Thursday 10th April: Start of treatment.
Felt OK during and after. Went to town for some food and two pints of beer. Slept OK
Friday 11th April: DAY 1
Felt fine. Went for my normal 5 mile walk. Went for a meal with friends early evening and had one bottle of beer. Began to feel very fatigued during the meal. Went straight to sleep once home.
Saturday 12th April: DAY 2
Felt very tired all day. Hardly moved from horizontal until late afternoon. Picked up around 18.00
Sunday 13th April: DAY 3
Started to feel more normal again. Had a short walk around Roath Park Lake. Had one bottle of beer. Had trouble sleeping with aching ribs.
Monday 14th April: DAY 4
Felt as normal today. Started taking Tramadol more often to lessen rib aches. Went to work to hand in sick note. Slept a lot better although I’m still getting some rib aches.
Tuesday 15th April: DAY 5
Felt OK again today, although my skin has began getting very dry and flaky. Noticing some cold sore symptoms as well. Slept OK. Still achy ribs causing me some discomfort.
Wednesday 16th April: DAY 6
Felt fine all day. Cold sore symptoms seem to be easing. Didn’t sleep very well with more rib aches.
Thursday 17th April: DAY 7
First day with some pain under my armpit. Small stabbing pains began during the afternoon. Felt sick on and off during the day. Rib pain easing though. Had one bottle of beer.
Friday 18th April: DAY 8
Had a night in bed, slept Ok but woke up with very bad back pain. Had rib pain all day. Eased during the day thanks to painkillers. Had one bottle of beer. Slept back on the sofa for 10.5 hours.
Saturday 19th April: DAY 9
Had an OK day. Beginning to think the rib pain has something to do with eating large amounts of food in one sitting. It always seems to hurt more after I have a full stomach until it starts being digested. Started having much smaller portions. Slept during the afternoon. Had one bottle of beer. Had a good nights sleep on the sofa.
Sunday 20th April: DAY 10
Went out for a small run to see how my body was doing in relation to exercise. Ran for 5 minutes, felt short of breath after but recovered quickly. Had a good day other than a mouth ulcer popped up from nowhere. Not too painful but will keep an eye on it. Had one bottle of beer. Slept well on the sofa.
Monday 21st April: DAY 11
Mouth ulcer didn’t come to anything. Feeling more like my normal self today. Rib pain is lessening. Slept on sofa. Had one bottle of beer.
Tuesday 22nd April: DAY 12
Had a good nights sleep. Went for a one mile run around the streets close to the house. Felt good after with no shortness of breath. Rib pain almost gone. Slept on sofa again.
Wednesday 23rd April: DAY 13
Another good nights sleep. Feeling fine. Had a physio appointment and my shoulder and operation area is healing fine. Have good movement and don’t need to go back for another 6 weeks. Very pleased with my progress so far. Slept back in my bed tonight.
Thursday 24th April: DAY 14
Had some foot pain today. Quite sore. Woke up with an odd feeling concerning a small mole on my cheek. Phone helpline and the suggest to go to see GP. He said it was nothing to worry about, Took some anti-histamine for safety. Felt fine other than that. Had one bottle of beer. Slept in my bed again.
Friday 25th April: DAY 15
Foot pain has lessened. Had a very odd day, very lack luster. Didn’t want to do anything at all. Went to bed but couldn’t settle. Rib pain returned so slept on sofa. Broken sleep.
Saturday 26th April: DAY 16
A total contrast to yesterday. Felt 100% better as soon as I woke up. Felt the beginnings of a mouth ulcer. Had some fresh air being out in the park for 90 mins. Walked about 3 miles in total. Felt bright and alert all day. Rib pain returned, I think due to me sleeping on my side in bed. Didn’t spoil an otherwise near normal day. Slept on sofa. Had two cans of cider.
Sunday 27th April: DAY 17
Slept well, a good 8 hours. Slight rib pain. Went for a 1.5 mile run. Felt short of breath but recovered quickly. Stayed in for the rest of the day. Had two cans of cider. Minimal rib pain. Slept on sofa.
Monday 28th April: DAY 18
Slept well. Went for a 4 mile walk. Felt fine after. Stayed in for the rest of the day. Minimal rib pain.
Tuesday 29th April: DAY 19
Mouth ulcer made me a little uncomfortable around 3 am but other than that slept well. Went for a 2 mile run, felt fine after. Mouth ulcer seems to be settling down. Went for my clinic appointment before second chemo. White cells were down have to have a retest tomorrow. Slept well on sofa.
Wednesday 30th April: DAY 20
Had second blood retest, still down. Need a re-test before chemo tomorrow. Ran 2.5 miles, felt fine after. Had appointment at Llandough re; lump on right hand side. Still no real progress. Slept well. No rib pain for a while now.
SECOND CHEMO SESSION
Thursday 1st May: DAY 1
Third blood test was OK so second chemo went ahead. Felt OK during and straight after. Went to pub but noticed a headache on the way. Had a light snack and two beers. Felt very tired after and lay down most of the evening.
Friday 2nd May: DAY 2
Same as yesterday. Slept on and off all day, very listless and fatigued. Not a great day to be honest.
Saturday 3rd May: DAY 3
Woke up a bit brighter but with that sicky feeling. Had an off day all day to be honest. Eating OK, but feeling very sick all the time. Slept ok.
Sunday 4th May: DAY 4
Felt better than yesterday. Stayed in all day hoping to be well enough to go out in the evening. Went to a concert and was OK all night. The venue was very cold though. Had one can of cider. Slept OK.
Monday 5th May: DAY 5
Woke up in a fuzz. Might have been due to the cold feeling I had all last night. Very bad day for me mentally as well. Felt a little more positive as the day went on. Slept off and on all day. Slept OK during the night.
Tuesday 6th May: DAY 6
Woke up in a much better frame of mind. Did some wallpaper stripping in the morning. Had a break and slept for an hour, eat a snack did some more until lunchtime. Slept a couple of hours in the afternoon. Feeling a lot more positive today.
Wednesday 7th May: DAY 7
Slept well. Went for a 3 mile walk. Felt fine all day.
Thursday 8th May: DAY 8
Slept well. Had a biopsy on lump at Llandough, went shopping in ASDA and then saw friends in the evening. Busy day for me! Had one bottle of beer.
Friday 9th May: DAY 9
Slept well. Went for a 3 mile walk. Felt very tired all day though. Not really ill, just tired.
Saturday 10th May: DAY 10
Slept well. Went for a 2.5 mile walk. Had some testicle pain after the walk. Did some more wallpaper stripping. Slept OK.
Sunday 11th May: DAY 11
Went to see nurse at Velindre. Having some achiness in my arm, was told to take Ibuprofen to help the phlebitis. Also mentioned testicle pain which is easing. Finished wallpaper stripping. Felt OK all day. Had one beer and one cider. Slept well.
Monday 12th May: DAY 12
Went for a short walk which turned out to be a mistake as the testicle pain came back. Other than this annoying pain everything else feels fine. Went to see colleagues at work, handed in sick-note. Slept well.
Tuesday 13th May: DAY 13
Phlebitis is easing with Ibuprofen. Testicle pain still there. Slept well.
Wednesday 14th May: DAY 14
Decided to try wearing tight fitting underwear today, uncomfortable at first but seemed to help with testicle pain. Slept well.
Thursday 15th May: DAY 15
Had an appointment at Velindre to get results from my biopsy. All clear and no need for any further treatment. Visited running club to see everyone. Had a few ciders. Slept well.
Friday 16th May: DAY 16
Had a visit from my sister, niece and Seth. Really nice to see them. Had a short walk. Testicle pain seems to be easing. Had a few ciders. Slept well.
Saturday 17th May: DAY 17
Good start to the day, felt great. Had a bath but then very slowly the testicle pain came back which was disappointing. Slept well.
Sunday 18th May: DAY 18
Woke up with testicle pain again. Day was fine other than that. Slept well. Had some cider.
Monday 19th May: DAY 19
Woke up with testicle pain, although not as bad as it has been. Day was fine other than that. Slept well.
Tuesday 20th May: DAY 20
Clinic day today. Had bloods and white cells were low again. Had a thorough examination of my testicles and all seems fine. Maybe a pulled groin muscle is causing the pain. Going to try ibuprofen to see if it clears. Had some cider. Slept well.
Wednesday 21st May: DAY 21
Normal day. Feel better having had the examination. Slept well.
THIRD CHEMO SESSION
Thursday 22nd May: DAY 1
Had a larger than normal breakfast with some toasted rolls. Second blood test was OK so second chemo went ahead. Felt OK during and straight after. Decided not to go to the pub, but to go straight home. Dozed a little but felt OK. Slept well with and hour break at 2.15 am.
Friday 23rd May: DAY 2
Woke up feeling OK, no real grogginess. Had a normal day but gradually felling more sickly during the evening. Slept OK but woke up a few times feeling sick.
Saturday 24th May: DAY 3
Woke up feeling sick. Felt sick all day. Annoying runny nose as well. Tried to sleep as much as possible as being upright was uncomfortable. Broken sleep all night.
Sunday 25th May: DAY 4
Woke up feeling a bit better today. Didn’t last long though. Felt sick all day. Eat very little, slept poorly.
Monday 26th May: DAY 5
Woke up very sick and nauseous. Phone Velindre and went in for an injection to help and some tablets. Nothing worth noting happening in the two hours since coming back. Feeling shivery. It took until late evening to feel any improvement but it was dramatic. Had a good nights sleep.
Tuesday 27th May: DAY 6
Woke up feeling a lot better today. It was a mostly normal day. Had a small snooze mid afternoon. Eat well but didn’t overdo portion size. Testicle/groin pain off and on. Slept very well.
Wednesday 28th May: DAY 7
Woke up feeling fine. It was a mostly normal day. Testicle/groin pain off and on. Also started to get some discomfort with phlebitis. Slept very well.
Thursday 29th May: DAY 8
Woke up feeling fine. Testicle/groin pain off and on. Still getting some discomfort with phlebitis. Good day, had a big lunch, went out to see friends and had a couple of cold ciders. Slept in my bed!!
Friday 30th May: DAY 9
Woke up feeling fine. No testicle/groin pain. Still getting some discomfort with phlebitis. Good day. Did a little DIY. Had a cold cider and slept in bed again.
Saturday 31st May: DAY 10
Woke up feeling fine. Slight testicle/groin pain. Still getting some discomfort with phlebitis. Good day. Did some more DIY. Had 3 cold ciders and slept back downstairs again. Slept very well.
Sunday Ist June: DAY 11
Woke up feeling fine. No testicle/groin pain. Still getting some discomfort with phlebitis. Did a lot of clearing and cleaning, mowed the lawn. Rested the rest of the day. Slight groin pain. Slept well.
Monday 2nd June: DAY 12
Woke up feeling fine. No testicle/groin pain. Still getting some discomfort with phlebitis. Good day, felt Ok all day. Slept well.
Tuesday 3rd June: DAY 13
Woke up feeling fine. No testicle/groin pain. Still getting some discomfort with phlebitis. Good day, felt Ok all day. Had two cold ciders. Slept well.
Wednesday 4th June: DAY 14
Woke up feeling fine. Slight testicle/groin pain. Still getting some discomfort with phlebitis. Good day, felt fine all day. Slept well.
Thursday 5th June: DAY 15
Woke up feeling fine. Slight testicle/groin pain. Still getting some discomfort with phlebitis. Good day, felt fine all day. Slept well.
Friday 6th June: DAY 16
Woke up feeling fine. Slight testicle/groin pain. Went to a sports physio and had some exercises to do to help with the groin strain. Still getting some discomfort with phlebitis. Good day, felt fine all day. Slept well.
Saturday 7th June: DAY 17
Woke up feeling fine. Slight testicle/groin pain. Had a 3 mile walk broken up into two 1.25 miles and a half mile. Still getting some discomfort with phlebitis which eased during and after a hot bath. Good day, felt fine all day. Slept well.
Sunday 8th June: DAY 18
Woke up feeling fine. Slight testicle/groin pain. Still getting some discomfort with phlebitis. Good day, felt fine all day. Slept well.
Monday 9th June: DAY 19
Woke up feeling fine. Slight testicle/groin pain. Still getting some discomfort with phlebitis. Good day. Went for a short walk. Visited work to give in my sick note. Felt fine all day. Slept well.
Tuesday 10th June: DAY 20
Woke up feeling fine. Slight testicle/groin pain. Still getting some discomfort with phlebitis. Good day, felt fine all day. Had my clinic appt. Had a good chat about groin pain with the nurse. Had a counselling appt in the afternoon. Talked through all areas of doubt, etc. Slept well.
Wednesday 11th June: DAY 21
Woke up feeling fine. Slight testicle/groin pain. Still getting some discomfort with phlebitis. Went for a short walk. Good day, felt fine all day. Slept well.
FOURTH CHEMO SESSION
Thursday 12nd June: DAY 1
Felt OK during and straight after. Dozed a little but felt OK. Slept Ok with a couple of breaks.
Friday 13th June: DAY 2
Woke up feeling sick. Bit of a groggy, grotty day to be honest. Slept on and off during the day. Broken sleep at night.
Saturday 14th June: DAY 3
Woke up feeling sick, but more alert. Another grotty day. Sickness much worse this session. Broken sleep.
Sunday 15th June: DAY 4
Woke up feeling sick again. Another grotty day. Broken sleep.
Monday 15th June: DAY 5
Woke up feeling sick, but better than yesterday. Went for a short walk. Phlebitis flared up during the evening. Loose bowels. Broken sleep.
Tuesday 17th June: DAY 6
Woke up feeling sick again. Went for a short walk. Phoned helpline re: sickness. Went in to Velindre and had an anit sickness jab. OUCH!! Good nights sleep. Some minor back pain.
Wednesday 18th June: DAY 7
Woke up with no sickness. Went for a short walk. Normal day, Slept well.
Thursday 19th June: DAY 8
Woke up with slight tummy ache which slowly disappeared during the day. Went for a short walk. Normal day, Had two cold ciders. Slept well.
Friday 20th June: DAY 9
Woke up with bubbly stomach. Phoned helpline and discussed stomach ache. They think it’s just indigestion. Went for a short walk. Indigestion eased during the day. Had two cold ciders. Slept well.
Saturday 21st June: DAY 10
Woke up with bubbly stomach again. Went for a longish walk of 2.5 miles broken into two 1.25 mile walks. Went for a run. One mile broken up into 1 min run, one minute walk. Indigestion eased during the day. Had two cold ciders. Slept well.
Sunday 22nd June: DAY 11
Woke up with bubbly stomach again, but not as bad as before. Feeling run down. Some mouth soreness and a few spots appearing. Had three cold ciders. Slept well.
Monday 23rd June: DAY 12
Woke up with bubbly stomach again, but not as bad as before. Feels like it’s a build up over night and clears during the day. Went for a walk. Had a pretty normal day. No cider today. Slept well.
Tuesday 24th June: DAY 13
Woke up with some mouth soreness. Did some gardening, went for a walk. Had another counselling session which went OK. Not going to have any more. Saw a nurse whilst at Velindre about my continuing sicky feeling. Started back on the metaclopromide tablets.
Wednesday 25th June: DAY 14
Woke up with some mouth soreness. Sicky feeling less than yesterday. Went for a 3 mile walk. Called in at Velindre and had an injection to help sickness. No real effect. Poor sleep.
Thursday 26th June: DAY 15
Woke feeling very sick and nauseous. Phone helpline and went in again. Had Ondansetron in an IV. Had bloods checked, ecg and an examination by a doctor. Spent about 4 hours in total getting looked at. Came home and went for a walk. Started to improve late evening. Broken sleep.
Friday 27th June: DAY 16
Woke feeling a lot more like my old self. Eat breakfast, snacked during the morning and had a good sized lunch. Still some bubbling in my stomach but nothing like it was. Very manageable. Slept well.
Saturday 28th June: DAY 17
Woke feeling a little queasy but that passed during the day. Walked 2.5 miles. Ran 1 mile. Felt OK. Slept well.
Sunday 29th June: DAY 18
Woke feeling fine. Still some bubbling in my stomach but nothing like it was. Very manageable. Eat and slept well.
Monday 30th June: DAY 19
Woke feeling fine. Day started well. Still some bubbling in my stomach. Went out to eat, felt sick after. Disappointed that it had returned. Slept well though.
Tuesday 1st July: DAY 20
Woke with some bubbling in my stomach. Clinic day. Agreed to have new drug regime. Feeling very anxious. Slept OK, not brilliant.
Wednesday 2nd July: DAY 21
Woke up with some sickness. Went for a 5 mile walk. Had blood and urine test, both OK. Feeling very anxious about number five tomorrow.
FIFTH CHEMO SESSION
Thursday 3rd July: DAY 1
After taking the sedative and 23.00 I slept like a log. Woke up so some slight nausea. Had a smaller than usual breakfast. Took an Emend and went over to Velindre. Staff superb as always. Session went well. Felt OK after, eat and slept well.
Friday 4th July: DAY 2
Woke up with some sickness and nausea which passed during the day. Eat and slept well.
Saturday 5th July: DAY 3
Woke up with some sickness and nausea which passed during the day. Did a lot of walking around and to shops. Kept busy all day. Eat and slept well.
Sunday 6th July: DAY 4
Woke up with some sickness and nausea. Passed during the day. Eat and slept well.
Monday 7th July: DAY 5
Woke up with some very slight nausea. Seemed to get stronger during the day. Eat and slept OK.
Tuesday 8th July: DAY 6
Woke up with some nausea. Took an anti-histamine as my throat seemed a bit tighter. Phoned chemo help-line for advice and was recommended to go back onto Cyclizine 3 times a day until nausea goes. Nausea went slowly during the day. Eat small amounts between meals. Slept well.
Wednesday 9th July: DAY 7
Woke up with feeling fine with no nausea although it came back during the afternoon. Able to eat OK, slept OK.
Thursday 10th July: DAY 8
Woke up with a little nausea. Went to see GP about ear/throat infection and had some anti-biotics. Phoned chemo-helpline again. Had to go to the Heath Hospital for a check-up as I felt some swelling in my tongue and arm. Checked over and released back home with a stronger anti-biotic.
Friday 11th July: DAY 9
Woke up with painful phlebitis. Normal day, some sickness but not enough to stop me eating. Slept well.
Saturday 12th July: DAY 10
Phoned chemo helpline for advice. Spoke to Annie from palliative care who was very helpful. Had a prescription for a new drug! Helped ease the bubbling and wind. Had a nasty bout of heartburn which thankfully eased. Slept well.
Sunday 13th July: DAY 11
Bad bay mentally. Lots of pain everywhere, felt very low. Went for a walk and brightened eventually. Eat and slept well.
Monday 14th July: DAY 12
Woke with no symptoms. Changed breakfast to buttered toasted baps. Chill started in my stomach after eating and seems to be getting worse as the morning progresses. Had a very bad bout of diarrhoea and then the symptoms began to subside. Eat and slept well.
Tuesday 15th July: DAY 13
Woke with no symptoms. Normal day, the first for a very long time. Eat and slept well.
Wednesday 16th July: DAY 14
Woke with no symptoms. After passing a very large amount of stools first thing in the morning gurgling stomach returned. Stayed all day. Four visits to the toilet today. Eat and slept well.
Thursday 17th July: DAY 15
Woke with no symptoms. Moved bowels first thing. Had a meeting with the palliative care team and had a new supply of drugs. Normal day. Eat and slept well.
Friday 18th July: DAY 16
Woke with no symptoms. Went for a 4.5 mile walk. Normal day. Eat and slept well.
Saturday 19th July: DAY 17
Woke with no symptoms. Normal day. Eat and slept well.
Sunday 20th July: DAY 18
Woke with ear/throat pain which eased, then returned. Temp OK. Normal day. Eat and slept well.
Monday 21st July: DAY 19
Woke with slight ear/throat pain. Went to see GP who said it was nothing to worry about. Normal day. Eat and slept well.
Tuesday 22nd July: DAY 20
Woke with very slight ear/throat pain. Didn’t come to anything. Clinic day. weight went up. Normal day. Eat and slept well.
Wednesday 23rd July: DAY 21
Woke up feeling OK. Went for a five mile walk. Had my blood tes as was OK for next chemo session. Normal day eat and slept well.
SIXTH CHEMO SESSION
Thursday 24th July: DAY 1
Woke up feeling OK. Session went well. Used my left arm as the viens in my right arm were too painful. Eat and slept well.
Friday 25th July: DAY 2
Woke up feeling OK. Slight feeling of nausea. Dozed on and off during the day. Eat well. Slept well.
Saturday 26th July: DAY 3
Woke up feeling OK. Slight feeling of nausea. Alert all day. Eat well. Slept well.
Sunday 27th July: DAY 4
Woke up feeling OK. Slight feeling of nausea. Went for a trip to Cardiff Bay. Eat well. Slept well.
Monday 28th July: DAY 5
Woke up feeling OK. Slight feeling of nausea which began to increase during the day. Did a short 10 mins on the exercise bike. Eat well. Slept well.
Tuesday 29th July: DAY 6
Woke up feeling OK. Slight feeling of nausea which began to increase during the day. Went for a slow 5 mile walk. Eat well. Slept well.
Wednesday 30th July: DAY 7
Woke up feeling OK.
