Month: March 2016

…is not wasted time.

I found this quote whilst getting lost on the internet looking for something else but I loved it and thought I would share ?  It is from Bertrand Russell, a British philosopher who died exactly 8 months before I was born just before his 92nd birthday!  It struck a chord with me because time running away from me and being wasted weighs heavy on my mind.  I’m not saying I let it stress me out, I am just so conscious of it ticking away more than I ever was before.  Some of my medicines are in weekly packs and I seem to be opening new ones all the time and the 4 weekly bone treatments seem to occur every fortnight!

It may seem silly but I need constant reassurance that I’m doing all I can to be as healthy as possible and the great news from our visit to see Dr Alexander last week was awesome. I am at the hospital now having my bone treatment chatting with the guy next to me who has an equally positive outlook but didn’t know about sucking on frozen grapes or an ice lolly during his chemo to make his mouth less sore.  As this has been his biggest issue from the chemo, he quickly dispatched his daughter to the hospital shop for an ice cream, so I feel as if I have shared the knowledge and done a good deed for the day!

The good news has had a positive effect on my energy levels as well as my mood so along with the appearance of the sun this afternoon things are bright!  I know that all the love and support I get from you all contributes hugely to my wellbeing so again, I thank you.

Talk to you soon

Lots of love Mand xxx

Today has been an awesome day!

It didn’t actually start that well but it got better.

I was woken  by the sound of the cat flap rattling way too early, (these days 07:00 is my early start!) followed by sustained meows from Munchie.  He often shouts a quick ‘hello’ to let us know he’s home but this morning he carried on shouting.  I could tell he wasn’t in distress but thought I’d better go and see what he was shouting about.  He was proudly notifying us that he had caught his first rabbit of the spring and parading around with it (decapitated – the head is the tastiest bit and has to be eaten before bringing it home!).  Nice ?  By the time I had wrestled it from his jaws because the vet has said that he shouldn’t be allowed to eat them (at significant risk to my own safety), fed him some cat food and cleaned up the claret smudges on the carpet it was 06:40 so there was no point going back to bed!

I worked from home this morning, popped out for a blood test ready for next Tuesday’s bone treatment and had lunch before getting ready to go to the hospital.

It was my first meeting with Dr Alexander this year.  If you remember, the last time was at the beginning of December and the tumour markers in my blood had gone up a little.  Although Dr Alexander said there was no need to be unduly concerned, it did really knock my confidence.  That said, for the last couple of weeks we have been a bit anxious, knowing that this appointment was close and not knowing what to expect.

There was no need to worry!  The markers have gone down the last three tests (December, January and February) they have dropped into the ‘normal’ zone!  The CT scan has not identified anything new, the existing tumours have stayed the same or got slightly smaller in some cases and the cancer in my bones remains stable.  We could not have asked for better results ? Big cheesy grins all round!

I hope that you all have a fabulous Easter and are enjoying the fabulous changes that Spring brings with it ❤️

Talk to you soon

Lots of love Mand xxx

After lists, my next favourite thing is a graph and I particularly love this one!!

Hello you lovely people.

I have been busy figuring out how the new normal will look – I still have no idea!

I’m doing a couple of mornings a week working from home, I’m getting back into it gradually – an afternoon nap is usually required after a morning of work but that’s ok (I’m saying that to myself as well as to you!).

We have also had some lovely visits and meals with friends and family and have really been enjoying the recent sunshine.

Thursday next week we are seeing Dr Alexander to get the results of the CT scan I had a couple of weeks ago so I hope that will help me to get my head sorted out.  I am struggling a bit at the moment to find things worth while and at the same time I feel that I ought to be doing more to keep myself as healthy as possible.  I know that these thoughts are normal, I just need to figure out how to deal with them better!

I hope that you’re all having lots of fun ?

Talk to you soon

Lots of love Mand xxx