Month: July 2015

Whoop Whoop!

We met with the oncologist Dr Alexander this afternoon.  We were extremely relieved to hear that she is really happy with my progress.  The tumour markers that indicate the levels of cancer in my blood have a very positive downward trend which is great.

The CT scan showed that the large tumour in my liver has stayed the same size but some of the smaller ones have grown slightly.  Dr Alexander is not worried about this though.  She said that they often swell a little when they are being attacked and the blood test results are they important thing.

I told her that I have been having some pain in my breast the last couple of days and she said that is also a good sign in week three so it’s all positive 🙂

So we stick with the plan and all being well, go ahead with the next session on Monday, just need to ensure I get lots of nutrition and rest this week to get my body ready for it, we’re all over it (after a celebratory scone with butter and jam)!

Don’t ever forget that your love and support has helped get me where I am today and I thank you for that from the bottom of my heart.

Talk to you soon

Lots of love Mand xxx

 

 

Please welcome the latest addition to my glory of unicorns –     Angel. She’s the pink one on the left.

Angel arrived yesterday in the post from my friend and colleague Di, and she has a lovely story which Di sent to me with her.  So this is also Guest Blog #2! This is the story in Di’s words.

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I was on the sea front in Great Yarmouth with my 12 year old nephew James a couple of weeks ago on a Friday evening, we were playing the machines like we do and he asked me if he could get a monkey (PG Tips) from a machine, £1 a go, win every time.

So off we go, he puts in £1 and goes for the monkey, the crane was completely off course (as it usually is ha ha) and bypassed the monkey, dug deep and pulled out this unicorn, I looked in amazement as we never saw her in there, as she was well buried.

I immediately thought of you (James immediately thought where is the next £1 coming from to get my monkey lol), and if it wasn’t bizarre enough, she has a tag attached and her name is Angel.  So I am thinking now this was meant to be and she was looking for you.

Don’t be fooled by her cutesy baby look, she is very strong and will put up a fight for you, her sparkly wings have special powers too.  She is sent with love from me to you.

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Di – you are amazing, I love Angel, thank you so much for her and for all your support.

Week 3 begins tomorrow so the focus for this week is once again building up my defences so that the blood test on Friday gives me the green light for chemo session 4.  We also have the appointment with the oncologist on Tuesday to find out if the chemo is doing what we need it to do (along with the glory of Unicorns with Dolly, Mrs PacMan, Zig et al).  All-in-all a big week… bring it on 😉

Talk to you soon

Lots of love Mand xxx

Yesterday Joan left us at lunch time.  We had a lovely few days with her and it was sad to see her go.  As with all visitors though, the first couple of hours after they leave are filled with a sense of peace and relaxation!

This morning our friends Nutty and Cala came round for coffee and croissants.  Three hours passed in what felt like a matter of seconds sitting on the deck in the shade of the umbrella chatting about life, the universe and everything.  A perfect Saturday morning.

After my nap, we went over to our friends Franck and Donna’s for a healthy takeaway of grilled chicken kebabs 🙂 a lovely end to a perfect day!

I feel so lucky to be surrounded by such positive and supportive friends and family <3

Talk to you soon

Lots of love Mand xxx

 

Today Joan and I made jam.  Gooseberry and Raspberry jam to be precise.

We have a purple gooseberry bush and a couple of rows of raspberries in our garden.  A couple of years ago we had quite a poor crop of raspberries and just a couple of pounds of gooseberries. I found a recipe in our ‘preserves and pickles’ cook book for gooseberry and raspberry jam and decided to give it a go.

Turns out it is the most perfect combination – especially with scones and cream.

We had decided that we shouldn’t make any jam this year.  As you know, I’m trying to be really good with my diet and one of the key things has been avoiding sugar as much as possible.  So we agreed that we would give the sugar loaded taste temptation a miss this year.  But my resolve crumbled when the fruit began to swell and sweeten!

Phil and Joan picked 4lb of gooseberries and 2lb of raspberries yesterday.  It keeps well, and it will give me a special treat to look forward to having once we get through this phase of the treatment 🙂

Some things just can’t be sacrificed.  If you come to visit you might get to try it!

Talk to you soon

Lots of love Mand xxx

We have been busy today. We had a trip into the city (Norwich!) to show our matching hair to the world and have lunch of course 🙂

My Mum on the other hand has been messing about on the river, well the canal and feeling creative so she is my first guest blogger!

Take it away Mum….

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Having spent two weeks on our narrow boat, slowing down to a snail’s pace of life, I have had time to read the amazing words of wisdom on your blog.

Reflecting on how you have been in touch, and met up with friends who maybe you’ve seen less of in your previous busy life, it reminded me of a quote from a booklet that sister Joan once sent me.

“Cancer may rob you of that blissful ignorance that once led you to believe that tomorrow stretched forever.  In exchange, you are granted the vision to see each day as precious, a gift to be used wisely and richly. No one can take that away.”

How true. May you continue to be positive and when you are in remission, we know you will always appreciate the support that has helped you through.

Keep smiling and showing those wonderful dimples.

Love you  xxx

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Thank you Mum – You’re Awesome

If you would like to be a guest blogger, just let me know!

Talk to you soon

Lots of love Mand xxx

 

It’s the beginning of week 2 hurrah!  That means that the damage done last week should now be starting to heal.

Yesterday the weather broke.  The rain came after a sunny start, the air cooled and the earth was quenched it was delicious – I had the best nap in a week!!!

Last night we met up with our friends Kerry and Stuart for dinner in a newish local restaurant that we had been talking about trying for a long while.  It was really lovely to catch up with all their news and just be somewhere different.  I am so spoilt with Phil’s excellent cooking that we don’t need to go out to eat but I think it does us good to have a change of environment and company.  We’re so lucky that we really enjoy each other’s company and spending all our time together has been a real treat, another of the positives of this experience.  That said, we both benefit from spending time with different people and a change of scenery every now and then 🙂

My Mother-In-Law Joan arrived this afternoon for a visit.  We’re looking forward to spending some time with her and maybe getting out and about a bit.  My throat was feeling much better but I can’t help myself chatting and I have made it a bit sore again!  Nothing that a good night’s sleep won’t sort out.

Here’s to a week of distraction!

Talk to you soon

Lots of love Mand xxx

 

 

Oh My Goodness!

It is scorchio – the heat seems to have been accumulating since Wednesday.  Last night we had the lowest, longest rumbling thunder I think I have ever heard interspersed with crackles and flashes of lightening and yet there is still no relief from the heat.  There was some rain but it didn’t quench the soil or freshen our air at all.

I am starting to feel the impact of the accumulation of chemo.  With the previous sessions I had dry mouth and blood in my mucus but not so much of the sore mouth that I had heard a lot about.  I do have that now though, not so much my mouth but my throat.  Fortunately, the nausea has completely subsided now so drinking lots is not a problem like the last few days so I’m just drinking loads to flush it through.  I have taken a couple of paracetamol, I have to be careful to take my temperature before I take them as they can ‘mask’ a temperature and as you know, I have to monitor my temperature to quickly identify if I have any infection whilst I’m vulnerable…

Truth is though, it could be a lot worse, a sore throat isn’t much to put up with 🙂

Today we had our first courgettes from the vegetable garden along with the sweetest mange tout and salad leaves that we’ve been eating for a while, it’s not all bad!

Talk to you soon

Lots of love Mand xxx

This afternoon I had a CT scan at the hospital so that we can check if the chemotherapy is having the desired effects.

To be honest, I really wasn’t looking forward to it.  I am still nauseous today albeit less so than yesterday.  The additional anti-sickness drugs arrived yesterday lunch time at last but when I read the information, it said that they are really designed to be taken the two days directly after the chemotherapy so I had already missed a day and a half and thought it’s probably best to hold onto them until the next one.

Phil made me a gingery vegetable stir-fry for lunch which really helped and I took a packet of frazzles (one guilty pleasure that really helps the nausea 🙂 ) along with some grapes so that I could fight it with grazing which I find the most effective approach.  The trouble is that before a CT scan you have to drink a large amount of water.  I think its so that the iodine moves quickly around the body when it is injected to improve the quality of the scan.  As you may remember, it is really important to keep well hydrated (I think I’ve mentioned it a couple of times 😉 ) but it is also really hard to drink large quantities of fluids when I’m feeling nauseous.

It wasn’t so bad, they gave me a plastic jug of just below room temperature water with a plastic cup and asked me to drink it slowly over the next 40 minutes, which I did, distracting myself by reading my book.  You know, its funny because when we first started going to the hospitals, I mentioned to Phil that I thought it was strange that couples go together to support each other and then sit there reading their own books not communicating.  I hope that you don’t ever have to, but if you do spend a lot of hours in hospital waiting rooms, you’ll understand!!

The radiologist was great, the cannula went straight in which was lovely.  Apparently when you’re receiving chemotherapy it can make your veins stiff but I got a good ‘flow’ for the iodine which was all good.  The scan was relatively quick, I closed my eyes nice and early so that I didn’t see how close it was to my face and it was over before I’d had a chance to get too stressed about it.

And now we wait until the 14th when I meet the oncologist again to discuss the results.  At that point, we will know if the chemo is reducing the tumours.  If it is not, I guess there will be a plan b.  If it is, we can continue with plan a!  Only time will tell.  For the moment, we’ll just keep focusing on today.

Talk to you soon

Lots of love Mand xxx