bought members of the audience to their feet with cheers for her act. God that girl is strong. She did press-ups, flexes and all sorts! Adorable! The only downside for the night was that one of the stall holders didn’t have Bordello leopard print shoes in my size! Gutted! By the way (HINT HINT), to anyone who wants to buy me something to make me smile. In fact any of their shoes would be good. I have been a good girl all year…sort of.

I spent the rest of the evening dancing with mates to the Whip Crackin Daddies…rather dishy trio, even if I do say so. The whole place danced along to them and they certainly have stage presence. The double bass player had girls swooning over him though admittedly, Jim Jeffries was the pinup of the group. His pretty boy looks grabbed all the girls’ attention. A fair few ladies were overheard gushing over him….The drummer got the girls squealing when he jumped into the audience to play. I safely retreated to the bar to watch the carnage of women and dancing commence. Awesome times to say the least. A late night and a stagger home with my best mate Big S that got me home so late it was disgraceful. Big S you have alot to answer for!! Just like old times then.

The next day was spent nursing a hangover and being dragged reluctantly out of my bed at Dixie Doll’s house to head off to shop, I crashed and burned with Tempest-Rose on the grass in the sun….

I even managed to pick up a new jacket for me to take to Paris for my show out there in October…oh how I love it. It’s green wool with leopard print cuffs and collar. Made by the delicious brand Aquacustum…spolit? me? yes! I did prat around in a few vintage shops as well. I managed to find a real treasure trove of a shop. When I arrived a new shipment of vintage French lingerie had just arrived. WOW, the whole lot were in perfect condition and some unworn.

If you are ever near Bournemouth/Boscombe/Southbourne I suggest you visit Clobber. It’s a great shop and I am going back to mooch some more as soon as I get back that way. I have my eye on some 40s dresses and some cowboy boots. The rest of the week revolved around rehearsals ready for the weekend show at The British Science Festival and a radio interview (more to be disclosed soon). I have to say a pretty subdued week all in all…though a lot spent listening to the Whip Crackin Daddies album Paul gave me. ‘Fire’ is my favourite though oddly reminds me of the old Rawhide theme song…oops did I say that?! :p

I noticed a few of my mates have liked it and have downloaded it off iTunes…

So last night saw me performing at the British Science Festival and I have to say, I had a brilliant time. I was put up in a very nice hotel with flowers delivered and wine (nice!!!) and was treated impeccably. The show went really well…my Gorilla act certainly raised a few laughs and Professor No No had them singing and dancing with me. Fabulous, so a special shout out to all at Aston University students who attended and to Mel Spencer for organising it for me to be there. MWAH! I would like to thank the free styling rapper who made a rap about me but I never got his name other than he was Canadian (from Vancouver) and loved science.

A rather surreal moment was dancing at the end of the night only to realise I was surrounded by people in white lab coat, it felt all too horror movie waiting to happen for me so moonwalked (yes moonwalked! *SHAME*) out of the circle and ran for cover at the bar.

Pretty much spending much of today (Sunday) catching up and rehearsing for my next shows. I have glitter all over me but then that’s nothing new. Off to listen to some Big T Tyler…I use some of his music in my acts. Great catchy beats I found. Right, ciao ciao!

Khandie Khisses has performed for BABC. More can be found at: www.khandiekhisses.com

Bella's Backstage

For some reason, every time I wake up the day after a show I'm always aching all over. I think the rush of performance blocks out any pain receptors and I'll push myself much harder on stage, resulting in my waking up with muscle aches. But it’s a satisfied sort of pain and after a hot shower all that was on my mind was food. Surprise, Surprise...

Not much is open in Hobart on a Sunday in the city centre, as Torsten and I found when we went exploring for food. We found one of those diner style places that looked like it never closes, where they do a reasonable breakfast. Nothing mind-blowing, but we were hungry and I didn't have much time before I had to get back and put my stuff together for the afternoon’s dance classes and tutorials. Next time I'll head straight for North Hobart, as I was reliably informed by the girls, that it is the best place on a Sunday for food.

I was teaching a basics class at Tasmania's Pole Dancing and Burlesque Academy and was amazed how quickly the ladies of Hobart picked up the choreography. It was a very sexy tease to a bit of Screamin' Jay Hawkins and they were totally rocking out to it with their boa's and gloves.

Both Grace Cherry and Lucy Sky Diamond had one to one tutorials with me and I tell you what, I can't wait to see more from these ladies. Aside from being just the nicest girls you'll ever meet, they are extremely talented. I'll be watching with some interest at where their performances go.

So with a full afternoon and evening of classes finished can you imagine what mind was on? Before I left, I got Grace & Sarah's recommendations on where the best fish & chips were and so that's how Torsten and I came to find Fish Frenzy down at the harbour. It was absolutely freezing cold in the loveliest way when we hopped out of the cab and bundled into the very laid back fish & chips restaurant. Glass of rough red, great chips, prawn cutlets, calamari & fish. One fish we liked, the other not so much but unfortunately I can't remember the names of them!

This was followed by an icy walk around the harbour to walk off our very full bellies. Having walked past the Art Hotel, I made a mental note to stop in there next time. Their dessert menu looked wonderful.

Then all the way back around to Salamanca which at night time in the cold with the fairy lights in the trees reminded me so much of Berlin at Christmas. Followed by caramelized fig, green apple, lemon and peanut butter fudge gelato (2 flavours each - I would recommend the peanut butter fudge) at Cargo and I was feeling a strange sense of contentment, as I trundled off to bed for another night's beauty sleep.

I seem to be asked more and more about my skincare regime and personal taste in fashion. I've avoided writing about it because it seems a little self-indulgent of me (not being any expert on make-up) but as there seems to be a bit of interest in the subject, I figure what the heck! This little post is about the make-up and skincare I use.

How do I keep my skin looking great? I don't. I wear lots of make-up on stage which is why it looks porcelain in the pictures but in real life it is an ongoing battle to keep my skin in good condition. Make-up, late nights, a few too many champers and my skin gets positively grumpy with me. I also have extremely fair skin and so am very prone to freckles at the first peep of sunlight through the clouds. In addition to this, the illusion I was under that in passing my teenage years that I would be magically endowed with clear skin has fallen rather short of the mark.

So it's simple for me, 30+ sunscreen, even in winter. Make-up wipes by the bed for those nights I cannot summon the energy to wash my face, or in my make-up case for the trip home from a gig along with a little travel pot of moisturiser. All over body moisturiser, I am religious about this after a shower because the water in the three places I am most, England, Germany and Australia, is very hard and dries skin quickly. My friend Bea DeVile (another Burlesque Against Breast Cancer alumni) has also instructed me to body brush or use exfoliating gloves for lovely legs, but I'm terrible at remembering this.

My other indulgence is the 'Brazened Honey' face mask from Lush. It works like magic when my skin looks really tired. I just need to perk it up before a show, or the day after a show when I want to go out again and not look like I dragged my glittered behind into bed at 6am that same morning.

As far as make-up goes, I seem to stick to my staples. One of my lifesavers in hiding tired under eyes is a concealer called Touche Magique by L'Oreal. I'm pretty sure any illuminating concealer would do though. A decent red lip liner too, I have stupidly sharpened mine to the point where I can no longer see what brand or shade it is, so I'll have to do some investigating! I often use just lip liner all over instead of lipstick for a show as it will not budge, but of course a decent red lipstick for after a show is a must. Also, loose face powder, not compact. Trust me.

Black liquid eyeliner and false eyelashes. They are a bugger to learn how to use properly but once you do, what a difference it makes. I still curse and swear when I'm putting on eyelashes as do most of my friends but it's worth it in the end! I once blogged about another burlesque lass, BABC’s Khandie Kisses I believe, who told me once that she had so many false eyelashes, she thought they might form one giant eyelash and crawl around her apartment. I'm proud and terrified to say that I am at that stage of monster movie eyelash take-over.

As to how to put them on properly, it's all just practise, I'm sorry to say. There’s no secret. One day I promise, you'll get to the stage where you can put them on while on a moving train. You'll still curse and swear though.

Finally, the perfect nail polish. I go pink for 60s and red for everything else. My particular red being a bottle of Chanel 159 Fire Red which, as I hold it up to the light now, I see is over halfway used. Tragedy!

Hair, well when it comes to hair, I am lazy. I'd rather have someone else do it, but I feel it is necessary as part of my sartorial education and I try. Although, I do make more shortcuts than I'd like to admit. I'm in love with my Vintage Hairstyling book by Lauren Rennels. If you'd like to learn how to do your own vintage hair and make-up, there are also a few fabulous classes available. In Brisbane ,see the Facebook page for the Bombshells Academy to join classes and learn everything you need to know on vintage hair and make-up.

So that concludes my ramblings for now. I'll try to do a blog on clothes at some point, if I can focus for long enough!

Bella De Jac has performed a number of times for Burlesque Against Breast Cancer and you can find out more about her at www.belladejac.com

Some Regularity Needed

At the beginning of last week I was constipated for a couple of days. So when I saw my trials nurse last Thursday, she said, don’t wait three days before you treat it. So that night I took a couple of Senekot S because it’s worked well for me in the past. Senekot S is a stool softener and laxative combo. I took two and I was back to normal the next day. Great I thought, now I’ll just up my fruit intake so this doesn’t happen again.

Things were going along pretty good until yesterday. It was noon and besides having a banana that morning, I really wasn’t interested in having anything to eat. It then occurred to me that I hadn’t had a bowel movement yet either. I thought, oh boy, here we go again … constipated.

Well I was wrong because as soon as I had some solid food, I soon got diarrhea. Arggg!