My men are away to watch the first football match of the season this afternoon (great idea, sharing a stadium with 10,000 other folk and their germs when your immune system is at next to nothing, n'cest pas?). So anyway, while me and the dog have got a gorgeously sunny, quiet house all to ourselves i thought I ought to do a nurse Sarah round up of the state of things here at the moment.
The really good news is that J's lump on his neck has gone. Completely and utterly. The other good news is that the back pain and night twitching I was worrying about earlier in the week seem to have gone too. So much so that he took the boys on a 10 mile bike ride the other day and had no ill effects. He's come out of the other side after his last chemo and has had another good few days again which is great.
Of course the nature of the beast (by which, i'm not sure if i mean his cancer, or my neuroticism!) means that there is always something to worry about. I'm worried today because he has got a sniffle and a sore throat. He is supposed to ring the ward if that happens but he wanted to go to the footie so he wouldn't. Hopefully it won't come to anything.
The other thing that has perturbed both of us is his weight loss. He has managed to eat even on his sicky chemo days so we were suprised to see that he has lost 10 pounds in 4 weeks. I actually think that maybe the last time he weighed himself he might have been unusually heavy and he's been really piggish the last couple of days since he weighed himself so perhaps it will all balance out. We'll mention it to the consultant on Wednesday anyway when he goes to start the dreaded BEACOPP routine....
The sad news is that his hair is coming out. He has lovely, lovely, black curly hair and it's coming out like mad. When he has a shower it's all over his face and in the plug hole and his pillow is covered in hair in the mornings. He is finding it prickly and annoying so even though you can't tell to look at him yet, I think he is going to get me to shave it off tonight. He wanted to have one last afternoon of normality at the footie. I haven't done much crying yet really, apart from at all those appointments when he was being diagnosed, but I think i will find this hard. It'll make him look vulnerable and he still doesn't often :-(
Anyway that's us. His other symptom at the moment is an aching arm where the drugs have gone in. That happened last time too and only lasted a few days so hope this does too....
Rightyho - better go off and do a bit of light house bleaching!!
Will leave you with this article Yahoo found for me last week. (I think yahoo has got wind that there's something going on here as I seem to be getting a fair few cancer related links lately).
www.yahoo.com/health/things-you-shouldnever-say-to-someone-who-has-cancer-93414490137.html
I thought this one was a bit harsh in places. I hate the strong/fighting thing, and the God doesn't give you more than you can handle angle. But are people really not supposed to say "how are you?" John doesn't mind that at all. he just hates the people who don't mention it or avoid him.
My personal top 3 have been:-
1. "My cousin had that (Hodgkins). He died..."
2. "Where is John having his treatment?" Cue sharp inhale of breath on being told "Well you watch the buggers...." followed by lengthy story of neglect and mistreatment of some relative at the place we are entrusting with John's life.
And no 3 my current favourite from my lovely friend "This whole thing with John has made us re-evaluate things and realise life is too short... so we've booked ourselves another fabulous 5 star all inclusive holiday to the carribean and we're off next wednesday". Lovely! Hope you have a really wonderful time. He's glad to have been of assistance!!!!!!! NOT!!!!!!!
