15 th August

Pete's Points
Attended the last of the treatment regime yesterday. I have to say that yesterday was not a good day. I felt totally out of sorts, tired and really like someone at the end of my tether.

That said, I found the staff at the hospital filled with bonhomie and helpfulness.

The radiology staff were very encouraging and even asked if I wanted to keep the mask they had been using to help direct the treatment. I have to say I declined.

If I ever want to be reminded of anything it is certainly NOT having to go into a room in which there is a linear accelerator, lie down on a narrow cot, be strapped into a tight mask and then wait slowly for the massive machine to move to its predesignated locations and beam x rays into my system!

Please do not misunderstand. There is nothing unpleasant in the treatment or indeed in the whole process per se. It is merely that having anything around that reminds one of the uncertain level of mortality with which one clings to life is not something to dwell on.

The nursing staff were even more helpful. They have now provided me with creams and bandages that can now be used since there is no further treatment envisaged, to try and alleviate the burning of the tissues that has arisen as a result of the treatment. They tell me that it will, in all likelihood get worse before it gets better and that it takes around two weeks for the skin to come back to 'normal'.

As for the white blood cells, they sort of shook their heads in amazement when I told them that there had been no follow up appointments with the chemo therapy oncologist and shook their heads even more when I told them that the follow up with the radio therapy oncologist was set for December. They intervened nicely and suggested that perhaps I should let them make an appointment for me to see her in say two weeks and by the way also get a blood test to see how those pesky drugs had impacted my immune system.

So I now have to look forward to another few weeks of waiting around until I can have the blood test and then the appointment. From there I guess I will hear the news about what next.

Meanwhile there are some other 'joys' that I have to share.

The "good news".

Thanks to the treatments the skin is likely to be highly sensitive to solar radiation for the next 12 WEEKS! In other words, forget about finally being able to get out in the sun and pretend that I am a cold blooded lizard. No soaking up the warm rays for another three months. This will of course bring us into November when it is likely that it will be too hot to go out in the sun anyway!

AAARGH!

Exercise - well there is no bad news about this at least. The pundits all suggest that after I manage to get rid of the cytotoxic waste products from the 5FU (within 48 hours for most of it) I should resume going for my walks again taking it easy to start off with and then building up to back where I was before - possibly more. As the warmer weather starts to appear I may be able to actually manage a larger walk around the big lake near home and since I am now retired this could mean joys like walking around the lake followed up with a quick coffee and snacks at the new outdoor cafes that are being built in time for the spring and summer trade.

If this comes off then I suspect I will probably have a few envious former work colleagues who may wish to join me for the coffee and cake. I suspect that most will NOT want to undertake the walk. They seem to get enough exercise walking from their computer terminals to the next ubiquitous 'meeting'.

Mind you there are a number of colleagues who were exercising and actually taking off weight before I went into treatment - hopefully encouraged by my situation not to let something similar to happen to them. I wonder if I will recognise their new svelte figures when we meet?

The voice - or lack of it! As the impact of the treatments are taking a greater hold I am finding that even the small progress I have made with being able to make sounds is slipping again. Still this may yet come good in the longer term. For those people who could not get me to shut up in my former years this will come as good news. Finally they will be able to get a word in when THEY want to and there will be nothing I can do about it.

People have simply NO idea how much motivation this provides for me to regain the use of my voice!

I have an appointment with the Speech Pathologist again in a few weeks and I have to say that she will be disappointed in me as at present I feel as sick as a dog and not really in the mood to practice my vocal tricks.

That seems to be that for the time being. I suspect that since there is no news the volume of reports will decrease unless something exciting happens.