Hi Everyone,
I didn't do an end of September blog because Dal and I have been waiting on the latest scan and subsequent results which we got yesterday afternoon. But before I go into the results, let me give you an overview of what has been going on during September.
Dal, continues to receive his treatment fortnightly, 336mg Trastuzumab at the hospital after the Ondansetron 8mg anti sickness medication, then 5,200mg Fluorouracil which is intravenously (IV) administered over 24 hours. District Nurses come in the following day to take the bottle off and flush the picc line and then the following week to flush again and change the dressing. The only trouble we seem to experience is organising the right time for the D/Ns, often having to chase them up and remind them to come...this is mostly the day after treatment.. but they come and they are cool!
Issues: Last treatment in September Dal was advised that he would be at the hospital longer than expected, at least two hours longer in fact, he needed an IV which would help to raise his potassium levels as they were too low to carry on normal treatment without it. Bless the nurse, she told him to eat more banana's 
, but as you know if you read our blogs, Dal has regular smoothies which = loads of banana's, Avocado's and Spinach, all high in potassium already, so we have now started on to raisins and stuffed dates (as a treat!) and we are reducing the overall meat intake to see if it makes a difference.
Other Side effects: Dal seems to experience nose bleeds for the first few days after treatment, not too heavy, but they catch him off-guard, which he doesn't like. His finger tips still go numb and get tight, but when the weather permits, he gets out in the garden to do his woodwork...keeps him busy, his mind occupied and his fingers moving 
A few times during dinner, Dal has struggled to get the food down again, I feel that this is possibly because he has become a confident eater again and is possibly over-doing his mouthful? but we also noticed this mainly happens when eating meat or eggs...so, this is why we have changed our diet slightly....
When eating a full vegetarian meal, Dal has managed to not have a fizzy pop drink, he has managed with the less fizzy, sparkling water.. this is all good stuff, as although he drinks the no added sugar pop, it still piles the weight on.
I noticed last week that Dal's hair looked less wispy, it had more colour and seem to have grown, his face stubble had definitely had a growth spurt also... if I am honest, I was worried that his treatment had stopped working 
On to October, 5 months after going into the emergency department of the hospital in severe pain and barely able to eat anything, Dal had another CT scan, and yesterday, 6th Oct, 5 months since diagnosis, Dal was informed that all four sites had significantly improved 
. Due to Dal tolerating the treatment so well, the routine will continue, he can take a break if he would like to, but right now, he is happy to "Kick it whilst it is down" and carry on.
As you can imagine, this is fantastic news, our prayers, our focus, the medication, the love, support, prayers and mental focus passed on to us from Family, Friends, Medics and strangers who read this blog, and feel what we are going through, along with a shed load of antioxidants have got us to where we are at this time.
So Thank You Guys.... From the deepest depths of our souls......Long May This Continue - Blessed Be XX
