Just completed week three of the weekly chemo and daily radiotherapy and the side effects are now beginning to really kick in. The nausea is now nicely under control and I can now manage my NHS milkshakes and keep them down. Unfortunately I lost the stone that I'd managed to put on before the treatment started but I've now got things under control at 11st. I anticipate that I'll be nil-by-mouth by the middle of next week - at least then the milkshakes will go in via another route and I won't have to taste them!
I'm now well into a daily routine of commuting to the Hospital each day - it really does work like clockwork. Thursdays are a long day because I spend 8 or 9 hours on a drip, but I entertain myself with movies on my iPad or watching the nurses going about their business (I reserve the right to be non-politically correct whilst - I can blame it on the medication!).
The side-effects (pain, extreme fatigue, no saliva, inability to swallow - there are a couple of others that I won't mention here with in case people are eating) are all being managed with medication. In a strange way the fatigue is welcome - I sleep well at night (from 7.30pm to 3.30am) and for a couple of hours most afternoons.
The pain in my throat can be an issue but I have liquid morphine - wonderful stuff!
The half an egg on the side of my neck has gone down and is no longer visible bar some redness from the radiation - there are still two pea-sized lumps that they will operate on to remove if they still remain after three months or so. They say that these contain dead cancer cells.
I see the consultants every Wednesday to check on progress / side effects etc. They seem pleased with the progress and my PMA (positive mental attitude) that helps make me eat and continue to exercise. I can't run at the moment but I used the cycle machine for the first week of treatment (until the vomiting episode) and I now walk 5 miles a day. The prognosis is still the same - good but with a long way to go. They tell me that the side-effects will continue to develop for several weeks after the treatment has finshed - things should then stabilise for a couple of weeks and then matters should slowly start to inprove. I then go for scans and assessment after three months where I anticipate being given the all clear.
My lovely wife Lynne is still coping really well and is making things a lot more tolerable than they would otherwise be. I do frequently remind myself that it is in some ways harder for her than it is for me. I manage my treatment and medication quite well but she gives me a prod when needed. She is an absolute star. Overall things seem to be moving in the right direction.
