5 out of six weeks of treatment completed, including both doses of chemo. 5 more sessions of radio to go. But tonight is the night my voice finally gave out. Many thanks to all who have called to show support and concern, but for a while at least it looks like the phone is no longer a useful tool.
Every Friday I have a meeting with my review team and they ask me how I am feeling. The most apt answer I felt I could give…
Uk-wide vaccination of 12-13 year old girls against the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) began in 2008 and has achieved coverage of over 85% of this target population. As a result, prevalence of HPV 16 and 18, the particularly dangerous forms of the virus, has fallen significantly and we can look forward to a substantial reduction in HPV related cervical cancers. HPV can be considered a necessary but not sufficient cause of…
I am now halfway through my 6 week course of chemoradiotherapy. Hallelujah etc. But probably not half way through the side-effects yet, as they are cumulative - groan....
I went in to hospital yesterday for the second dose of chemo, only to discover that there had been some sort of muddle and that it was planned to start today instead. Grrrr. Not quite sure who muddled what, to what extent which side got the wrong end…
Because I lived in Brussels for a long time and because the health care system there empowers the patient more than in the UK, when I was diagnosed one of the options I considered was going back there to be treated. The reason I did not go for it was simply practicalities - where to stay, how to deal with being away from family (I have 2 children in school here in Wales), etc.
However, comparing treatments available has…
So, two weeks through my six week treatment course today.
I had a few admin hassles when I was transferred from one hospital to another, at my request, in the sense that the receiving hospital was a bit slow in putting things in place, for example physio for my mouth etc. There are still one or two little problems to iron out but my second review today was, I must say, of a nature that inspires much admiration for health…
