Again . .

Today I went to the community hospital to see the Chest Consultant about this shortness of breath thang. One great thing about the little hospital is that there is no waiting around for Xrays etc ~ I was pictured, seen by the doc, had a syringe full of fluid removed and out again all within half an hour! If I was trying to see him at the clinic in Plymouth, I'd probably still be there right now . . . But, the bad news is that the fluid around my lungs has come back. Big time. I have to admit to crying when I saw todays Xrays compared to those 3 weeks ago. I am amazed that I can breath at all ~ there was less than a third of my left lung showing and my right has about 2 litres of fluid surrounding it. So, the plan of action is to have another CT scan on Tuesday to determine where this fluid is coming from. The sample that was taken (very professionally and painlessly, I have to say!) will be analysed and hopefully we'll get some ideas from that over the next week. They'd like me to keep my fluid (!?) on board for the scan, as it gives a better indication of where it is coming from, but if I can't cope then I just have to phone up for an appointment to have a 'couple of pints' drained. But the 'Big C' word was mentioned. Yes, it could well be a malignant effusion ~ and it's not unlikely with my history. I just keep hoping that the fact that the last CT taken 6 weeks ago showed nothing means that it isn't a return of the cancer. Needless to say, I didn't go into work afterwards . . .