And so we move on to the next chapter of my unwanted adventure. I am defining this as the phase where I go through the more “Heavy duty” treatment: basically, the chemotherapy and the radiotherapy. The chemotherapy consists of 6 cycles. Each of these will last for approximately 3 weeks. Then there will probably be a 4-6 week break before we begin the 20 sessions of radiotherapy. I think that means the heavy duty treatment will take until April of…
I’d really wanted to draw things together before I moved on to the next chapter of this adventure however, as is often such in life, things got in the way, I became allergic to keyboards, I ran out of time, etc, etc. I now find myself writing this under the fog of chemo… but the chemo story belongs in the next chapter! So, what’s been going on? Why have I been too busy to write? As throughout July and August,…
Spoiler alert… The Bad is bad and The Plan will probably change. The Good is bigger and tougher than The Bad and harbours far fewer monkeys. The Bad Let’s get this out of the way first. Everyday symptoms of prostate cancer and its treatment are a drag: Fatigue, discomfort, the urge to go to the loo, rogue drips, hot flushes (20+ times every day), lack of sleep, etc. And that’s before the chemo starts. It’s hard to accept that I…
That’s what the last week has been… a rollercoaster The reality of my situation is beginning to sink in. Until 10 days ago, there was still a small chance that my cancer may have been locally advanced rather than metastatic (i.e. still within the prostate area and curable, rather than having spread and being incurable). Even in the immediate days after the oncologist delivered this news I felt ok about it. I saw it as a challenge, and if I’m…
After waiting for what felt like an eternity, yesterday was the day that I met with my oncologist for the first time. I had already done my research and was very happy to have learnt that Dr. John is an expert in urological oncology and one of the main-men at the Christie. I knew that I was with the right person. The latest diagnosis Dr. John spent some time listening to my recent history and brief list of symptoms: these…
The biopsy I had been dreading this procedure but had managed to put it to the back of my mind until the night before. Yesterday morning soon arrived and it was time for breakfast, some last minute worries and a shower; I wanted to be sparklingly clean as this was going to be an up-close and personal experience. I drove our car to the local hospital and, to Sam’s concern, set myself the goal of driving back home. Jo (an…
Thank you so much for all of the comments on here, on Facebook and by private message. I’m blown away by your responses and the support that you have all given me. Amazing stuff 🙂 A fairly quiet few days. I did a Freddie Mercury and took a long ride on my motorbike, I’ve been getting some exercise, reading up on the foe and also spending time dreading next Tuesday. Did I mention the plan for next Tuesday? Transperineal prostate…
Although my appointment with the oncology consultant is not until later this month, I have been hassling my friendly and helpful urology nurse to let me know of any test results asap. She telephoned me yesterday with the preliminary results of the CT scan… It “looks like” the cancer has not spread to any soft tissues. This is great news, although she cautioned me that there was a tumour growing out from the “grossly enlarged” prostate, and that there still…
A week later I saw the consultant Urologist. He repeated the tests and advised me, “You have advanced prostate cancer… stage 3 or stage 4… maybe 6-8 years to live… maybe longer as treatments are improving”. I immediately thought that he was talking bullshit. How could he know this until more in-depth tests were completed? The consultant advised me that my high levels of fatigue and recently developing back pain were owing to the cancer. I accepted that bit. I…
As some of you may know, I had been feeling a bit under the weather for some months. Probably since last October, but certainly since December/January. I just put it down to me hating the Winter. By the end of March things were getting worse: I would crawl in from work and slump on the settee. Despite my best efforts, and the improving weather, I could not get out of this slump. I visited my doctor. He diagnosed me with…