Update three weeks post op

Hi Tony,

Sounds like you’re doing really well for being only 3 weeks post surgery. Was it the Ivor Lewis op you had? Do you have the large wound on the right side of your chest or did you have the robotic procedure? From what you have said about your eating, I presume you didn’t have to have a feeding tube fitted. I hope your recovery continues as well as it has started. Best wishes, CB

• Hi cool blue , yeah was the ivor Lewis op, I didn't need a feeding tube .im still coughing and stuffs slowly coming off my chest but had a xray last week and alls clear , they just said obviously they clapsed my lung then I got pneumonia so its normal to still be coughing and feel a bit of discomfort.  When I say discomfort if I take a big breath at the top of the  breath I get a minor pain top of my rib cage and I then cough , I had two courses of steroids in hospital but they assure me I dont need more , ive been walking loads took my son and father to the coast and on my father's fit bit we walked 17 miles in 3 days lol I really didn't mean to walk that far but mooching round shops differant beaches etc . They said I have 6 - 8 weeks post op before I start chemo again and ive just started to get some sort of hair style back lol never mind it will grow back again 

Antibiotics not steroids 

That’s brilliant. There’s certainly no way I was walking those sort of distances at your stage! I’m nearly 17 months post surgery and  could manage it ok now. I try to get out for at least one good walk a day plus some cycling and swimming. I have also set up a wee gym in our shed and do some resistance exercises two or three times a week. I can eat pretty much anything I want now (have to go easy with chocolate though) albeit in small portion sizes. Intermittent reflux is my biggest problem as it can knock me back for a few days after a bad episode. Fortunately these episodes are becoming less frequent and usually occur when I eat past my 8pm cut off time. I had an annoying cough too for about 6 weeks after my surgery. You’ll probably find the post-op chemo tougher than the pre-op. I did anyway. After 4 cycles at 100% pre-op I only managed 3 cycles at 75% strength post-op but my oncologist was okay with that as my pathology was pretty good. 

• Ok , good to hear you are eating what you like and ive fancied chocolate but not gone there yet but like you said just smaller portions. I was a bit of a gannet I ate food fast and I could get through big portions,  now its practicing eating slowly and my eyes are defo bigger than my belly just need to know when to stop and and im learning thats before I feel full coz thats when it becomes uncomfortable etc so smaller slower is key . Yeah ive wondered what strengh second round of chemo will be ive got to go hospital 28th of July to see lab results of what they took , surgeon said it went really well but got to see how many lynth nodes they took . My mum had this cancer 7 years ago she struggled after having second chemo and they stopped had had same procedure as me etc but hers come back in covid as 3 brain tumers and they sent her home and we looked after her till she passed god bless her x she was 73 and hers was mor advanced than mine. I think she give me a nudge from up stairs as I wouldn't av known about this cancer or got checked out . I had that fear of thinking it can come back but got over that to the point of just stay positive no one knows what's round the corner ,every day is a blessing. 

Well done sounds like you’re doing great !!

Thank you Dibden doll