Sorry for the lack of contact since February, things have been manic all round with kids, college and family events....finally i can update you on everything!
Dad is now off his chemo and is on fortnightly doses of Cetuximab which has done more than just keep the cancer from spreading, it, along with the chemo, has shrunk the cancer right down to minimal size and the doctors and specialists are happy to just be ongoing now with the Cetuximab and 3 monthly scans. Dad is massively upbeat and seems to have a new lust for life, still working at 75....though we wish he would just rest lol, but he wouldn't be him if he was any other way.
Funnily enough i rang him tonight for advice on how to help someone cope with cancer, as someone very close to me has just been diagnosed and i felt helpless and not quite sure what to say or do. Strange when i've just spent 5+ years pulling my family through the same. It has to have been one of the most honest and open conversations i've had with my dad that i can remember in a long time. And he gave me the best advice ever.....just be yourself and do for them what you can. Scour the internet and books for advice on it, give all the positive information over and pass it on as it genuinely does help, especially when people are first diagnosed and most of all, if you want to cry....then cry. It takes a weight off, it's not alien and it doesn't make you soft, it helps and can sometimes clear your head to think a little more positively. Positivity breeds positivity.
Even though i've thought it my whole life....Tonight my dad really is my hero and i told him so! Made him chuckle a bit and sounded like it brought a tear to his eyes but at least he now knows.
