I am in the middle of my second lung chemo session & feeling very well, & the oestrogen pills (yes, just estrogen) for the breast cancer are causing no problems. I see consultants for both problems on 3 & 6 April.
Willa has been here for 2 weeks & has made a major difference to Roy's & my daily lives, doing everything from laundry & cooking to cracking jokes & buoying us up -- & there are four more weeks to go before her return to the US!!
Roy has unfortunately not felt very well since his fall some weeks ago, but we hope he'll soon be up to travel to Manchester for a visit with Harry & family in about a week. So we're not doing too badly, if not as well as might have been hoped.
Monday, 2 March 2009
Wednesday, 11 February 2009
11 February 2009
On Monday I got the final cancer diagnosis on both breasts: the tumours are stage one (the earliest) & treatable by one oestrogen tablet a day, which may shrink the lot. I'll see that specialist again on 3 April, when I also see my lung man after my current chemo session ends, so let's hope it's happy news then!
I'm feeling rather well except for a little cold & the absolutely miserable weather we've been having -- every variation on piercing cold hovering above & below freezing, rain, snow & ice. Roy is recovering only very slowly from his fall. But the cat is better for the moment (it's not the thyroid), Willa flies in on Friday for six (yes!) weeks & the whole family are gathering here for the weekend, so that should be jolly.
I'm feeling rather well except for a little cold & the absolutely miserable weather we've been having -- every variation on piercing cold hovering above & below freezing, rain, snow & ice. Roy is recovering only very slowly from his fall. But the cat is better for the moment (it's not the thyroid), Willa flies in on Friday for six (yes!) weeks & the whole family are gathering here for the weekend, so that should be jolly.
Friday, 6 February 2009
5 February 2009
Monday was an eventful day. Roy fell face flat in the hall outside the carpeted bathroom at 8am, his nose bleeding, his cheek badly bruised from his glasses & both his hands (skin unbroken, only slightly puffy & showing my bruises) pulsating with pain. The paramedic I had to call in to get him up did not think any bones were broken & our GP who came in that afternoon (house call!) agreed. But his hands were in constant searing pain, & he winced not only when asked to move them but even when they were lightly touched or he tried to turn the pages of a book. No painkillers of any sort worked either, so we ended up in the Ipswich Hospital emergency room at 2am that night, where an X-ray confirmed no breaks but nothing else & no real diagnosis. He has been in bed or his lounge chair ever since & is recovering very slowly -- now able to pick up a glass for a drink or hold the phone but unable to function properly at the computer keyboard.
Also on Monday I got confirmation of cancer in my right breast but have to wait till 9 February for final word about treatment (hopefully oestrogen pills). I had to have another more carefully targeted bit taken from the left breast for biopsy & the final results of this will not be available until 16 Feb. Meanwhile, I continue on my second course of chemo for the lung cancer for about an hour every other week until just before Palm Sunday. So far it's been as easy as the first time. Our cat, Dizzy (14+), is also awaiting a definite diagnosis. It's probably a thyroid tumour, as diabetes & kidney problems have been ruled out. And so it goes!
Thanks for all your thoughts & prayers. Keep them coming & going.
Also on Monday I got confirmation of cancer in my right breast but have to wait till 9 February for final word about treatment (hopefully oestrogen pills). I had to have another more carefully targeted bit taken from the left breast for biopsy & the final results of this will not be available until 16 Feb. Meanwhile, I continue on my second course of chemo for the lung cancer for about an hour every other week until just before Palm Sunday. So far it's been as easy as the first time. Our cat, Dizzy (14+), is also awaiting a definite diagnosis. It's probably a thyroid tumour, as diabetes & kidney problems have been ruled out. And so it goes!
Thanks for all your thoughts & prayers. Keep them coming & going.
Tuesday, 27 January 2009
27 January 2009
A mammogram and ultrasound yesterday confirmed cancer, & the results of a needle biopsy will be given me when I see Dr Smith, my breast oncologist, on Mon, 2 February. It will be another week before I find out whether the cancer will respond to oestrogen treatment, as the doctor hopes, or will require some other treatment.
The really good news is that Willa is coming back to visit in February & that I have heard from so many American friends (as well as English who knew all about it anyway) since I finally got this blog updated. Thanks for your thoughts. Sorry that several of you have been unable to get through to the blog, but I can't help there except to say it works for many & let me know by e-mail to keep you updated.
The really good news is that Willa is coming back to visit in February & that I have heard from so many American friends (as well as English who knew all about it anyway) since I finally got this blog updated. Thanks for your thoughts. Sorry that several of you have been unable to get through to the blog, but I can't help there except to say it works for many & let me know by e-mail to keep you updated.
Sunday, 25 January 2009
25 January 2009
I have an appointment tomorrow, Monday, at the breast clinic at Ipswich Hospital for diagnostic tests and hope to have a diagnosis very soon.
Saturday, 17 January 2009
17 January 2009
A complete change now, only 4 days later!! On 14 January I discovered a lump on my right breast & saw my GP the next day, who immediately faxed my oncologist. So now I'm waiting once again for what happens next, as I don't know what the procedure is & I haven't been able to speak with my specialist nurse at the hospital. This sort of break in my story is what I avoided previously by waiting to write until I thought something was settled.
13 January 2009
Sorry for the long delay in putting any real material on this blog, but I kept waiting until I
had something more definite to say.
First, the bad news. In late August when I was in accident & emergency in Ipswich for a gastro-intestinal problem that had started in March when the clocks changed, a spot on my right lung showed up on an x-ray. By the middle of September after a bronchoscopy & a CT scan I was diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer that had spread to both lungs, as well as the base of the spine, so that only chemotherapy to slow down the cancer perhaps and then general palliative care are possible. The lung people said my time was months, but the oncologist was much more optimistic, speaking of a similar case still being treated after 2 years.
The good news is that I am in no pain & am functioning rather well physically. I get tired very easily & need at least one nap a day in addition to a long night's sleep. And I haven't been able to concentrate on reading anything except newspapers & magazines. After a course of easy chemo(little nausea, no hair loss), in mid December a CT scan showed shrinkage of the original tumor, no further spread of the cancer cells & elimination of some liquid from the lungs. I start another coourse of the same chemo on 21 January, & Dr Podd (my consultant) suggests a sunny holiday!
Since early spring Roy has had a number of health problems as well, from severe gout to bad knee joints, & a rising PSA count shows his prostate cancer is on the move. He has regular hormone injections & also infusions to replace calcium lost from the bones. We are both being treated as advanced cancer patients & share a Macmillan nurse (a special cancer nurse who helps in lots of practical ways & makes house calls).
The tool dealer who rented the shop for a some 3 years left for larger premises at the end of September. Roy is still selling new books as well as secondhand & antiquarian books from his web site by post & to personal callers at the house. We put the house on the market in July with the intention of moving to Manchester. However, it is a very complicated sale item as it involves both commercial & domestic usage at the moment & the local government planners don't want to lose any more shops in the High St, whereas most interest we've had is for just living quarters. It may take several years, especially in the present financial situation.
The children & all our friends have been wonderful with visits, food parcels & all sorts of psychological & hands-on care. Willa visited for a month in October, when we celebrated my 77th birthday with a knock-out lunch for 40 plus in the old showroom & office, & the whole family gathered for 5 splendid days at Christmas.
had something more definite to say.
First, the bad news. In late August when I was in accident & emergency in Ipswich for a gastro-intestinal problem that had started in March when the clocks changed, a spot on my right lung showed up on an x-ray. By the middle of September after a bronchoscopy & a CT scan I was diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer that had spread to both lungs, as well as the base of the spine, so that only chemotherapy to slow down the cancer perhaps and then general palliative care are possible. The lung people said my time was months, but the oncologist was much more optimistic, speaking of a similar case still being treated after 2 years.
The good news is that I am in no pain & am functioning rather well physically. I get tired very easily & need at least one nap a day in addition to a long night's sleep. And I haven't been able to concentrate on reading anything except newspapers & magazines. After a course of easy chemo(little nausea, no hair loss), in mid December a CT scan showed shrinkage of the original tumor, no further spread of the cancer cells & elimination of some liquid from the lungs. I start another coourse of the same chemo on 21 January, & Dr Podd (my consultant) suggests a sunny holiday!
Since early spring Roy has had a number of health problems as well, from severe gout to bad knee joints, & a rising PSA count shows his prostate cancer is on the move. He has regular hormone injections & also infusions to replace calcium lost from the bones. We are both being treated as advanced cancer patients & share a Macmillan nurse (a special cancer nurse who helps in lots of practical ways & makes house calls).
The tool dealer who rented the shop for a some 3 years left for larger premises at the end of September. Roy is still selling new books as well as secondhand & antiquarian books from his web site by post & to personal callers at the house. We put the house on the market in July with the intention of moving to Manchester. However, it is a very complicated sale item as it involves both commercial & domestic usage at the moment & the local government planners don't want to lose any more shops in the High St, whereas most interest we've had is for just living quarters. It may take several years, especially in the present financial situation.
The children & all our friends have been wonderful with visits, food parcels & all sorts of psychological & hands-on care. Willa visited for a month in October, when we celebrated my 77th birthday with a knock-out lunch for 40 plus in the old showroom & office, & the whole family gathered for 5 splendid days at Christmas.
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