So technically speaking I don't think I was ever actually in Remission. I started with pains in my groin around the time of my 3 month check-up was given a date for a CT scan and then developed DVT. On Friday 19th August I received a letter for an appointment that afternoon for my scan results. The results showed that the cancer has moved and is pushing itself against my vain in my groin ( hence the DVT). Metastasis is the technical word for it.
So I start treatment at Burnley General Hospital on the 1st September 2011. Treatment is a little different to last time. I will have Cisplatin (which I had before) but in a larger dose every 3 weeks for 6 sessions and then Mitomycin every 2 week. These 2 different types of chemo attack the cells at different stages.
INFO cut and pasted lol
Chemotherapy drugs that affect cells only when they are dividing are called cell-cycle specific. Chemotherapy drugs that affect cells when they are at rest are called cell-cycle non-specific. The scheduling of chemotherapy is set based on the type of cells, rate at which they divide, and the time at which a given drug is likely to be effective. This is why chemotherapy is typically given in cycles.
Mitomycin is classified as an antitumor antibiotic. Antitumor antibiotics are made from natural products produced by species of the soil fungus Streptomyces. These drugs act during multiple phases of the cell cycle and are considered cell-cycle specific. There are several types of antitumor antibiotics:
Cisplatin is classified as an alkylating agent. Alkylating agents are most active in the resting phase of the cell. These drugs are cell cycle non-specific. There are several types of alkylating agents.
So there you go … hopefully I won’t be as ill this time ‘cause the radiotherapy was the bugger that made me ill. But the chemo will be stronger this time so we won’t know till we start. I will not lose my hair so that’s a bonus but treatment is going to go on for ever with it being in cycles and I have a wedding to plan so lots of PMA is going to be needed for the rest of this year. I know loads of you have already wished me lucked and said your thoughts are with me and this is gratefully appreciated by Carl and I and my family – Thank you.
