Dead tumour!

As many of you know from Facebook (thanks for all the comments and likes), I had some good news about my scan when I saw my oncologist in clinic on Friday. Dr Lofts told me and Dad (my oncology clinic buddy) that the tumour looks like it has died!! Now, I was just hoping to hear that it hadn't grown and that there was nothing else showing up - there is nothing else showing up - but to hear that we'd killed the tumour was great news!! She showed us on the scan images that the tumour is showing as a black blob in the top of my liver. She said that this means that there is no blood flow in the tumour as it was not showing up any contrast dye that had been injected into me. This is in contrast to other scans that have shown it as a bright spot where a lot of the dye has been in the tumour. This is all great news! Whether it is a result of the chemo drugs or my mouse treatment or the other things I have been doing - trying to cut down on sugary foods, eating more fruit and veg, adding turmeric to random meals - I am not sure, but I expect it was a combination of factors. Anyway, whatever it was, it's something that has worked in my favour and I am not going to worry about it! I now have one final mouse treatment on Tuesday just to make doubly sure that nothing has the chance to do anything. It is then rest and recovery time before the operation in July and then twelve more weeks of chemo and eight more weeks of mouse treatment in the late summer / early autumn to just mop up any rogue bowel cancer cells that might be bobbing about! 


It turns out that I am going to have to have my PICC line out before the operation as they will be putting a central line into the same vein, so I may well be getting my PICC out on Tuesday after my mouse treatment. This will mean that I won't have to go to the hospital every week to get it cleaned and flushed and I will be able to leave off the cling-film every time I have a shower!! I'd then get another PICC put in before starting chemo again later in the year. This will obviously make life much easier over the next few weeks, but I am a bit nervous about getting it out and another one put in - it wasn't the most pleasant experience having it put in, but then I guess I'll know what to expect next time I have it put in. I'm also a bit nervous about having to be attacked by needles again when it comes to having to have my MRI in Guildford in three weeks and again for my anaesthetic for the operation. I hope though that my veins will be in a more cooperative mood than they were for the aborted CT last week. Oh well, bridges to be crossed when we get to them I guess!!!


All in all a good news day!


I've since been having a lazy weekend as my body decided to let me know that I am still not totally well, even with the tumour now being dead! To put it politely, I have not dared move too far from the bathroom. Oh well, hopefully all will settle down soon and I can enjoy going to the hospital for treatment and not come out sensitive to the cold and totally drained of energy (and hopefully having not spent too many hours there - the treatment should take a little over two hours and then who knows how long it'll take for them to take out the PICC).


Right then folks, I hope y'all have a great week 


xxxxx