August 1st

Pete's Points
Nothing much to report today - yet. Busy day! Will have to get to see the speech therapist this morning and then this will be followed by the radiation treatment and then a quick visit to the chemo therapy doctor. In other words a day filled with visits to people in the hospital. Just exactly how I would like spend my day.

I received the results of the blood test and of course will be asking the doctor exactly what the results mean. I find that reading such results to be a little difficult since they are couched with interesting phrases that suggest that some of the tests have been revised and that the new results for markers are subject to different interpretations etc.

However while there are some results that tend to indicate that I need more fluids and less salt in the diet and something needs to be done about my red blood cells (feed the man meat perhaps?) the white cells are still (unbelievably) within the normal range and so all in all things I think are looking more or less OK. At least the radiology oncologist did not freak when she saw the results yesterday.

The radiation burns are getting slightly worse and I have discontinued with the suggested treatment of using surgical dressing gel to cover the areas that are affected. Having asked WHY I was using this stuff I was told it was to moisturise the site. I asked in all of my innocence why something like Sorbelene would not achieve the same effect only better and was told that if I had that at home it was OK to use. So I will have a go with that. It seems more sensible to me to use an actual moisturiser than to use a surgical dressing substitute.

I have a feeling I will be scolded by the speech therapist as my voice has not really improved from the last time I saw her a week ago. I have tried the exercises and still find that my voice is better at some points in the day than others and that I still do not have my breathing right.

No doubt I will hear the good bad or indifferent news about whether physically I will be able to get the voice back in some real shape or other as I suspect that this will depend on what exactly was done during the operation and whether or not some of the nerves were cut or stretched.

Anyway got to get to the shower and get dressed for this busy day. More later as and when I return from the fray.