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Last week I got the results of mid- December's blood tests. The highlight was the CA125. It started at around 580 back in November. Two weeks later it was down to 470 or so. A month later and it was around 230. I think this constitutes a trend and one that would indicate the Rucaparib is working. Hurray! It will need confirmation with a scan and I'll have one in the next couple of weeks. My consultant said this may be too early as it can take 4-5 months to see the tumours shrink. But she'd like...
Hi not sure if im doin this right lol not very good at this. Well i was diagnosed with breast cancer in aug which is her2 positive i went on a trial so i have had 4 lots of T my tumor shrunk so i had surgery a WLE my results was lymth nodes clear and margins clear which is good there was a 5mm of residual which was grade 2 now they want me to have 3 more chemo the fec part why?? Surely the 15 lots of rads and my herceptin would be enough but they say its my choice. I dont know what to do for the...
"Hive" is what sprang to mind on entering the Chemo day centre at Shrewsbury... it consists of 24? cubicles with Layzee-boy style chairs, along with a drip, table, plug sockets and optional visitor chair - which are laid out around a central nursing and admin desk. There are little trolleys of things which get wheeled about and magically filled up - along with mobile pc workstations....
It is a very well oiled machine indeed - I had a bag of fluids for 2 hours followed by some anti sickness...
I will move on this time. I need to grow, I need to find myself. Who am i? I want to find out.
For once I feel that I am ready now. I may have taken my time but who was really helping me move forward. No one was, it was only me who could get myself out of the situation I was in. I needed time to realise that it was only me holding me back.
You see I have always had a guide and she was my rock. She was my best friend my enemy at times my comfort, my strength and my backbone. Yeah you guessed it she...
This is my timeline of appointments. And cannulas. This seems to involve a lot of cannulas. And blood tests.
24 October: GP
31 October: Clinic. Biopsies.
15 November: Clinic. Results. Bloods: 1
22 November: Oncology consultant. Bloods: 2
24 November: CT scan. Cannula count: 1
28 November: MRI scan. Cannula count: 2
2 December: Chemo preassessment. Bloods: 3
6 December: FEC1. Cannula count: 3
7 December: Admitted to the ward. Drip. Cannula count: 4. Bloods: 4
16 December...
I’ve just added my comments to a discussion thread and was praising the effectiveness of Mindfulness. It made me realise how far I’ve come with this and how it really has helped me navigate a wobble in my treatment. Without it, I would have been sailing in the storm, floundering around as the wind whipped up towering waves to crash onto the deck drowning me in my own tears and self pity.
That’s not to say I’ve been calmly watching from a distance, bathed in sunshine and happiness....
Thursday 12th January,
The last chemo session on Tuesday went well, my consultant no2 popped in and said hello while I was plugged in and said that she'd received the information from the hospital and consultant no1 where I go for scans and plans and that she was extremely pleased with the results, and that the shrinkage results justifies pumping the chemotherapy into me. I couldn't agree more, but am a little more concerned about the second half of chemo as it's a different type, what if it stops...
I WISH I COULD STILL DO THIS...
In my strive to have a routine, and steps that will help my daily routine, I self-examined.
In my self-examination this week I've noticed my right shoulder and shoulder plat (surgery side) have been tender/painful like for ever now (was ignoring it) and I cannot lift it like the left arm...in fact, I have to be very careful with the whole arm. ''Arm at Risk'' stuff... So getting dress is often a challenge.
That small practical problem on my right...
I have long extolled the benefits of a PICC line when receiving chemotherapy and given the choice I would always opt for one over cannulas.
However.
When my chemo stopped in early December I assumed, wrongly, that the PICC line would be removed. My oncologist thought it should stay in ‘just in case’. It wasn’t removed which meant that it still had to be flushed and redressed on a weekly basis.
The first week I was told that the district nurse would call ’sometime during the day...
A bit of background - I've got terminal cancer, since my bowel cancer decided to move into the lymph nodes around my aorta. Chemo isn't going to be a short term thing for me, but ongoing until it stops working. So life has to keep going around it!
I've been on treatment since March last yer (2016) and I've realized that my fitness levels have dropped even lower than they were before - which wasn't great even then! But I want to help my treatment and my body as much as I can, so...
