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After suffering with tummy problems and weight loss over and above my usual acid reflux nausea, I saw my GP Dr O’Connor who ordered blood tests. He also thought it was possible I had gall stones and a blockage in my bile duct and certainly some of my symptoms were fairly classic for that. Switching to a fat free diet can ease symptoms. I was already losing weight as I felt unwell particularly after eating and removing fat from my diet ensured I lost even more weight. When your “starting weight...
So the oncologist decided to put me on an accelerated protocol of 4 doses of EC over 8 weeks followed by 12 doses of paxataxil (I know this is the wrong spelling) over 12 weeks.
The first dose was on 18th June which went well - just the side effects to look forward to!
I feel I got off lightly with the nausea, presumably thanks to the meds I was sent home with. Got awful acid indigestion though :-(
Day 5 and 6 were pretty awful with quite a bit of pain which set me back a bit mentally but everything...
It’s time for another Dining with an Ostomate post – this week Debbie shares with us a DELICIOUS AND SIMPLE ‘Chicken and squash gratin’ recipe. It features the immune boosting, vitamin and fibre-packed butternut squash; and chicken breasts for an added protein punch.
Enjoy…
Chicken and squash gratin
Serves 4, easily halved, and freezes well.
Ingredients
1 tbsp vegetable oil.
1 onion, finely sliced.
1 leek, roughly sliced.
450g butternut squash, peeled and cut into 2.5...
T2NoMo SCC Right mandibular alveolus. Surgery April 2018 No PORT
18th January 2018, I see GP to discuss what to do about a hernia, and agree that surgery was needed. Then I said “by the way, I’ve got a sore patch in my mouth that doesn’t seem to heal up”. My GP referred me to the Max-Fac unit at Westmorland General Hospital, a biopsy was taken, and on 1st February I was told that I had a squamous cell cancer. That came as a great shock as the word cancer had never passed my...
I've revisited my blog once more, such harrowing reading it makes. It brings it all back to me, just how intense and suffocating the cancer journey was , resulting in me loosing my darling husband. Five years - in some ways it feels like yesterday but in other aspects it seems like it happened in another life time . I'm so glad I kept the blog though, it reminded me that I did all that I could to help Bryan on his final journey. I've often wondered if I could have done more but I know in my heart...
June’s here, and with it the Great British Summer...there’s still time for it to arrive, it's just over a week ‘til Summer officially begins.
Here's something to brighten your day, our favourite wellbeing tips from you, our members, over the past month…
“We all deal with this horrible situation in our own ways, but we all do understand. But I think for all of us the term taking life one hour at a time is never truer than in the first few weeks.”
Mush...
It’s Carers Week! A time to celebrate carers, but also recognise the potential impact of being a carer, and ensure they’re aware of and able to access support available to them. Caring for someone with cancer can be emotionally and physically exhausting – it’s important for carers to take time to look after themselves, and get support if it’s needed.
To recognise the above, I thought I’d share a few highlights from our Carers only group, where there’s an astounding...
So, as an aftercare precaution Rich was given a C.T scan of his whole body to check for any signs that the cancer had spread.
Whilst we were sat in the waiting area of the C.T unit, there were some lovely people also waiting for the same thing. One of them was a lady that had been diagnosed with breast cancer three weeks before and had not yet had any treatment although she had just been advised that the cancer had spread to her bones. Whilst chatting with her she said that her husband had cancer...
On 24th May this year (2019) we arrived at Birmingham City Hospital for Rich's surgery. The whole transition from admittance to bed was seamless and at 9am I was allowed in to sit with him. He was so nervous but the McMillan nurse Emma put his mind at rest and talked him through the whole process, being sure to answer any questions we may have. She then left her number if we thought of any questions afterwards. Obviously in that moment, you forget the 300 questions you had carefully prepared in the...
So on the 22nd of May this year (2019), our worlds were turned upside down. After attending a GP appointment two weeks before, for a swollen testicle, my partner Rich (Stricky1979 on here), was referred to the Birmingham City Hospital Urology department. Upon arrival he was given a hospital gown, a consultant examined him and immediately gave him forms and asked him to go down to the x-ray and blood test departments.
This was at 9:15am and by 11am, we were in the consultants room hearing those dreaded...
