Well folks, I've finally started getting on with trying to stave off the effects of the steroids and am hitting the streets for my walks. On Tuesday, Sarah and I spent two hours walking around the common. It was slow progress, with me walking about half the speed of normal, but it was good to get out in the sunshine and fresh air. Sarah enjoyed messing around on some of the children's play equipment (I am still negotiating the right to publish some lovely photographic evidence of this!) and we managed to avoid getting attacked by some odd looking ducks that seemed to be put out that we hadn't taken any bread!
Wednesday was the day to remove my second condom bottle. This time we changed tactics and instead of waiting around all day for a district nurse to arrange to come in the evening and then arrive 2 hours after they said they would, we headed back to the hospital and my lovely chemo nurses sorted me out in less than an hour. All this meant that I was able to get out of the house for a spot of lunch with Sarah, her friend Jane and Jane's baby girl Alex. Another cute baby and she won some extra brownie points by pooping so much that it came out of her nappy onto Sarah!! Ha ha ha! Once she (Alex) had been freshened up with a new nappy and baby grow I had a little cuddle, giving me the chance to try to remember the words to nursery rhymes! I think I remembered most of the words and may well have made some up too!!
After dispatching Sarah back up north first thing yesterday, I have been flying solo the last couple of days. Yesterday I made it for an hours walk around the shops and to the Post Office - remember folks, it is Mothers Day this weekend - to post a pressie to Granny from Sarah and I. Apparently it has arrived already - thanks Royal Mail!
Yesterday evening ended up with me watching the DVD of Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Cancer. Kris is a cancer survivor in the US who has written books and made a documentary of her cancer adveenture. I thinks she is a very inspiring woman who is living with her tumours and getting on with life. I have found her books and the DVD very informative, often humorous and offering a great perspective on how to not let cancer take over your life. After watching the DVD, I made the possible mistake of hitting the internet again and spent a few ££!! Oops! I am just grateful that I have porters to accept my parcels rather than having to traipse down to the sorting office. One of the things that I ordered was this cute t-shirt (a semi-colon to cover the scar from my sub-total colectomy)!
http://www.cafepress.co.uk/+semicolon_organic_womens_fitted_tshirt_dark,391709986
And so what have I managed to achieve today? Well, I have had another walk on the common and today managed an hour and a half - I covered much the same ground as Tuesday and so my pace must have picked up a bit. I did find Sarah another playground to mess around on though!! So there may be another embarrassing photo op in a week or so when she is next down for baby-sitting / house elf duties! ;-)
When I got back from my walk, having listened to my audible book - I think I got through 22 chapters of Private by James Patterson - I made the mistake of sitting down on the sofa so two hours latter I woke up!! It made me feel a bit grotty so I guess I am not yet at the chemo phase of needing an afternoon sleep yet! Although energy levels are low, I think there is a little way to go before the need for a siesta kicks in. Hopefully I wont get that far for a few cycles yet - I think it was beyond the half way stage last time around that the need kicked in.
Anyway, I am now gearing up for a weekend of sport and parents! Tomorrow we get to see if the new look England rugby team can hold off the Irish and if the Welsh can win another grand-slam! We also get to see what the Beeb can do with only having highlights of the Formula 1. I hope that they do a good job of it as I have got a number of hours set aside this year with the need for something to do! ;-) It's all a good thing that I am an armchair sports fan!!!
Next week looks like it could be a busy one - on Monday we get to have our first venture to the Royal Surrey Hospital in Guildford to meet with my liver specialist. Hopefully he will be able to give us a bit on an idea of what surgery will be needed and the timeline for it all. I am expecting that I will be set back to square one with having abdominal surgery again - and just when I was staring to build on my six-pack!! ;-) I wonder if I can persuade this surgeon to include a free tummy tuck and liposuction this time. Last time, they wouldn't agree as I was having a three-for-one on body part removal as it was (most of my colon, an ovarian cyst and some fibroids)!!! After Monday's appointment I am having a fun few days with an old uni friend coming down to help me celebrate getting through another birthday on chemo! Next year, the big 35 will NOT be spent in this situation and I WILL be celebrating with the good bubbles rather than lemonade or Perrier water! The end of the week will then be spent going to and from the hospital again for a blood test and PICC line flush on Thursday and my fortnightly oncology clinic appointment on Friday, with Mum and Dad no doubt coming back for that. By the end of the week, my poor parents will have certainly clocked up the motorway miles!!
Anyway folks, there is just time for me to catch up on some US cop drama - NCIS and The Mentalist - before bed!
Take care everyone and happy mothers day to all you mums out there!!!!
xxxxxx
Friday, 16 March 2012
Monday, 12 March 2012
I feel the need ... The need for speed!!
Well, it's a great way to finish off chemo infusion day ... Sarah and I are watching our favourite movie on Film 4. Can you guess what it is?!?
Today went well - infusion went in and I'm now hooked up to condom bottle 2! We only had to wait an hr for treatment to start, so that's a marked improvement on last time. This time the wait was down to a deep clean of the pharmacy meaning that they were running behind on making up the chemo drugs to my specific prescription. Hopefully then we'll be able to start around about my appointment time next time!!
I'm suffering from cold sensitivity a bit again and my skin is a bit sensitive to touch. Still both relatively mild compared with last years chemo so all in all, thumbs up!! :-). Still loving the lack of needles and poking around for a vein that my PICC line provides!
Yesterday I went to a friend's little boy's 1st birthday party - happy birthday Oliver!! It was great fun and lovely to catch up with everyone. Parents have my utmost admiration for coping with kids though. I don't know how you all do it, I can barely sort myself out at the best of times let alone sort out little peeps too!!!
I've finally finished playing phone tag with the cancer nurse specialist at The Royal Surrey Hospital where I will be going for my liver surgery. We've been exchanging phone messages for a week now - not helped by my inability to recall my mobile phone number correctly - chemo brain!! Anyway, she thinks that it's best to wait until after the chemo to have an MRI so we can see how the tumour has reacted to the chemo. Logical when you think about it!
Anyway, I've not managed to get up to any mischief the last few days so I'll sign off now.
One last quote "Slider, you stink!" answers on a postcard please!!
Xxxx
Today went well - infusion went in and I'm now hooked up to condom bottle 2! We only had to wait an hr for treatment to start, so that's a marked improvement on last time. This time the wait was down to a deep clean of the pharmacy meaning that they were running behind on making up the chemo drugs to my specific prescription. Hopefully then we'll be able to start around about my appointment time next time!!
I'm suffering from cold sensitivity a bit again and my skin is a bit sensitive to touch. Still both relatively mild compared with last years chemo so all in all, thumbs up!! :-). Still loving the lack of needles and poking around for a vein that my PICC line provides!
Yesterday I went to a friend's little boy's 1st birthday party - happy birthday Oliver!! It was great fun and lovely to catch up with everyone. Parents have my utmost admiration for coping with kids though. I don't know how you all do it, I can barely sort myself out at the best of times let alone sort out little peeps too!!!
I've finally finished playing phone tag with the cancer nurse specialist at The Royal Surrey Hospital where I will be going for my liver surgery. We've been exchanging phone messages for a week now - not helped by my inability to recall my mobile phone number correctly - chemo brain!! Anyway, she thinks that it's best to wait until after the chemo to have an MRI so we can see how the tumour has reacted to the chemo. Logical when you think about it!
Anyway, I've not managed to get up to any mischief the last few days so I'll sign off now.
One last quote "Slider, you stink!" answers on a postcard please!!
Xxxx
Saturday, 10 March 2012
24 hrs of freedom
Mum and Dad have just left so I now have 24 hrs flying solo until Sarah arrives tomorrow for the start of cycle 2. What mischief can get up to!!??!!?? ;-)
I went to yoga this morning and really enjoyed the class. It's been two weeks since I last did any yoga and I could tell. The sofa slumping has got to stop and I am going to try to incorporate more yoga, even if it's just a few stretches a day.
Yesterday's check up with my oncologist went well. All my blood tests came back fine and she was happy with how I'm going in terms of side effects. Therefore we are all go for cycle 2 starting on Monday afternoon.
I'm now catching up on the highlights of the swimming trails and then it's the rugby double header (must not sit on the sofa all day!!).
Have a great weekend everyone
Xxxx
I went to yoga this morning and really enjoyed the class. It's been two weeks since I last did any yoga and I could tell. The sofa slumping has got to stop and I am going to try to incorporate more yoga, even if it's just a few stretches a day.
Yesterday's check up with my oncologist went well. All my blood tests came back fine and she was happy with how I'm going in terms of side effects. Therefore we are all go for cycle 2 starting on Monday afternoon.
I'm now catching up on the highlights of the swimming trails and then it's the rugby double header (must not sit on the sofa all day!!).
Have a great weekend everyone
Xxxx
Friday, 9 March 2012
So, what has been going on then?
Well, after crashing five times whilst trying to buy some bits and bobs from Amazon (presents for others not for me this time) I've given up on my laptop!! It's lucky it's not been jumped on and thrown out of the window!! Stupid thing! I am beginning to think that if I am not going to go bonkers over the next few months with it I am going to have to invest in a new laptop. So folks, I would appreciate some recommendations please? I mainly use the laptop for the internet as well as iTunes and a bit of photo editing (photo storage is now all on a separate hard drive). I don't do gaming but will need some MS word and excel to do a few things every now and then. Think that's about it. I've had my current laptop about 6 yrs so specs are pretty old. Thanks in advance peeps!!
Ok, while we're on a roll with requests for help, I also want to get a scented candle / candles for some relaxation / meditation mood setting. I don't want anything too overpowering as my flat is only small. I tend to like citrusy scents, but anything to set me on the right road would be good, so any tips?
Right, I think that concludes this evenings request slot, although any books, DVDs or tv box sets that can be recommended, that's always great!! Thanks a million!!
Anyway, what have I been up to over the last few days, apart from having a tantrum at my computer?! Well, all in all it's been fairly uneventful. I went back to mum and dad's last Friday and as they've been reading this, they had their eye on me (hello Mum and Dad), so there were no misadventures. I didn't manage to get my walk in everyday - rain and rugby conspired against me on Sunday - but Dad and I did about a mile on Saturday to see the ducks at the end of the lane (luckily for the ducks, there was a little girl already feeding them as we'd not taken any bread!!). Mum and I did a lap of the park another day, and I guess that was nearly a mile.
The highlight of my time back home was having my old (as in known her a long time, not as in she's old - she's younger than me) friend Jane come over to see me, along with her mum and her three month old son. Oscar is such a little cutey!!! He was happy to give me a cuddle (it has been known for babies to take one look at me and burst into tears) and then we must have worn him out as he had a little power nap!!! I think mum was getting ideas, but you'll have to wait a while on that score I think mum!! Thanks Jane, Doreen and Oscar for coming to see me and hopefully I'll see you all again soon!!
So what else did I do?? Oh yes, I had a lovely shopping trip to Morrisons!! Now normally before I leave home to come back to London I do a bit of a shop in the supermarket as they are big out of town jobs so have more stuff than you can get in the high street versions in London. Also, morrisons had just re-opened with a huge new green grocery section so I was planning on stocking my fridge with lovely fresh organic fruit and veg (am trying to go more organic now and reduce the chemicals my body receives - its getting enough at the moment with the cytotoxic chemo drugs!!). Anyway, it seems morrisons are not great stockists of organic produce!! I couldn't believe it, but I think there were only about a dozen different fruits and veggies that were organic!! Now I guess you can probably pick up more organic stuff at the various farm shops but it really amazed me! I couldn't find any organic meat either. All in all morrisons - very poor show!! It makes me wonder if we really are more spoiled with the availability of this stuff in London? Is it that with having organic food shops like Whole Foods and As Nature Intended the supermarkets around London stock more organic products than elsewhere in the country as a way of competing? Hummm
I came back to the big smoke last night to find I've finally got an appointment to see the liver specialist in Guildford for a week Monday. I also had a message from the nurse specialist in guildford wanting to arrange for an MRI to be done, ideally before seeing the specialist! Of course, when I tried to return her call, I was told she's not at work til Monday! Typical! Don't really know why she couldn't have called my mobile if they needed to get things done so quickly!! Oh well, I guess it's saving the NHS ££ if they don't call mobiles!! Hopefully we'll be able to make contact on Monday and we'll get this next ball rolling too!!
I had to pop to the hospital this morning for a blood test. I took mum with me, which was a bit of a gamble as we don't tend to come out of visits to the hospital on our own without some eventfully happenings!! The first time was when they found the tumour in my bowel so I guess nothing could beat that! Last time though was the infamous scan day of my first chemo adventure, which involved hospital gowns and firemen - I'm sure you all have heard the story!! Anyway, we managed to escape the hospital without much incident today, although it turns out you can rip skin off with a dressing and then it stings like f**k when the line entry site is cleaned with an alcohol swab!!! Oh well, another wound to add to the gorgeous bruise I've got going on still!!
Did I say that my trip home was uneventful? Well, it turns out that the lovely London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham felt that I needed a little photographic reminder of our drive down last Friday afternoon and kindly asked for some ££ in return!!! I finally fell foul of the traffic in front of me stopping just in time for me to be stuck with the back of my car still in a box junction!! Grrr. I guess I'm lucky that it's the first time I've been caught though after 10 yrs living in London.
Well, it's clinic day tomorrow so the Vince family entourage will be hopefully not passing too many hours in the waiting room for my appointment with the oncology registrar - hope they've read through my notes, as I normally see my wonderful consultant!! So far so not too bad - the sensitivity to the cold only lasted a few days last week and the nausea not much longer. I was shocked at how my energy just drained away as the drugs went in but this week my energy levels have picked up again. I'm even hoping to do a yoga class on Saturday morning, although I'm not ruling out starting the meditation phase a bit earlier than the rest of the class!! ;-)
Anyway folks, if there's anyone there who's not fallen asleep with these ramblings, thanks for reading!!
Take care y'all!!
Xxxx
Ok, while we're on a roll with requests for help, I also want to get a scented candle / candles for some relaxation / meditation mood setting. I don't want anything too overpowering as my flat is only small. I tend to like citrusy scents, but anything to set me on the right road would be good, so any tips?
Right, I think that concludes this evenings request slot, although any books, DVDs or tv box sets that can be recommended, that's always great!! Thanks a million!!
Anyway, what have I been up to over the last few days, apart from having a tantrum at my computer?! Well, all in all it's been fairly uneventful. I went back to mum and dad's last Friday and as they've been reading this, they had their eye on me (hello Mum and Dad), so there were no misadventures. I didn't manage to get my walk in everyday - rain and rugby conspired against me on Sunday - but Dad and I did about a mile on Saturday to see the ducks at the end of the lane (luckily for the ducks, there was a little girl already feeding them as we'd not taken any bread!!). Mum and I did a lap of the park another day, and I guess that was nearly a mile.
The highlight of my time back home was having my old (as in known her a long time, not as in she's old - she's younger than me) friend Jane come over to see me, along with her mum and her three month old son. Oscar is such a little cutey!!! He was happy to give me a cuddle (it has been known for babies to take one look at me and burst into tears) and then we must have worn him out as he had a little power nap!!! I think mum was getting ideas, but you'll have to wait a while on that score I think mum!! Thanks Jane, Doreen and Oscar for coming to see me and hopefully I'll see you all again soon!!
So what else did I do?? Oh yes, I had a lovely shopping trip to Morrisons!! Now normally before I leave home to come back to London I do a bit of a shop in the supermarket as they are big out of town jobs so have more stuff than you can get in the high street versions in London. Also, morrisons had just re-opened with a huge new green grocery section so I was planning on stocking my fridge with lovely fresh organic fruit and veg (am trying to go more organic now and reduce the chemicals my body receives - its getting enough at the moment with the cytotoxic chemo drugs!!). Anyway, it seems morrisons are not great stockists of organic produce!! I couldn't believe it, but I think there were only about a dozen different fruits and veggies that were organic!! Now I guess you can probably pick up more organic stuff at the various farm shops but it really amazed me! I couldn't find any organic meat either. All in all morrisons - very poor show!! It makes me wonder if we really are more spoiled with the availability of this stuff in London? Is it that with having organic food shops like Whole Foods and As Nature Intended the supermarkets around London stock more organic products than elsewhere in the country as a way of competing? Hummm
I came back to the big smoke last night to find I've finally got an appointment to see the liver specialist in Guildford for a week Monday. I also had a message from the nurse specialist in guildford wanting to arrange for an MRI to be done, ideally before seeing the specialist! Of course, when I tried to return her call, I was told she's not at work til Monday! Typical! Don't really know why she couldn't have called my mobile if they needed to get things done so quickly!! Oh well, I guess it's saving the NHS ££ if they don't call mobiles!! Hopefully we'll be able to make contact on Monday and we'll get this next ball rolling too!!
I had to pop to the hospital this morning for a blood test. I took mum with me, which was a bit of a gamble as we don't tend to come out of visits to the hospital on our own without some eventfully happenings!! The first time was when they found the tumour in my bowel so I guess nothing could beat that! Last time though was the infamous scan day of my first chemo adventure, which involved hospital gowns and firemen - I'm sure you all have heard the story!! Anyway, we managed to escape the hospital without much incident today, although it turns out you can rip skin off with a dressing and then it stings like f**k when the line entry site is cleaned with an alcohol swab!!! Oh well, another wound to add to the gorgeous bruise I've got going on still!!
Did I say that my trip home was uneventful? Well, it turns out that the lovely London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham felt that I needed a little photographic reminder of our drive down last Friday afternoon and kindly asked for some ££ in return!!! I finally fell foul of the traffic in front of me stopping just in time for me to be stuck with the back of my car still in a box junction!! Grrr. I guess I'm lucky that it's the first time I've been caught though after 10 yrs living in London.
Well, it's clinic day tomorrow so the Vince family entourage will be hopefully not passing too many hours in the waiting room for my appointment with the oncology registrar - hope they've read through my notes, as I normally see my wonderful consultant!! So far so not too bad - the sensitivity to the cold only lasted a few days last week and the nausea not much longer. I was shocked at how my energy just drained away as the drugs went in but this week my energy levels have picked up again. I'm even hoping to do a yoga class on Saturday morning, although I'm not ruling out starting the meditation phase a bit earlier than the rest of the class!! ;-)
Anyway folks, if there's anyone there who's not fallen asleep with these ramblings, thanks for reading!!
Take care y'all!!
Xxxx
Sunday, 4 March 2012
Enjoying some TLC
I've managed to avoid further misadventure over the last couple of days and have come back to my folks for a few days of TLC and mum fussing! ;-) I'm not sure the cat appreciated having to give up her bed though!!
We spent some time yesterday going through old slides and photos that mum's recently found again - got to love those seventies fashions and eighties matching knits!! A question to ponder: whatever happened to all those home knitting machines??!?
Xxxx
We spent some time yesterday going through old slides and photos that mum's recently found again - got to love those seventies fashions and eighties matching knits!! A question to ponder: whatever happened to all those home knitting machines??!?
Xxxx
Thursday, 1 March 2012
I swear, you could not make it up!!
Well, I've had a lovely day enjoying the mild weather and sunshine whilst catching up with Nikki this morning and Lucy this afternoon - thanks girls!! Anyway, in true Rach fashion, I of course could not get through the day incident free!! Having met Lucy this afternoon, we decided to enjoy our cups of tea on the raised decking outside the coffee shop in the sunshine. Next thing we know, I'm adding more bruises by tipping the back legs of the chair off the edge of the decking and I'm legs akimbo straddling the bank of the chair as it tipped over the not very effective retaining wall!!! Poor Lucy nearly came too! Thankfully there is no photographic evidence, although I'm not sure the CCTV monitors wouldn't have had a laugh at our expense!
I should come with a health warning!!
Xxxx
I should come with a health warning!!
Xxxx
Cycle one done!!
Well folks, it's official, I've finished cycle one of this chemo adventure!! Yay!!
The nurse eventually came at 9 last night to disconnect my condom bottle, flush my PICC line and clean the entry site. Thankfully it all went smoothly and everything is fine. It means now that I've finished the chemo drugs for this cycle (luckily the anti nausea drugs continue for another day as Sarah has eaten all the ginger nuts!! Should explain - last time round Sarah munched her way through a few ginger nuts to help with me not feeling sick - or that was her excuse anyway!!)
I now have a week before I have to be back at the hospital for a blood test and check up before starting my 2nd cycle a week Monday.
One observation from today so far ... Don't try to shave your arm pits with a new razor when you have cling film around your arm pit to try and keep your PICC line site dry!!! Result = one blunt new razor!! Doh!
Hopefully I won't get up to too much mischief today - am going to enjoy the sun and mild weather by meeting up with some friends.
Have a good day everyone!!
Xxx
The nurse eventually came at 9 last night to disconnect my condom bottle, flush my PICC line and clean the entry site. Thankfully it all went smoothly and everything is fine. It means now that I've finished the chemo drugs for this cycle (luckily the anti nausea drugs continue for another day as Sarah has eaten all the ginger nuts!! Should explain - last time round Sarah munched her way through a few ginger nuts to help with me not feeling sick - or that was her excuse anyway!!)
I now have a week before I have to be back at the hospital for a blood test and check up before starting my 2nd cycle a week Monday.
One observation from today so far ... Don't try to shave your arm pits with a new razor when you have cling film around your arm pit to try and keep your PICC line site dry!!! Result = one blunt new razor!! Doh!
Hopefully I won't get up to too much mischief today - am going to enjoy the sun and mild weather by meeting up with some friends.
Have a good day everyone!!
Xxx
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