Felt good on Monday morning, one week after chemo, 2 days of no radiotherapy. Two sessions of radio later, I feel exhausted again and needed two kips during the day today. All fairly normal apparently, but for some strange reason the side-effects of radio are much less well known than those of chemo. This is not because they are less powerful - even a cursory surf on the net shows this not to be the case and they include…
There is a big debate raging in Wales about the Cancer Drugs Fund available in England. This fund enables patients in England to access drugs that would not otherwise have been routinely available from the NHS. Many in Wales now demand the same thing. Scotland also does not have such a fund, though I do not know what the state of the debate there is.
This morning there was a phone-in on BBC Radio Wales about this. It is…
Ufff. What a week that was. Had the first of my weekly reviews today, with my oncologist and a few others on the team. These will take place every Friday. Five more weeks to go.
My oncologist is a lovely lady, a mixture of humour, understanding and competence that inspires trust. Though I had to work pretty hard to ensure I was treated by her in particular (how is a story for another blog, perhaps).
It seems that my blood…
First of all, a huge thanks for all the wonderfully supportive messages I got in reaction to the round-robin e-mail informing friends and family of my illness. A real shot in the arm (pardon the pun...)
I guess the impact of treatment is never predictable, never quite what you expect, no matter how much you read beforehand.
I came home on the Monday evening, after my first (hefty) dose of Chemo (Cisplatin) and first radio…
This is just a little test blog. Tomorrow, I go into hospital to start chemo and radiotherapy for stage III/IV (not quite clear yet) oropharyngeal (throat) cancer. I have been really lifted and heartened by the messages of support I have received from friends scattered mainly in Belgium, Germany and the UK. Thanks und Danke schoen guys, it really, really helps. Conversations with a few dear friends have also helped -…
