Monday 31 October 2011

Thank heavens it’s over! I made it to my 80th birthday on Tuesday, 25 October, with proper celebrations. The whole family gathered gradually over the preceding weekend and the temperature picked up until noon on Tuesday, when we were joined by just a few local friends. We began with champagne and nibbles and then trooped down to the Barn Café at Alder Carr Farm for a main course, then back home for coffee and birthday cake.

There were two stands of goodies – a pile of meringues topped by the number ‘70’, and a collection of cupcakes by ‘80’ – as we were marking 150 years: Willa’s birthday this past January as well as mine.

Willa was here for the past 6 weeks and helped me with all sorts of tidying up of papers, pictures, household things, etc. We had some nice excursions around Needham, plus visits to Manchester (Imperial War Museum North, BBC Media City, City Art Gallery) and Woking (Wisley RHS garden, Winkworth Arboretum, the Watts Gallery – the Surrey Hills are incredibly gorgeous just now). Willa flew home yesterday and I miss her awfully.

I continue to be very lucky in my response to the chemo I was changed to in June (Gemcitabine), which I have every 2 weeks and which isn’t debilitating. I get tired very easily but can usually recharge with lots of rest stops during the day and can manage to sit up talking for hours. But I am planning ahead for difficult times, so looking into carers for when I can’t manage for myself anymore and visited St Elizabeth’s Hospice in Ipswich for an introductory session today. See a picture of the Halloween mask I made during the craft session on my Skype profile.

Meanwhile, Kate and Harry manage to visit Needham regularly on weekends and lots of friends come for a night or so. Janet and Margaret were here in August for 2 ½ weeks. So anybody is welcome especially if you are prepared to go to the fish and chip shop or prepare a meal.

Thanks for all the cards, emails and gifts that I carefully saved to open on my birthday (unlike Roy, who was always an immediate opener). They were greatly appreciated as all your messages, prayers, phone calls, etc have been over the past 3 years. I’d like to acknowledge everyone personally but just can’t manage it and hope you’ll accept this apology for not doing so. Please keep the messages coming in.

Saturday 7 May 2011

What a weekend! We gathered in front of the TV watching the royal wedding from about 9am on – we being Willa & me; Kate & Chris; Harry, Helen, Isabel (who at 9 has been a bridesmaid at least 2 or 3 times) & Gabriel (at intervals from his laptop games). On Saturday we read every word in the newspapers & looked at the photos & all agreed that it was an impeccable affair unsullied by anti-royalist considerations.














We were joined by Janet & Margaret on Sunday, when we visited a lovely bluebell wood near Needham Market. (See photos) This was yet another beautiful day typical of the unbelievable run of warm, sunny days we’ve had for a month or more (surely our summer season). Willa & I especially spent much of Monday watching breaking news of Bin Laden’s death, as we have continued to do daily. Indeed a memorable weekend, full of spectacular happenings as well as lots of joy & happy times together.













I had an MRI scan recently for something new that seemed to have developed; fortunately it was okay. But a regular chest x-ray showed a slight increase in the size of the original lung tumour, indicating that it is no longer responding to the protein-inhibiting Tarceva that I have been taking since last June.

On Thursday I saw Dr. Podd, who has recommended that I return to an intravenous chemo (gemcitabine) similar in effects to the vinorelbine I took for 18 months after my diagnosis nearly 3 years ago. These effects did not destroy all my quality of life, although they were not as easy on me as the recent Tarceva. (For instance, I didn’t lose my hair although it thinned considerably, & I was terribly tired ). Other good news is that the steroids are keeping the polymyalgia muscular pains under control. I may make 80 in October yet!

Willa is here for another month, during which there are possibilities of all sorts of excursions, including a visit to Manchester. So I hope to report on more jolly times soon. Please keep me in your thoughts & prayers.

26 March 2011

No news for 3 months has been both good & bad. On my last cancer checkup 2 weeks ago everything was okay. However, there's something new to contend with since January: polymyalgia rheumatica, a kind of rheumatism affecting the muscles of the neck, back, arms, shoulders, thighs. It's quite painful, the cause unknown & the duration usually 2 to 3 years. It causes excessive fatigue (picking up a pen or getting on line on the computer is diffcult much of the time) & the treatment is steroids, the chief problem being finding as low a dosage as possible to relieve the pain without incurring too many of the steroid's numerous side effects (no fat face so far). I need lots of little rests throughout the day & have to take things a day at a time. There seems to be a lot of polymyalgia around these days, & friend in Needham has even organised a local support group, so I am not on my own.

The sub-zero temperatures & snow stopped about Christmas time, but it has continued to be very cold in the 5C/40F range with dismal grey skies & frequent hard frosts. Just this week, though, there was a real feeling of spring in the air, & today has been beautifully warm, so perhaps we will emerge from this awful winter after all. I'm sure that will help my mental as well as physical state.

I can manage cooking very light meals, trips to the grocery store by foot or in the car, evening meetings in Needham & bus rides to Ipswich for matinees at the Film Theatre or an exhibition. Recently I've had a few days in Manchester with Harry & family & also in Woking with Kate and Chris, which included some interesting excursions. Now that the weather is improving I hope to have more visitors (in addition to the faithful family who have kept coming regularly in all ditions)-- and Willa is flying in on 20 April for 6 weeks, so that will be a wonderful diversion.

A final thing. My old e-mail address of julanne@royarnold.com was changed over a year ago to julannelynnarnold@btinternet.com . I thought Harry notified everybody on my mailing list at the time, but recently I discovered some messages sent to the old address, which is no longer active, & some people have written about difficulties in getting through to me. So please check to see that you are using the up-to-date address.

A happy Easter to you all!