For the last week, apart from a little on-going anaemia, I’ve been on good form. I feel that the anaemia is a little less impactful on this cycle, I’m certainly getting on with doing things. Shirley and I had a very relaxing weekend, pottering on the garden, sitting and watching the wildlife, spending time together – wonderful. I was back into the university on Monday for the last day of my work on the big programme we are helping to run, it finishes on Thursday - all very straight-forward. Tuesday was blood tests and we also had a visit from an old friend, Sally, who has brought her son Matthew to stay with us while he helps out on the training programme as a work experience student – he did a great job.
Wednesday was my oncologist appointment, a telephone call as I’ve been doing so well. After a quick update, we got down to the numbers. My PSA is now at 9.6, a 96% reduction from my level at diagnosis which was 257. My ALP is now at 146, an 84% reduction from my level at diagnosis which was 900. The ‘normal’ level for PSA is below 4 and for ALP it’s in the range 40 to 129, so I am within striking distance of both. We also discussed my next scan and I was delighted to discover that the plan is to do this within the next 3-4 weeks, sooner if it can be arranged. This is great news, as I’ve said before my numbers are good, but they are only indicators, only the scan will reveal how impactful the chemotherapy has been.
So, my attention now turns to cycle six, my LAST CYCLE – for the time being at least. We are planning a celebratory day on Friday. I’m going to be ringing the chemo-bell in the cancer centre to let everyone know that I’m done. Then, we’ll have relaxing afternoon, probably in the garden. In the evening we’ll be going to a smart Indian restaurant in Guildford called Raviz. I think that my ‘Dexy’ dose will keep me going until then.
