“She’s my Cancer Sherpa.”

That is how I was introduced to a dear friend’s care team.  I rather liked it.  It is certainly a lot shorter than My-Friend-Who-Comes-With-Me-To-Appointments-And-Carries-Stuff-And-Takes-Notes.  It is less official sounding than Patient Support Person. 

Cancer Sherpa nicely summed up what I was doing:

-       Accompanying the patient on her journey.  While I may not have walked the exact route she was taking before, I at least knew the terrain.

-       Carrying the stuff.  Coats, hats, mitts, purses, reading material, notebooks, pens, change, hand sanitizer, wipes, Kleenex, water, ginger ale, snacks and assorted papers were lugged cheerfully around in my giant backpack called ‘Support Bag’. 

-       Making sure she stayed hydrated, rested and ate.  Well, ok, nagging her to do these things.  She’s a grownup.

-       Keeping track of things.  Who has signed up to bring meals which night?  Where did we park the car?  Where are the bathrooms in this place?

-       Pulling her back from the edge occasionally.  Chatting about nothing in particular to take her mind off stuff.  Introspection is good, but sometimes too much is bad.  Reminding people to never Google anything medical before attempting to sleep. 

I found that when people asked what I was doing, saying “Cancer Sherpa” was a pretty good answer.  The people who were just making small talk could pause for a moment, then go back to talking about themselves.  The people who were interested (or listening) would ask a question. 

And it is talking to those people that made me think about just writing all this stuff down.  I have asked lots of questions, and found lots of people who knew, or knew who would know the answers.  "What is this test like?"  "How bad is the prep?"    "What should I take with me?"   "Where do you park?"   "Why am I so much more easily distracted?"

I started keeping lists.  In real life, I’m a project manager, so lists and schedules are kind of my thing anyway.  I like sharing information.  It’s not going to do a whole heck of a lot of good just locked up in my skull. 

A few weeks ago, I attended a seminar at one of the local universities.   Some of the things discussed would have been really useful in the past year.   Before Christmas I had coffee with one of the most plugged-in people I know.  He gave me some good advice and encouraged me to start this blog.

That’s why I started this blog.  I’m calling it Jade Sherpa.