When I knew I was going to have Doxorubicin chemotherapy for my sarcoma (aka the Alien) I tried to find out as much as I could. The booklet I was given contained a huge list of side effects and the reassurance that not all of them happen. I couldn’t find anything that said what proportion of patients get which side effects and when.
Looking back after having finished the first cycle I don’t think the side effect…
First, a bit of background. I have a liposarcoma in my mesentery. I am 62. I am a retired doctor. They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Believe me, a lot of knowledge is a terrifying thing in this situation.
I had surgery two years ago. It had taken 3 months from my feeling a mass in my abdomen to having surgery. I went from one clinic to the next and one test to the next. At the time of surgery no one had…
Christmas is over and I look back with mixed feelings. Happy memories of time with family and friends, anxiety because there is a possibility it could be my last Christmas and slight disquiet as immediately after Christmas I am booked for a scan to see if the alien is responding to treatment. At times I felt really constrained by the need to protect myself against infection because of the immunosuppression from the chemo…
I have a recurrent liposarcoma (aka The Alien). I am starting palliative chemo with Doxorubicin. I had wanted to tell you about my preparations for chemo but my techie skills aren’t enough to force in some images I wanted to include into the Macmillan blogsite so that will have to wait. I am going to jump straight to chemo day.
Living in Norfolk means that a trip to the Marsden in London takes a bit of organising…
It is now a little less than two years after my surgery for a mesenteric liposarcoma and I once again I have a mass in my abdomen: it has been confirmed as recurrent sarcoma. The alien has returned.
When I was first diagnosed I realised the tumour was very, very aggressive. So I wasn’t surprised that it had recurred. I felt like I had spent two years tied to the railway track knowing at some stage the train would come…
