Glomerular what?

2 minute read time.

Back at Royal Sussex County Hospital yesterday to see my old friend Dr Bloomfield (kind of feels that way after being under control of the London guys at the Marsden for a while - like coming home!?). He had a look at my scar and I can't help thinking there was a tinge of disappointment in his voice when he realised I had keyhole surgery so wasn't able to show him an 'ear to ear' scar. 

He confirmed that they were recommending 2 rounds of carboplatin, 3 weeks apart. Now, I know this is pretty light touch in chemo terms, which i am grateful for, but i am still strangely more nervous about this aspect than I ever was about the surgery. I think it's because I do t really understand d how it works, and that the impact is relatively unknown as it appears to be dependent on the individual. 

Anyway, schedule is likely to be prolonged as I am due to be on holiday for two weeks from 25 July, so the plan is to squeeze a dose in before and then go on holiday and do another dose after I come back. The only issue with holiday was being able to get to an A&E department if, during the period where my white blood cell count was low, I picked up an infection / cold / temperature etc. and didn't deal with it quickly I could end up with septecemia which would be very bad. This would obviously be more tricky if we were going abroad - but fortnately we are only planning a camping trip in the UK so no problems there. 

Before I get to have the drugs pumped into me I need to have blood tests and kidney function tests - less commonly known as a 'Glomerular filtration rate' test. Consists of an injection of something mildly radioactive and see how quickly it is cleared from the blood. This will help to determine the dosage my body can take. 

No specific date for the chemo yet, but think it will be the following week, which will be a week before I go away camping. Could potentially be straight back from hols, more tests and then on to the next dose. 

In terms of chemo I was told that the first week would be the worst, but the impact varies person to person. Adding this all together it feels likely that I could be out of the office for the next four weeks - fortunately they have been brilliant and haven't put any pressure on me at all, something I am massively grateful for as its another worry i don't have. They have also given me a laptop and the ability to work from home if I feel the need - but again, no pressure. 

So what are the chances of success? Apparently, finding the cancer limited to the testicle there was a 1 in 6 chance of it spreading, I was that 1 in 6. Chances of it recurring after the operation are less well known as only a handful of people have gone down my particular route - but reckon chance of success are in the high 90s still. Sounds better than 1 in 6!! After chemo I would be on 3 month follow ups initially that would eventually peter out. 

Second time lucky (hopefully). 

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