On Tuesday 12 November after my sixth infusion I reached the half way point of my treatment with Irinotecan and fluorouracil(5FU) and folinic acid. apparently the folonic acid makes 5FU more effective. As this was the halfway point in the treatment I needed to have a CTscan to check the effectiveness of the treatment regime. Two days after my infusion I again started to suffer from diarrhoea which lasted 4 or 5 days and showed no signs of stopping despite the use of loperamide tablets as instructed by the pharmacist, so I phoned the doctor at the treatment clinic on the 18th Nov. and she immediately put me on antibiotics which cleared the diarrhoea very quickly. On the 21 Nov I was back at the clinic to have my PICC line cleaned. The next day I was back in the Hospital again to have a CT Scan at 10.30 in the morning. I was now all set up for the halfway meeting with the doctor on the following Tuesday 26 Nov, what was the outcome going to be was the treatment effective or not, were the side effects tolerable or not?
Monday 25 Nov. went into the Sir William Rous Unit to have my bloods taken ready for the doctor to see on Tuesday.
Wendy and I got to the clinic in good time on Tuesday, however it was very busy and we had to wait nearly 2 hours before we saw the doctor. However it was not my regular clinic doctor and initially the replacement doctor said that my bloods were OK and as I was feeling good then I could continue with my treatment. He had not realised that I had had a CT scan the previous week and we were supposed to be discussing the effectiveness of the treatment so far and whether or not there was a need to change to a different treatment regime. As he did not know the background I told him to look up the CT Scan on the computer after he had done this he said that he needed to phone the normal doctor to find out what the plans were. so back to the waiting room for another 45 minutes. He then called us in and said that as the current drugs were not working effectively and they were causing severe side effects then I was to switch to a new drug called "Cetuximab". I had the choice of coming back in one or two weeks. I chose to come back next week. On our way out the Doctor said that I was very lucky to be able to have this drug. It works differently to other chemotherapy treatments that attack healthy cells as well as the cancer cells. This drug is targeted on the cancer cells and shuts down their reproduction system. This reduces the side effects considerably.
Monday 2 Dec I went in for my bloods to be taken and the following day Wendy and I turned up at 11.15 am ready to see the doctor, luckily it was the usual one who had come back after some sick leave. She agreed that I could go ahead and have the treatment, the unit was full so I had to go into one of the private rooms where I felt a bit isolated I much prefer to be in the same room as the other patients as you can talk about and compare your treatments etc with them.
The initial dose with this drug is 200ml taken over 2 hours, they monitor you over this period as a small minority of patients suffer flu like symptoms and for one hour after the infusion before you can go home. The treatment for me went very well with no adverse reactions. My next treatment is due in 2 weeks, so I am back to the fortnightly pattern
Monday 16 Dec. Had to wait for about one hour before my bloods were taken. My PICC line which is designed to feed the infusion into a large vein near my heart also has the ability to draw back blood, unfortunately my PICC has got blocked up somehow and its not possible to take blood samples using it. Therefor whenever I have to give bloods they put a needle in my right arm to draw the blood off. This time around I had a care assistant who has been trained in taking blood samples, I was a bit reticent but it turned out to be OK.
Tuesday, treatment day. Wendy and I set off at 9.0am and arrived on time for a 10.00 am appointment with the doctor. One hour later we got to see her and she said my blood levels were OK. I had been having trouble with my thigh leg muscles and mentioned this to her and she said it was probably the result of a course of steroids that they had given me which tend to target the larger muscles in the body. Apparently it will recover over a period of time. So onto the treatment clinic for another 30 to 45 minute wait for a nurse to become available to start up the infusion. these are quite short being only for one hour plus a 30 minute saline solution infusion to clear the PICC line. Felt good after this treatment but later on in the afternoon I began to feel very tired so I had a little rest until dinner time. I am quite comfortable with this new treatment regime as so far I have not suffered any side effects and I am begining to feel a lot better and more relaxed and able to get on with things. Lets see how the treatment goes as I am supposed to come out in a rash of spots within the first few weeks of treatment....I will keep you posted!!
Wednesday, 18 December 2013
Saturday, 2 November 2013
Chemotherapy session 5 of 12
Session 4 of my Chemotherapy went very well as I did not have many side effects and also I didn't feel that tired, still it was the first one after a long break and this one may not be so good. I had my bloods done on Monday and for the first time for several visits the unit was fairly empty so I did not have long to wait. For once they had a full staff on duty!
On Tuesday Wendy and I were able to go on the train as the appointment to see the doctor was at 11.00am, we can only use our Freedom passes on the trains after 9.30 am. The doctor checked me through at around 11.30 am and we went into the treatment room around 11.45 am. it was around two thirds full however there was a full staff on duty and everything was running smoothly. Some of the regular nurses have been away on 3-5 weeks holidays to visit relatives abroad when this happens they bring in more staff from The Royal Marsden in Sutton. So today was a good day as they were able to start the treatment promptly. It all went very well and we were able to leave by 4.00 pm to get the buses back home something of a record.
I felt very well physically by the time we got home and I decided to have a bit of a rest and get on with my book that Alan gave me for Christmas called "World without end by Ken Follett" quite an easy read but it is 1262 pages and I am on page 1077 at the moment as it is getting more gripping and I am spending more time on it as I now want to see how it finishes. It is set in the period 1327 to 1361 in the time of King Edward III and it gives an accurate insight into the times and politics of that era and how the working class lived and were treated by the ruling classes.
On Thursday I went back in to the SWRU to have my bottle removed and my PICC line flushed and cleaned. Whilst I was having this done I was being interviewed by a medical PhD student who was doing some research to find out if everyone was satisfied with their chemotherapy bottles that pump a measured dose into you for a couple of days. She was taking on issues that the patients brought up so that she could use the information to somehow improve the performance of the pumps. My issue is that the pump hardly ever finishes pumping the full dose into me over the 48 hour period, others have the same problem so that is probably the sort of issue she will have to have a look at and find a solution.
So now I am writing this on Saturday 2nd November and so far beyond a bit of excess flem at the back of my throat which makes me cough and a couple of partially blocked ears which make my hearing go strange so that I talk a little oddly and also feel a little disoriented. So I am feeling quite good and feel almost my usual self, plus I feel clean and fresh as I had a nice shower this morning.
On Tuesday Wendy and I were able to go on the train as the appointment to see the doctor was at 11.00am, we can only use our Freedom passes on the trains after 9.30 am. The doctor checked me through at around 11.30 am and we went into the treatment room around 11.45 am. it was around two thirds full however there was a full staff on duty and everything was running smoothly. Some of the regular nurses have been away on 3-5 weeks holidays to visit relatives abroad when this happens they bring in more staff from The Royal Marsden in Sutton. So today was a good day as they were able to start the treatment promptly. It all went very well and we were able to leave by 4.00 pm to get the buses back home something of a record.
I felt very well physically by the time we got home and I decided to have a bit of a rest and get on with my book that Alan gave me for Christmas called "World without end by Ken Follett" quite an easy read but it is 1262 pages and I am on page 1077 at the moment as it is getting more gripping and I am spending more time on it as I now want to see how it finishes. It is set in the period 1327 to 1361 in the time of King Edward III and it gives an accurate insight into the times and politics of that era and how the working class lived and were treated by the ruling classes.
On Thursday I went back in to the SWRU to have my bottle removed and my PICC line flushed and cleaned. Whilst I was having this done I was being interviewed by a medical PhD student who was doing some research to find out if everyone was satisfied with their chemotherapy bottles that pump a measured dose into you for a couple of days. She was taking on issues that the patients brought up so that she could use the information to somehow improve the performance of the pumps. My issue is that the pump hardly ever finishes pumping the full dose into me over the 48 hour period, others have the same problem so that is probably the sort of issue she will have to have a look at and find a solution.
So now I am writing this on Saturday 2nd November and so far beyond a bit of excess flem at the back of my throat which makes me cough and a couple of partially blocked ears which make my hearing go strange so that I talk a little oddly and also feel a little disoriented. So I am feeling quite good and feel almost my usual self, plus I feel clean and fresh as I had a nice shower this morning.
Saturday, 19 October 2013
Back on track after a short break
My planned break for two weeks did not work out as I had hoped that it would as right at the beginning I caught another infection in my sinuses on day 1. After a week it hadn't cleared up so on the Monday before I was due to re-start my chemotherapy I went to my GP and she prescribed a course of antibiotics to clear it up. She also wanted to give me the flu jab and a new one for shingles that has just been introduced for those over 70 years old, but said that I had better confirm with the chemotherapy doctor that it was advisable.
Thankfully over the week my infection cleared up just in time for me to go and give bloods so that they could assess my fitness to cope with more chemotherapy. I went in on Monday but as the chemo unit was extremely busy they sent me off to have my bloods done in the bloods department, luckily there was no long queue so I was able to be seen immediately---more needles but expert practitioners so I didn't feel a thing. As I had time to spare I stopped in the bloods unit as they have a WRVS service there that offers hot drinks and snacks and I had a cup of tea before going home.
Next day Tuesday my chemotherapy is due to re-start or is it? Wendy and I left home in good time to make our appointment to see the doctor at 9.45 am but because of bus and road work problems we didn't get there until 10 am however they were extremely busy and it was still a half hour before I was seen by the doctor. My normal doctor is on holiday in Japan so I saw another doctor from the Royal Marsden who examined me and went through my bloods, my tumour markers had been going down since the earlier course of treatment but was starting to rise slowly during the interval whilst I had stopped. She then examined my mouth to see if the wound from my tooth had healed up sufficiently for me to continue treatment, she felt that it was not fully healed and was concerned about the treatment may cause it to bleed and possibly become re-infected, I said that I would really like to start again and she then decided that I could wait outside whilst she discussed it with the pharmacist. Ten minutes later she came back and said that I could re-start the treatment. Everything went well and we were able on this occasion to get away fairly early around about 4.30 pm. I forgot to ask the doctor about having flu and shingle jabs so I asked the receptionist to find out and she came back to say that no I am not allowed inoculations of flu and shingles. Also during the discussions with the doctor she was concerned about me picking up these infections and advised me not to get on crowded trains and buses, plus avoid all crowded gatherings. I need to take more care of myself.
Thursday time to go in and have my bottle removed and my PICC line cleaned and flushed this was OK but the nurse said that there was no blood flowing back on both ports but she was able to push the saline solution through with no problems. They have stopped using Heperin which they used to thin the blood in the line in case it started to clot, they did some tests at Marsden to see if it was really necessary to do this and decided that they could stop using it as the risk was quite low.
Saturday so far I have been feeling good since the treatment the drugs I am taking to stop the gastric re-flux are doing there job and the start of a little diarrhoea so far seems to have been stalled by the use of loperamide for now. No doubt the chemo will be working inside me and I know that for a couple of days I shall feel a bit low. Just now I feel fine and have pruned back yesterday and today the conifers and the front and back of the house c'est la vie!!
Thankfully over the week my infection cleared up just in time for me to go and give bloods so that they could assess my fitness to cope with more chemotherapy. I went in on Monday but as the chemo unit was extremely busy they sent me off to have my bloods done in the bloods department, luckily there was no long queue so I was able to be seen immediately---more needles but expert practitioners so I didn't feel a thing. As I had time to spare I stopped in the bloods unit as they have a WRVS service there that offers hot drinks and snacks and I had a cup of tea before going home.
Next day Tuesday my chemotherapy is due to re-start or is it? Wendy and I left home in good time to make our appointment to see the doctor at 9.45 am but because of bus and road work problems we didn't get there until 10 am however they were extremely busy and it was still a half hour before I was seen by the doctor. My normal doctor is on holiday in Japan so I saw another doctor from the Royal Marsden who examined me and went through my bloods, my tumour markers had been going down since the earlier course of treatment but was starting to rise slowly during the interval whilst I had stopped. She then examined my mouth to see if the wound from my tooth had healed up sufficiently for me to continue treatment, she felt that it was not fully healed and was concerned about the treatment may cause it to bleed and possibly become re-infected, I said that I would really like to start again and she then decided that I could wait outside whilst she discussed it with the pharmacist. Ten minutes later she came back and said that I could re-start the treatment. Everything went well and we were able on this occasion to get away fairly early around about 4.30 pm. I forgot to ask the doctor about having flu and shingle jabs so I asked the receptionist to find out and she came back to say that no I am not allowed inoculations of flu and shingles. Also during the discussions with the doctor she was concerned about me picking up these infections and advised me not to get on crowded trains and buses, plus avoid all crowded gatherings. I need to take more care of myself.
Thursday time to go in and have my bottle removed and my PICC line cleaned and flushed this was OK but the nurse said that there was no blood flowing back on both ports but she was able to push the saline solution through with no problems. They have stopped using Heperin which they used to thin the blood in the line in case it started to clot, they did some tests at Marsden to see if it was really necessary to do this and decided that they could stop using it as the risk was quite low.
Saturday so far I have been feeling good since the treatment the drugs I am taking to stop the gastric re-flux are doing there job and the start of a little diarrhoea so far seems to have been stalled by the use of loperamide for now. No doubt the chemo will be working inside me and I know that for a couple of days I shall feel a bit low. Just now I feel fine and have pruned back yesterday and today the conifers and the front and back of the house c'est la vie!!
Monday, 30 September 2013
Tooth extraction and date of the next chemotherapy
The day after I had seen the hospital dental consultant I managed to fit in a Technical Audit in Reigate for UKAS, I am trying whenever possible to fit in my few audits that I do around my treatment and the hospital is quite helpful in this respect.
On Friday 20th of September Wendy and I went into the Princess Alexandra ward at Kingston Hospital for my tooth extraction. We didn't have long to wait before I was called in to see the dentist. He spent some time telling me how he was planning to do the extraction. This included details of Plan A and Plan B. Plan A was after numbing the area to gently attempt to wiggle the tooth around, if it could be wiggled then the next step was to remove it. If that failed then it would have to be Plan B which involved cuts and stitches to the gums. Luckily for me Plan A worked and the tooth was out in no time. I then had to wait 10 -15 minutes biting down onto a plug of paper to allow the blood to clot where the tooth had come out. I was then discharged with a list of after care instructions that would help the healing process, namely to have a mouth wash every 2 hours using hot salt solution starting the following day and lasting for 5days. Wendy said that I was out quickly, the whole visit had lasted 30 minutes. I felt fine but my lower jaw felt very numb. We then went to the Chemo treatment clinic to have my PICC cleaned but were told we were too early so we decided to go back home and I would come out again later.
On the Saturday we had an enjoyable day out cruising on the Paddington arm of the Grand Union Canal in Clive and Jenny's long boat going from Willowtree Marina near Hayes to Uxbridge and back, Jenny is our URC minister at Hampton Hill. It was a very restful day out and good fun opening and closing the locks we passed through, I also managed to more or less keep up with my hot salt water mouth washes that I had to do every 2 hours.
Since having my tooth out there has been very little happening, there has been some discussion as to when would be the most appropriate time to re-start my chemotherapy treatment, the last treatment that I had was on 20 August. The extraction wound needs to be fully healed before the chemotherapy can re-start after taking advice from the dentist the date for me to re-start will be 15th October providing we get a good blood check on the 14th. So the next couple of weeks will be like a short holiday for me and unless there is something to report the next blog will be when I re-start my treatment.
On Friday 20th of September Wendy and I went into the Princess Alexandra ward at Kingston Hospital for my tooth extraction. We didn't have long to wait before I was called in to see the dentist. He spent some time telling me how he was planning to do the extraction. This included details of Plan A and Plan B. Plan A was after numbing the area to gently attempt to wiggle the tooth around, if it could be wiggled then the next step was to remove it. If that failed then it would have to be Plan B which involved cuts and stitches to the gums. Luckily for me Plan A worked and the tooth was out in no time. I then had to wait 10 -15 minutes biting down onto a plug of paper to allow the blood to clot where the tooth had come out. I was then discharged with a list of after care instructions that would help the healing process, namely to have a mouth wash every 2 hours using hot salt solution starting the following day and lasting for 5days. Wendy said that I was out quickly, the whole visit had lasted 30 minutes. I felt fine but my lower jaw felt very numb. We then went to the Chemo treatment clinic to have my PICC cleaned but were told we were too early so we decided to go back home and I would come out again later.
On the Saturday we had an enjoyable day out cruising on the Paddington arm of the Grand Union Canal in Clive and Jenny's long boat going from Willowtree Marina near Hayes to Uxbridge and back, Jenny is our URC minister at Hampton Hill. It was a very restful day out and good fun opening and closing the locks we passed through, I also managed to more or less keep up with my hot salt water mouth washes that I had to do every 2 hours.
Since having my tooth out there has been very little happening, there has been some discussion as to when would be the most appropriate time to re-start my chemotherapy treatment, the last treatment that I had was on 20 August. The extraction wound needs to be fully healed before the chemotherapy can re-start after taking advice from the dentist the date for me to re-start will be 15th October providing we get a good blood check on the 14th. So the next couple of weeks will be like a short holiday for me and unless there is something to report the next blog will be when I re-start my treatment.
Monday, 16 September 2013
10th to 16th September
Tuesday I went into the chemotherapy to give bloods so that they could monitor my blood levels from the point of view of recovery from the tooth removal as well as monitoring the tumour marking. Still having trouble eating properly.
Wednesday Due to have my lower left wisdom tooth removed by my local dentist at 2.30 pm. Wendy and Alison took me into Kingston to buy Paul a birthday present, mainly to stop me thinking about my tooth extraction. We got back from Kingston had a quick lunch of soup and then headed for the dentist. We got there on time and surprisingly they were ready for me. I was whisked into the room and in the chair in minutes. After a quick investigation and questions such as 'is that as much as you can open your mouth?' the dentist decided that the extraction was too complicated and decided to refer me to the specialists in Kingston Hospital. They had faxed a form of referral direct to the Oral department of the Hospital.When I got home I rang the Chemotherapy unit and told the receptionist what had happened and could they do anything about it. She said that could I get the contact name and phone number of the person that the dentist had faxed. When I rang the dentist I asked the receptionist for the name and phone number which she was able to give me. I then asked how long she thought it would take and she said it would be up to 6 to 8 weeks. I then phoned back the chemotherapy unit with the required details and the receptionist said she would go over and have a look in the Oral Unit.
Thursday Still concerned about my extraction. I rang Chemo Unit again but the receptionist had gone out for a couple of hours. I then decided to ring the Oral Unit myself and I asked the same question - how long would it be before they could extract my tooth - I got the same reply, 6 to 8 weeks. So I said it was an emergency as I was in the middle of chemotherapy and they could not continue until the tooth had been removed, she said she would have a word with the consultants and ring me back. Mid afternoon I got a call from them giving me an appointment for 2.30 pm on Monday of next week for a consultation --RESULT. I rang the Chemo Unit and got the receptionist who said that she had just been round to the Oral Unit and they had received my referral and had given me an appointment for next Monday.
Friday I went into the chemo unit to have my PICC line cleaned up. I spoke with the receptionist and she said that the Chemotherapy doctor had written a long letter to the Oral Unit which was more good news. Last Tuesday when I went to give bloods the nurse said that it was difficult to push the saline through the line and she was not getting much bleed back when she tried. The result was they had to draw blood from a vein using NEEDLES. The nurse I had today to clean my PICC line said that it was better today as there was bleed back on both lines and it wasn't too bad pushing the saline through.
The last time I had chemotherapy transfusion was 20th August, four weeks ago as I write this blog. I can still feel the effects of the drugs particularly in my nose and mouth where the soft linings of the nose and mouth are being affected plus the tingling sensation in my hands and feet.
Monday After a cold and very wet weekend I am ready now to visit the Oral Unit at Kingston Hospital to see what they can do for me.
Just come back from seeing the Hospital dentist. I had an X-ray of my teeth which the dentist examined and announced that the wisdom tooth was decayed, the evidence was a black hole inside my tooth on the X-ray. She then got me on the couch and did a visual examination of the tooth and said there is not much room there to remove the tooth but it should be OK. She asked why my dentist had referred me I said I didn't really know but I suspect she didn't want to take the risk of removing it. Anyway the hospital dentist (whom I have yet to meet) has agreed to take the tooth out on Friday at 11.00 am after the children's session has finished, the nurse said bring a book in case they run over time. Watch this space!!
Wednesday Due to have my lower left wisdom tooth removed by my local dentist at 2.30 pm. Wendy and Alison took me into Kingston to buy Paul a birthday present, mainly to stop me thinking about my tooth extraction. We got back from Kingston had a quick lunch of soup and then headed for the dentist. We got there on time and surprisingly they were ready for me. I was whisked into the room and in the chair in minutes. After a quick investigation and questions such as 'is that as much as you can open your mouth?' the dentist decided that the extraction was too complicated and decided to refer me to the specialists in Kingston Hospital. They had faxed a form of referral direct to the Oral department of the Hospital.When I got home I rang the Chemotherapy unit and told the receptionist what had happened and could they do anything about it. She said that could I get the contact name and phone number of the person that the dentist had faxed. When I rang the dentist I asked the receptionist for the name and phone number which she was able to give me. I then asked how long she thought it would take and she said it would be up to 6 to 8 weeks. I then phoned back the chemotherapy unit with the required details and the receptionist said she would go over and have a look in the Oral Unit.
Thursday Still concerned about my extraction. I rang Chemo Unit again but the receptionist had gone out for a couple of hours. I then decided to ring the Oral Unit myself and I asked the same question - how long would it be before they could extract my tooth - I got the same reply, 6 to 8 weeks. So I said it was an emergency as I was in the middle of chemotherapy and they could not continue until the tooth had been removed, she said she would have a word with the consultants and ring me back. Mid afternoon I got a call from them giving me an appointment for 2.30 pm on Monday of next week for a consultation --RESULT. I rang the Chemo Unit and got the receptionist who said that she had just been round to the Oral Unit and they had received my referral and had given me an appointment for next Monday.
Friday I went into the chemo unit to have my PICC line cleaned up. I spoke with the receptionist and she said that the Chemotherapy doctor had written a long letter to the Oral Unit which was more good news. Last Tuesday when I went to give bloods the nurse said that it was difficult to push the saline through the line and she was not getting much bleed back when she tried. The result was they had to draw blood from a vein using NEEDLES. The nurse I had today to clean my PICC line said that it was better today as there was bleed back on both lines and it wasn't too bad pushing the saline through.
The last time I had chemotherapy transfusion was 20th August, four weeks ago as I write this blog. I can still feel the effects of the drugs particularly in my nose and mouth where the soft linings of the nose and mouth are being affected plus the tingling sensation in my hands and feet.
Monday After a cold and very wet weekend I am ready now to visit the Oral Unit at Kingston Hospital to see what they can do for me.
Just come back from seeing the Hospital dentist. I had an X-ray of my teeth which the dentist examined and announced that the wisdom tooth was decayed, the evidence was a black hole inside my tooth on the X-ray. She then got me on the couch and did a visual examination of the tooth and said there is not much room there to remove the tooth but it should be OK. She asked why my dentist had referred me I said I didn't really know but I suspect she didn't want to take the risk of removing it. Anyway the hospital dentist (whom I have yet to meet) has agreed to take the tooth out on Friday at 11.00 am after the children's session has finished, the nurse said bring a book in case they run over time. Watch this space!!
Monday, 9 September 2013
Update upto Saturday 7 September
Sorry I am late updating the blog but the last two weeks have been quite difficult for me despite in theory being on holiday. We left on Sunday 25 August in glorious weather heading for Willersley castle just south of Matlock a journey of 160 miles. I did the first 80 miles and then Wendy finished the second leg. We arrived just before 5 pm having stopped for lunch at the local IKEA at around 2 pm and were able to park right outside the main entrance to the Hotel, which as events turned out to be very fortunate later considering that we normally don't use the car once we get to a resort. we were on the second floor in the middle at the front of the castle with a turret either side of us and beautiful views of a cliff face and the top of a hill right opposite us, with cattle in the field next to a small river below us. Meals were 8 to 9 am breakfast and 6.30 pm for dinner, the food was very good but a bit basic.
On Monday I was feeling tired as the chemotherapy was beginning to kick in so I decided to stay at home and rest and read my book called Dark Fire another historical novel set in Henry the eighths reign, whilst Wendy went on the coach trip to see some Well dressing, a common practice in this area apparently. As we were waiting for the coach I looked over to our car and noticed that the rear offside tyre looked a little flat -- we had a puncture! That evening we decided that as the tyres were due for renewal after 33,000 miles it was not worth having the puncture repaired so we arranged for Kwikfit to send their mobile van to replace the two rear tyres a job completed by 7 pm on Wednesday.
I was beginning to feel increasingly tired and could not understand why.
On Tuesday we went to Bakewell and then on to Chatsworth House and gardens and I felt utterly exhausted having to sit down in every room for a rest whenever possible, needless to say I slept well that night.
The next day was a free day, so we had a short walk in the morning and then read our books in the afternoon. That night I could not sleep properly waking up every hour or two with raging pain in a rear wisdom tooth. Luckily I found a couple of paracetamol tablets in my wash bag which helped a little. However at breakfast I found that I could not open my mouth wide enough to eat anything larger that a pea. In the end I was mashing my food up and spooning it carefully into the small gap between my teeth. today we were driven to Buxton where we spent most of the afternoon and again I had difficulty walking any distance.
On Friday Wendy drove us home stopping about halfway for a short break for food and drinks. I immediately tried to make an emergency appointment with my dentist and the earliest date I could get was the following Wednesday afternoon. However there were emergency dentists in Kingston Hospital --just turn up! Unfortunately we got there just before the 9 pm closing time and had to try and persuade the receptionist to let us in for treatment. She went off to consult with the dentist and he said that he would see me. He had a quick look and said that it was a bit swollen at the back but not infected and prescribed a mouth wash known as Corsodyl, more about this later. All we had to do now was to find a chemist that was open and went to the one in Feltham that we always use in cases like this.
Earlier in the day on Friday at around 4 pm Alison came with me to the hospital and she set about cleaning my PICC line under the supervision of the Ward sister, the worst part is taking the adhesive cover off your arm so that you can clean up around where the line goes into your body, quite a sensitive area which hurts if you don't peel the cover off gently. Say no more. She wants to have one more go under supervision as there is such a lot to remember before she can start doing it at home for me. It was good to be home again.
The weekend passed uneventfully but I was still having problems eating so I felt that the mouth wash was not working. On Monday I went into the SWRU clinic to have my bloods taken ready for checking before treatment on Tuesday. However when I saw the doctor on Tuesday and I told her of the problems that I was having with my teeth she decided it was inappropriate to start treatment and that I should seek further help from my dentist. As I had already booked to see my dentist on Wednesday I felt at least I had got something right! After the refusal to not have treatment I felt at quite a low point, something was always conspiring to have my treatment slowed up.
I went to the appointment with my dentist on Wednesday and he did a good job examining my teeth. He said that there was a bacterial infection around the tooth and prescribed a 5 day course of penicillin. He also said that it would make good sense to have the tooth removed as soon as possible as it would only cause more trouble later on, he advised that I should discuss with my doctor to decide on a convenient time in my treatment to have the tooth removed. Still feeling tired, in fact I slept in until 1 pm on Friday, but now I know that it is due to the tooth infection and not necessarily the chemotherapy.
Monday 9 September. I am feeling much better now although I am still having problems eating, maybe that will correct itself by Wednesday when I am due the next cycle of chemotherapy, I hope that it does. Tomorrow, Tuesday I need to go in to give bloods. I think I might ring the doctor today and see what she says about having my tooth removed. I will let you know what happens next.
On Monday I was feeling tired as the chemotherapy was beginning to kick in so I decided to stay at home and rest and read my book called Dark Fire another historical novel set in Henry the eighths reign, whilst Wendy went on the coach trip to see some Well dressing, a common practice in this area apparently. As we were waiting for the coach I looked over to our car and noticed that the rear offside tyre looked a little flat -- we had a puncture! That evening we decided that as the tyres were due for renewal after 33,000 miles it was not worth having the puncture repaired so we arranged for Kwikfit to send their mobile van to replace the two rear tyres a job completed by 7 pm on Wednesday.
I was beginning to feel increasingly tired and could not understand why.
On Tuesday we went to Bakewell and then on to Chatsworth House and gardens and I felt utterly exhausted having to sit down in every room for a rest whenever possible, needless to say I slept well that night.
The next day was a free day, so we had a short walk in the morning and then read our books in the afternoon. That night I could not sleep properly waking up every hour or two with raging pain in a rear wisdom tooth. Luckily I found a couple of paracetamol tablets in my wash bag which helped a little. However at breakfast I found that I could not open my mouth wide enough to eat anything larger that a pea. In the end I was mashing my food up and spooning it carefully into the small gap between my teeth. today we were driven to Buxton where we spent most of the afternoon and again I had difficulty walking any distance.
On Friday Wendy drove us home stopping about halfway for a short break for food and drinks. I immediately tried to make an emergency appointment with my dentist and the earliest date I could get was the following Wednesday afternoon. However there were emergency dentists in Kingston Hospital --just turn up! Unfortunately we got there just before the 9 pm closing time and had to try and persuade the receptionist to let us in for treatment. She went off to consult with the dentist and he said that he would see me. He had a quick look and said that it was a bit swollen at the back but not infected and prescribed a mouth wash known as Corsodyl, more about this later. All we had to do now was to find a chemist that was open and went to the one in Feltham that we always use in cases like this.
Earlier in the day on Friday at around 4 pm Alison came with me to the hospital and she set about cleaning my PICC line under the supervision of the Ward sister, the worst part is taking the adhesive cover off your arm so that you can clean up around where the line goes into your body, quite a sensitive area which hurts if you don't peel the cover off gently. Say no more. She wants to have one more go under supervision as there is such a lot to remember before she can start doing it at home for me. It was good to be home again.
The weekend passed uneventfully but I was still having problems eating so I felt that the mouth wash was not working. On Monday I went into the SWRU clinic to have my bloods taken ready for checking before treatment on Tuesday. However when I saw the doctor on Tuesday and I told her of the problems that I was having with my teeth she decided it was inappropriate to start treatment and that I should seek further help from my dentist. As I had already booked to see my dentist on Wednesday I felt at least I had got something right! After the refusal to not have treatment I felt at quite a low point, something was always conspiring to have my treatment slowed up.
I went to the appointment with my dentist on Wednesday and he did a good job examining my teeth. He said that there was a bacterial infection around the tooth and prescribed a 5 day course of penicillin. He also said that it would make good sense to have the tooth removed as soon as possible as it would only cause more trouble later on, he advised that I should discuss with my doctor to decide on a convenient time in my treatment to have the tooth removed. Still feeling tired, in fact I slept in until 1 pm on Friday, but now I know that it is due to the tooth infection and not necessarily the chemotherapy.
Monday 9 September. I am feeling much better now although I am still having problems eating, maybe that will correct itself by Wednesday when I am due the next cycle of chemotherapy, I hope that it does. Tomorrow, Tuesday I need to go in to give bloods. I think I might ring the doctor today and see what she says about having my tooth removed. I will let you know what happens next.
Saturday, 24 August 2013
Wednesday 21 to Saturday 24 August
Wednesday. Had a very good nights sleep after the chemotherapy of yesterday. Trying to get to grips with all the drugs I need to take to relieve the side effects. I have two types to stop me being sick I take two 2mg tablets of Dexamethasone 3 times a day with food, this is a steroid which helps the other drug 10 mg of Metoclopramide Hydrochloride 1 tablet 3 times a day to work better plus my blood pressure tablet 5 mg of Amlodipine and finally 15mg gastro resistant capsules of Lansoprazol which has to be taken thirty to sixty minutes before eating breakfast, tricky one that. Had a good day and started cleaning and rubbing down the paint work on the windows above our garage door ready for re-painting managed to get two coats of primer on by the late afternoon/evening, 6 hours before a re-coat.
Thursday. Went to a prayer group in the morning up at Chrisie's. In the afternoon had to go back to SWRU to have my bottle pump taken off after 48 hours. I caught the train and only after I had got to Teddington did I realise that I had no money and no wallet with my travel card in it, would I get caught by the ticket collector how would I get out of Norbiton station without showing my card or swiping it to open the gate, luckily the gate was open when I got there so I just walked out and arranged for Wendy to come and collect me at the Hospital when I had finished. The removal went OK and and they did a clean up of the PICC line today to save me going in again the next day when it was due. We are on holiday next week back on Friday so I can have it cleaned then as it has to be done every week.
As we left we decided to go and have a quick look at the outside of the 2 bed ground floor flat that Paul and Nicola have made an offer on. The flat is in Hook and because of the traffic problems in Kingston it took a while to get there and by the time we had given it a look round we didn't get home 'till after 7 pm.
Friday. Quite a restful day after what seemed quite a hectic couple of days. Managed to get a top coat on the windows over the garage door, good idea as they are forecasting heavy rain on Saturday. Paul and Nicola came round to dinner and updated us on the flat they are buying they are quite pleased to have found somewhere so quickly and are hoping to move in before Christmas if all goes well. they left at about 8.15 pm to drive up to Lancaster for a wedding of one of Nicola's cousins on Sunday. Alison also came back from her break in Sheffield but missed them by about 10 minutes, the traffic is quite heavy now as it is a Bank Holidy weekend and everyone is going somewhere and everywhere.
Saturday. Woke up very late today after a very disturbed night when I kept waking up and couldn't get back to sleep - probably due to taking one of my drugs too late in the evening, anyway waking up at 5 past nine can't be that bad, except it makes breakfast a bit late. The weather man was right it has been a dreadful day pouring down with rain but still warm. We had to post a parcel to Roy so drove down to the Post Office, on our return it was raining so hard we stayed in the car for 10 minutes until the rain abated. Tomorrow we are off to Matlock in the Peak District for a short break so it might be a while before I can update the blog depends on Internet access mainly. Still raining outside what a wet day!! But thankfully I feel good just hope I get up earlier tomorrow fresh and ready for a 3 hour drive.
Thursday. Went to a prayer group in the morning up at Chrisie's. In the afternoon had to go back to SWRU to have my bottle pump taken off after 48 hours. I caught the train and only after I had got to Teddington did I realise that I had no money and no wallet with my travel card in it, would I get caught by the ticket collector how would I get out of Norbiton station without showing my card or swiping it to open the gate, luckily the gate was open when I got there so I just walked out and arranged for Wendy to come and collect me at the Hospital when I had finished. The removal went OK and and they did a clean up of the PICC line today to save me going in again the next day when it was due. We are on holiday next week back on Friday so I can have it cleaned then as it has to be done every week.
As we left we decided to go and have a quick look at the outside of the 2 bed ground floor flat that Paul and Nicola have made an offer on. The flat is in Hook and because of the traffic problems in Kingston it took a while to get there and by the time we had given it a look round we didn't get home 'till after 7 pm.
Friday. Quite a restful day after what seemed quite a hectic couple of days. Managed to get a top coat on the windows over the garage door, good idea as they are forecasting heavy rain on Saturday. Paul and Nicola came round to dinner and updated us on the flat they are buying they are quite pleased to have found somewhere so quickly and are hoping to move in before Christmas if all goes well. they left at about 8.15 pm to drive up to Lancaster for a wedding of one of Nicola's cousins on Sunday. Alison also came back from her break in Sheffield but missed them by about 10 minutes, the traffic is quite heavy now as it is a Bank Holidy weekend and everyone is going somewhere and everywhere.
Saturday. Woke up very late today after a very disturbed night when I kept waking up and couldn't get back to sleep - probably due to taking one of my drugs too late in the evening, anyway waking up at 5 past nine can't be that bad, except it makes breakfast a bit late. The weather man was right it has been a dreadful day pouring down with rain but still warm. We had to post a parcel to Roy so drove down to the Post Office, on our return it was raining so hard we stayed in the car for 10 minutes until the rain abated. Tomorrow we are off to Matlock in the Peak District for a short break so it might be a while before I can update the blog depends on Internet access mainly. Still raining outside what a wet day!! But thankfully I feel good just hope I get up earlier tomorrow fresh and ready for a 3 hour drive.
Chemotherapy 20 August
Will they go ahead today and give me Chemotherapy! Wendy and I got to the Sir William Rous Unit in time for our appointment with the doctor, as usual we had to wait about 10 to 15 minutes before the doctor saw us. The meeting was quite short, she read my list of bowel movements that I had prepared and noted there was no more diarrhoea during the week and that as my bloods were OK then I was free to proceed for treatment. She did also advise me that my dosage of the drugs would be reduced by 25% in order to reduce the intensity of their side effects, but overall that would not affect the efficacy of the treatment in killing off the cancer cells, so I was free to enter the clinic and find a comfortable seat.
We found a seat next to a middle aged lady who was having the last round of her treatment and was asking people how many days is it to Christmas. Something to look forward so she could start planning her Christmas. Luckily a young man looking after his mother who was in for treatment used his I phone to find out and duly reported 126 days and 13 hours 20 minutes!! Quite a lot of men in today for cancer treatment some of them quite young and healthy looking. Luckily the noisy woman left soon still talking about Christmas and Wendy and I had a bit more room in the corner we had chosen. Not really much to say except that the treatment went very well with no complications although the male nurse took a little while to set up the double pumping system where they infuse two drugs at once over an hour to save time. We were out by around 3 pm which is by far the earliest we have left so far. After the air conditioning in the medical unit it was quite a shock to get outside and feel the heat, it being so hot we decided to go to Creams in Kingston on the way home and share an ice cream a banana with strawberries, vanilla ice cream, strawberry syrup, white chocolate flakes and covered in foamed cream. Delicious.
We found a seat next to a middle aged lady who was having the last round of her treatment and was asking people how many days is it to Christmas. Something to look forward so she could start planning her Christmas. Luckily a young man looking after his mother who was in for treatment used his I phone to find out and duly reported 126 days and 13 hours 20 minutes!! Quite a lot of men in today for cancer treatment some of them quite young and healthy looking. Luckily the noisy woman left soon still talking about Christmas and Wendy and I had a bit more room in the corner we had chosen. Not really much to say except that the treatment went very well with no complications although the male nurse took a little while to set up the double pumping system where they infuse two drugs at once over an hour to save time. We were out by around 3 pm which is by far the earliest we have left so far. After the air conditioning in the medical unit it was quite a shock to get outside and feel the heat, it being so hot we decided to go to Creams in Kingston on the way home and share an ice cream a banana with strawberries, vanilla ice cream, strawberry syrup, white chocolate flakes and covered in foamed cream. Delicious.
Thursday, 22 August 2013
Bloods 19 August
Time to give blood to confirm that I am fit enough to have Chemotherapy tomorrow, I have also taken a request for blood tests from my GP, whom I saw last Friday regarding my cholesterol levels, for the nurse to do at the same time.
Went by train because of the congestion on the roads in Kingston due to the sewage works. Got there in good time but had quite a long wait as the nursing staff had been thrown off course in the clinic due to a visitor fainting in the treatment room and sustaining nasty head injuries. Anyway it all went well and the blood results should be available for tomorrow.
Went by train because of the congestion on the roads in Kingston due to the sewage works. Got there in good time but had quite a long wait as the nursing staff had been thrown off course in the clinic due to a visitor fainting in the treatment room and sustaining nasty head injuries. Anyway it all went well and the blood results should be available for tomorrow.
Chemo therapy holiday 15 to 18 Aug
It was a bit disappointing missing a planned chemotherapy treatment but it does mean that I have an additional rest period a holiday from chemotherapy. Generally I have been monitoring my bowel movements for any signs of a return of diarrhoea, everything seems OK now on that score. Spent most of my time on routine maintenance of the house, garden and allotments. I also had to re-arrange some appointments with UKAS due to moving the next round of chemotherapy back a week.
High light of the holiday was spending time in Reading on Sunday for Harriets 18th birthday celebrations with friends and relatives from Wendy's side of the family.
Feeling quite well at the end of my little break, tomorrow it starts up again with blood tests.
High light of the holiday was spending time in Reading on Sunday for Harriets 18th birthday celebrations with friends and relatives from Wendy's side of the family.
Feeling quite well at the end of my little break, tomorrow it starts up again with blood tests.
Thursday, 15 August 2013
Third round of treatment
Monday 12 August. My next round of chemotherapy is due on Wednesday this week and as Wendy is helping at Messy Church tomorrow I thought it would be a good time to prepare for a couple of jobs. First to repair a clothes storage drawer and secondly to replace a rotten wooden base board under a fence panel.We had a trip into Wickes to buy a concrete base board and materials to mend the drawer. On return we removed the panel fitted the concrete base board and put in a panel that Wendy had refurbished. Still feeling quite well and pleased to be able to do these little jobs.
Tuesday 13 August. As Wendy was at Messy Church I spent most of the morning fixing up the drawer runners replacing the broken plastic runner with a 15 mm square wooden runner which I screwed and glued into place (belt and braces approach). In the afternoon I went into Kingston Hospital to have blood samples for testing taken. Unfortunately I had left a little late for my appointment and to make things worse the train I intended to catch was cancelled (no replacement) so I went by bus and had to cope with traffic delays in Kingston due to replacement of sewer pipes on the main road into Kingston. Hopefully the bloods would get to the analysis laboratories in time for the results to be ready for Wednesday morning.
Wednesday 14 August. Due for my third round of Chemotherapy. Woke up this morning at 2.45 am to go to the toilet and to empty my bag which seemed to be fairly full. Oh no!! I had diarrhoea!! just as well I had a drainable bag on, I was able to flush it all down the toilet and go back to bed. At 6.00 am I awoke and the bag was full to bursting and I had to spend the next hour cleaning up after a bad session of diarrhoea. I guessed the implications of this regarding further treatment today was not good.
Wendy and I got to the Hospital by buses, to early to use our Freedom passes on the train, and arrived 15 minutes early. We heard someone in the office talking about blood test data and the fact that the blood analysis data was incomplete and they needed the missing data to be sent over quickly. Very soon after that I was called in to see the doctor and she immediately latched onto the fact that I had had 3 or 4 instances of diarrhoea over the past 2 weeks and that I had just experienced another bout. She said this is one of the side effects of this particular combination of drugs and it would be safer not have any Chemotherapy today and we could try again on Tuesday week. In the meantime I have to log my bowel movements on a daily basis and bring the results in with me next Tuesday.
Wendy and I then went into Kingston and did a bit of shopping and had tea and scones in "A Place To Eat" in the John Lewis store. Over lunch I suddenly realised that I had to go back to the Hospital to have my PICC line cleaned and dressed. So I went back to Hospital and Wendy went home. When I got into the clinic I found Chris and John from the URC were there and Chris was just finishing her treatment for breast cancer they offered me a lift home which I accepted and we spent some time comparing notes on our treatments.
Felt a bit lost during the rest of the day not really knowing what to do. Just as well then that the England v Scotland friendly football match was on TV live.
Tuesday 13 August. As Wendy was at Messy Church I spent most of the morning fixing up the drawer runners replacing the broken plastic runner with a 15 mm square wooden runner which I screwed and glued into place (belt and braces approach). In the afternoon I went into Kingston Hospital to have blood samples for testing taken. Unfortunately I had left a little late for my appointment and to make things worse the train I intended to catch was cancelled (no replacement) so I went by bus and had to cope with traffic delays in Kingston due to replacement of sewer pipes on the main road into Kingston. Hopefully the bloods would get to the analysis laboratories in time for the results to be ready for Wednesday morning.
Wednesday 14 August. Due for my third round of Chemotherapy. Woke up this morning at 2.45 am to go to the toilet and to empty my bag which seemed to be fairly full. Oh no!! I had diarrhoea!! just as well I had a drainable bag on, I was able to flush it all down the toilet and go back to bed. At 6.00 am I awoke and the bag was full to bursting and I had to spend the next hour cleaning up after a bad session of diarrhoea. I guessed the implications of this regarding further treatment today was not good.
Wendy and I got to the Hospital by buses, to early to use our Freedom passes on the train, and arrived 15 minutes early. We heard someone in the office talking about blood test data and the fact that the blood analysis data was incomplete and they needed the missing data to be sent over quickly. Very soon after that I was called in to see the doctor and she immediately latched onto the fact that I had had 3 or 4 instances of diarrhoea over the past 2 weeks and that I had just experienced another bout. She said this is one of the side effects of this particular combination of drugs and it would be safer not have any Chemotherapy today and we could try again on Tuesday week. In the meantime I have to log my bowel movements on a daily basis and bring the results in with me next Tuesday.
Wendy and I then went into Kingston and did a bit of shopping and had tea and scones in "A Place To Eat" in the John Lewis store. Over lunch I suddenly realised that I had to go back to the Hospital to have my PICC line cleaned and dressed. So I went back to Hospital and Wendy went home. When I got into the clinic I found Chris and John from the URC were there and Chris was just finishing her treatment for breast cancer they offered me a lift home which I accepted and we spent some time comparing notes on our treatments.
Felt a bit lost during the rest of the day not really knowing what to do. Just as well then that the England v Scotland friendly football match was on TV live.
Monday, 12 August 2013
Up date Thursday 8 August to Sunday 11 August
Thursday 8 August.
Woke up feeling a bit groggy so decided to take it easy through to lunch, had a short nap and did a bit of reading. Wendy wanted to go to the RHS gardens in Wisley so as I didn't feel too bad we decided to go and have a light lunch in the gardens. It was a beautiful day and they had a display of scarecrows in the flower beds mainly of local celebrities, we had mushroom soup for lunch and a piece of cake each. Then as we started walking around the gardens it became very apparent that I was not capable of doing much walking and I ended up sitting by the lake watching the gardeners raking the lawns etc. whilst Wendy went on a short tour of the grounds. It was a nice day out but showed up my limitations.
Friday 9 August
I had another bout of diarrhoea during the night and at 6 am I started taking the Loperamide tablets. This time I took some Dioralyte to replace the salts I was losing, maybe I should have done the same thing on Wednesday after the first incident, and that was why I was feeling groggy on Thursday! I made sure that I got plenty of rest during the day and took another dose of Dioralyte before I went to bed to make sure I had replaced my lost body salts.
Saturday 10 August
Feeling a bit better today and washed my hair when I got up. I was a bit surprised by the amount of hair that gathered around the plug hole. Hhhmm what to do? Some hair had already come out and I kept finding it around the house but I hadn't realised how much it was. Decided that the thing to do was to get a short haircut all over and leave the hair at the barbers and not at home!! Got back from the Barbers after 1.00 pm. George is a good barber but he likes to chat and there had been 3 people in front of me. Spent the afternoon cutting back an overgrown shrub in the garden and after dinner had a rest and went to bed early at 10 pm.
Sunday11 August
Feeling even better today. Cycled off to Church, made my choice for the colour of the new chairs the church was buying to replace the pews, had a good cup of filter coffee and cycled home for a light lunch.
After lunch we drove over to Chorleywood to attend a Thanksgiving Service to celebrate the life of Germaine Donald, the mother of Wendy's brother in law Robert Donald at Chorleywood Free Church (Baptist). It was a wonderful occasion and a good insight into her life was given by her son, daughter in law and her grandchildren and two great grand children. She had been a stalwart member of this Church for 60 years, and was highly regarded in the local community for her many voluntary activities and for over 40 years was an active fund raiser for Cancer Research. During my first round of Chemotherapy she would frequently ring me to see how I was coping with the treatment and to find out if I had any specific issues related to my treatment that she and the Church could pray for. She was an awesome person beloved my many. I shall miss her calls this time around but I know the church will continue to hold me in their prayers and they were pleased to meet me and put a face to the person they had been praying for.
Woke up feeling a bit groggy so decided to take it easy through to lunch, had a short nap and did a bit of reading. Wendy wanted to go to the RHS gardens in Wisley so as I didn't feel too bad we decided to go and have a light lunch in the gardens. It was a beautiful day and they had a display of scarecrows in the flower beds mainly of local celebrities, we had mushroom soup for lunch and a piece of cake each. Then as we started walking around the gardens it became very apparent that I was not capable of doing much walking and I ended up sitting by the lake watching the gardeners raking the lawns etc. whilst Wendy went on a short tour of the grounds. It was a nice day out but showed up my limitations.
Friday 9 August
I had another bout of diarrhoea during the night and at 6 am I started taking the Loperamide tablets. This time I took some Dioralyte to replace the salts I was losing, maybe I should have done the same thing on Wednesday after the first incident, and that was why I was feeling groggy on Thursday! I made sure that I got plenty of rest during the day and took another dose of Dioralyte before I went to bed to make sure I had replaced my lost body salts.
Saturday 10 August
Feeling a bit better today and washed my hair when I got up. I was a bit surprised by the amount of hair that gathered around the plug hole. Hhhmm what to do? Some hair had already come out and I kept finding it around the house but I hadn't realised how much it was. Decided that the thing to do was to get a short haircut all over and leave the hair at the barbers and not at home!! Got back from the Barbers after 1.00 pm. George is a good barber but he likes to chat and there had been 3 people in front of me. Spent the afternoon cutting back an overgrown shrub in the garden and after dinner had a rest and went to bed early at 10 pm.
Sunday11 August
Feeling even better today. Cycled off to Church, made my choice for the colour of the new chairs the church was buying to replace the pews, had a good cup of filter coffee and cycled home for a light lunch.
After lunch we drove over to Chorleywood to attend a Thanksgiving Service to celebrate the life of Germaine Donald, the mother of Wendy's brother in law Robert Donald at Chorleywood Free Church (Baptist). It was a wonderful occasion and a good insight into her life was given by her son, daughter in law and her grandchildren and two great grand children. She had been a stalwart member of this Church for 60 years, and was highly regarded in the local community for her many voluntary activities and for over 40 years was an active fund raiser for Cancer Research. During my first round of Chemotherapy she would frequently ring me to see how I was coping with the treatment and to find out if I had any specific issues related to my treatment that she and the Church could pray for. She was an awesome person beloved my many. I shall miss her calls this time around but I know the church will continue to hold me in their prayers and they were pleased to meet me and put a face to the person they had been praying for.
Friday, 9 August 2013
Wednesday 7 August
Over night I started having diarrhoea and had to get up a couple of times to drain my stoma bag. Woke up in the morning still not feeling well and worst of all my bag had come away from my body and my tummy was covered in loose stools. Wendy was very good and got baby wipes and hot water plus bucket for soiled night wear and between us managed to get me clean so that I could attach a new bag. I also started my Loperamide Hydrochloride tablets taking one every 2 hours for 12 hours which should help to control the diarrhoea.
I was feeling a little better today but still felt a little tired so spent most of the morning reading or dozing. In the afternoon I had to go back to SWRU at Kingston hospital to have my PICC line cleaned and since Alison had the day off she came along as well.Wendy dropped me off at the station in Hampton and I walked the short distance from Norbitton station to the Hospital. Alison was given the task of cleaning the PICC line whilst the nurse guided her. Although she did the cleaning very well she decided that she needed to have another go in 2 weeks time to make sure she could do it properly. There is a lot of flushing out to do with Saline and also with a drug that prevents blood clots in the line.
I caught the train back to Hampton and Wendy picked me up after I had bought some fish and chips for my tea as everyone else was going out to dinner. After dinner I was still feeling tired so I watched a film on playback TV and then went up to bed.
I was feeling a little better today but still felt a little tired so spent most of the morning reading or dozing. In the afternoon I had to go back to SWRU at Kingston hospital to have my PICC line cleaned and since Alison had the day off she came along as well.Wendy dropped me off at the station in Hampton and I walked the short distance from Norbitton station to the Hospital. Alison was given the task of cleaning the PICC line whilst the nurse guided her. Although she did the cleaning very well she decided that she needed to have another go in 2 weeks time to make sure she could do it properly. There is a lot of flushing out to do with Saline and also with a drug that prevents blood clots in the line.
I caught the train back to Hampton and Wendy picked me up after I had bought some fish and chips for my tea as everyone else was going out to dinner. After dinner I was still feeling tired so I watched a film on playback TV and then went up to bed.
Tuesday 6 August
I woke up this morning feeling really bad and tired I didn't really want to get up. My throat and nose were filled with mucous and on blowing my nose bits
of congealed blood came out, another side effect of most chemotherapy
drugs.
I also had a pain in my chest and a little bit of wind although this was not as bad as on the last treatment thanks to the 30mg Lansoprazol that the clinic doctor prescribed for me following my experience on the first Chemo treatment. I have to take one capsule every morning 30 to 60 minutes before eating any food.
I was late getting up and felt very tired all day and spent most of the day in doors either sleeping or reading.
I also had a pain in my chest and a little bit of wind although this was not as bad as on the last treatment thanks to the 30mg Lansoprazol that the clinic doctor prescribed for me following my experience on the first Chemo treatment. I have to take one capsule every morning 30 to 60 minutes before eating any food.
I was late getting up and felt very tired all day and spent most of the day in doors either sleeping or reading.
Wednesday, 7 August 2013
Update Thursday 1 Aug to Monday 5 Aug
For the most of this period I have been feeling quite well and have tried to lead as normal a life as possible. On the Thursday after the drip feed and still had my pump attached which goes under my pillow at night and in my left hand trouser pocket during the day. I weighed the pump a couple of times during the day to check the rate of infusion into my body it was actually pretty close to the prescribed rate of 2.5ml per hour. Spent most of the rest of the day trying to get rid of some computer virus called Babylon which was slowing the computer down. I eventually managed it using a free program called Malwarebytes which seemed to do the trick.
Friday need to go into SWRU to have my pump disconnected in the afternoon. In the morning I helped Wendy doing some weeding and burning up some dried weeds from earlier. Still feeling quite well but I expect by next week I shall be suffering. After lunch Alison and I went into Kingston Hospital, Alison had to see her tutor and I had to have the pump removed. Unfortunately I got there too early around 3.45 pm only to be told that the pump was not empty and could I come back at 5.15 pm. The nursing staff were quite interested in my pump weight records though it worked against me as they knew it had not delivered the full dose which is why I had to come back later. Luckily I had my book with me so I was able to read more of "Sovereign" and the visit of Henry VIII to Yorkshire.
Saturday another fine sunny day so we spent much of the day on the allotment and in the garden mainly tidying things up and filling in fox runs under the fences. We went looking for barbed wire to put in under the fence but Wickes and Homebase don't stock it any more, perhaps we should try a Garden Centre. As we had had a busy day Wendy suggested we use up some lunch vouchers by going out for dinner at the local Beefeater in Twickenham with Alison. We had a lovely meal but had to wait some time for it as they were a man down in the kitchen. Result we have a free bottle of wine next time we go there!! Also our waitress had a badge on that said "If I don't tell you about our breakfasts then you can claim a free, she didn't so we have a free breakfast for Sunday morning.
Sunday up early as we need to get our free breakfast before Church. Fantastic breakfast eat as much as you like breakfast bar plus a full cooked breakfast order as much as you like from the list. A really nice experience tempted to do it again one day we would highly recommend the food as it was all very fresh. After church we did not feel like lunch so we cycled to Hampton Court to watch the pro cyclists cycling round the 100 mile Olympic course through London and Surrey, don't blink or you miss it. We then had a picnic lunch of one apple each as we watched the Thames river traffic followed a walk round the Palace gardens and a lovely single cone chocolate ice cream eaten in the rose garden. Another lovely day and still feeling well.
Monday got up fairly early and spent most of the morning reading my book. This afternoon I had to attend a clinic run by my surgeon in Queen Mary's Hospital Roehampton. He has taken a keen interest in my case and wants to see how I get along under the Chemotherapy treatment. We set off in good time for the appointment but got caught in some heavy showers and had traffic problems in Kingston due road works to replace some sewers that had filled up with fat and the flow rate had fallen to just 5% of full capacity. The clinic went quite well and I picked up one or two tips from the surgeon. Due to meet him again on 28 October. Return car journey was done in really heavy rain all the way, the biggest downpour we have had for quite a while.
Still feeling quite well I had thought the effects of the drug would be showing by now, I wonder what tomorrow will bring?
Friday need to go into SWRU to have my pump disconnected in the afternoon. In the morning I helped Wendy doing some weeding and burning up some dried weeds from earlier. Still feeling quite well but I expect by next week I shall be suffering. After lunch Alison and I went into Kingston Hospital, Alison had to see her tutor and I had to have the pump removed. Unfortunately I got there too early around 3.45 pm only to be told that the pump was not empty and could I come back at 5.15 pm. The nursing staff were quite interested in my pump weight records though it worked against me as they knew it had not delivered the full dose which is why I had to come back later. Luckily I had my book with me so I was able to read more of "Sovereign" and the visit of Henry VIII to Yorkshire.
Saturday another fine sunny day so we spent much of the day on the allotment and in the garden mainly tidying things up and filling in fox runs under the fences. We went looking for barbed wire to put in under the fence but Wickes and Homebase don't stock it any more, perhaps we should try a Garden Centre. As we had had a busy day Wendy suggested we use up some lunch vouchers by going out for dinner at the local Beefeater in Twickenham with Alison. We had a lovely meal but had to wait some time for it as they were a man down in the kitchen. Result we have a free bottle of wine next time we go there!! Also our waitress had a badge on that said "If I don't tell you about our breakfasts then you can claim a free, she didn't so we have a free breakfast for Sunday morning.
Sunday up early as we need to get our free breakfast before Church. Fantastic breakfast eat as much as you like breakfast bar plus a full cooked breakfast order as much as you like from the list. A really nice experience tempted to do it again one day we would highly recommend the food as it was all very fresh. After church we did not feel like lunch so we cycled to Hampton Court to watch the pro cyclists cycling round the 100 mile Olympic course through London and Surrey, don't blink or you miss it. We then had a picnic lunch of one apple each as we watched the Thames river traffic followed a walk round the Palace gardens and a lovely single cone chocolate ice cream eaten in the rose garden. Another lovely day and still feeling well.
Monday got up fairly early and spent most of the morning reading my book. This afternoon I had to attend a clinic run by my surgeon in Queen Mary's Hospital Roehampton. He has taken a keen interest in my case and wants to see how I get along under the Chemotherapy treatment. We set off in good time for the appointment but got caught in some heavy showers and had traffic problems in Kingston due road works to replace some sewers that had filled up with fat and the flow rate had fallen to just 5% of full capacity. The clinic went quite well and I picked up one or two tips from the surgeon. Due to meet him again on 28 October. Return car journey was done in really heavy rain all the way, the biggest downpour we have had for quite a while.
Still feeling quite well I had thought the effects of the drug would be showing by now, I wonder what tomorrow will bring?
Sunday, 4 August 2013
31 July:- Second round of Chemotherapy.
Wednesday morning no lazing around with leisurely breakfasts as we have to be in Sir William Rous Unit by 10.15am. we arrived on time and saw the doctor fairly promptly, she said my bloods were all OK so that I could go ahead with the treatment. She has given me an additional drug to take to counter one of the side effects, bringing up wind and acid reflux, the Drug is Lansoprazole and I take one a day 30 to 60 minutes before food in the morning, lets hope that this will work for me.
Although we got past the doctor quickly today there was a delay in the clinic because of an overbooking of patients 21 instead of 15. This meant that I was waiting until around 1 to 1.15p.m. before they started up my treatment. I feel much more relaxed with this new treatment because of the PICC line I do not need to have a Cannula attached to a vein in my arm at every visit, the part of the treatment I used to hate, big wossey that I am!
Once the treatment was going I relaxed and became engrossed with the book I was reading, Wendy was doing her knitting for the baby that Paul and Nicola are expecting 6 Feb 2014, good news eh! Next up, change of drug on the drip line, the Marsden work sheet suggested that two drugs should be given at the same time to save an hours time, fine I am all up for it. However there was a small hitch as this was the first time they had done this at SWRU, so the first try was to use a single pump but on its own it could not handle the combined flow rate. After a bit of discussion they decided to pinch another pump and use two separate pumps and the ward sister and the head Pharmacist came out to check that this would be OK, thumbs up all round and we were off for another hour due to finish around 5.00 pm. We eventually got out out around 5.30 pm plus the pump and feeling quite good and very happy with the days events apart from the delays but hey the staff all had a hard day and managed to cope reasonably well.
Once I got home I decided to weigh my pump on the kitchen scales, 166 grams at 6.10 pm., I decided to weigh it daily and check the rate of infusion was on track .....more later. Had a nice quiet evening before I went to bed quite re-assured that all was OK.
PS sorry that I am late with this important blog I have already been told off by cousin Ann and sister Kay in Canada, my apologies to all who are following -- I must try harder.
Although we got past the doctor quickly today there was a delay in the clinic because of an overbooking of patients 21 instead of 15. This meant that I was waiting until around 1 to 1.15p.m. before they started up my treatment. I feel much more relaxed with this new treatment because of the PICC line I do not need to have a Cannula attached to a vein in my arm at every visit, the part of the treatment I used to hate, big wossey that I am!
Once the treatment was going I relaxed and became engrossed with the book I was reading, Wendy was doing her knitting for the baby that Paul and Nicola are expecting 6 Feb 2014, good news eh! Next up, change of drug on the drip line, the Marsden work sheet suggested that two drugs should be given at the same time to save an hours time, fine I am all up for it. However there was a small hitch as this was the first time they had done this at SWRU, so the first try was to use a single pump but on its own it could not handle the combined flow rate. After a bit of discussion they decided to pinch another pump and use two separate pumps and the ward sister and the head Pharmacist came out to check that this would be OK, thumbs up all round and we were off for another hour due to finish around 5.00 pm. We eventually got out out around 5.30 pm plus the pump and feeling quite good and very happy with the days events apart from the delays but hey the staff all had a hard day and managed to cope reasonably well.
Once I got home I decided to weigh my pump on the kitchen scales, 166 grams at 6.10 pm., I decided to weigh it daily and check the rate of infusion was on track .....more later. Had a nice quiet evening before I went to bed quite re-assured that all was OK.
PS sorry that I am late with this important blog I have already been told off by cousin Ann and sister Kay in Canada, my apologies to all who are following -- I must try harder.
Thursday, 1 August 2013
Tuesday 30 July
Woke up feeling good again so decided to get on with my next job which was to fit a black out blind to the Velux roof light in Alison's bedroom about 9 foot high. Alison was helping me by holding the step ladder whilst I went up. She kept me supplied with the components I needed from the pre-packed kit. We got about halfway through and then stopped for a quick lunch break, we managed to finish it off soon after lunch. Alison was quite pleased to see how dark the room looked with the blind closed. The blind has a shiny surface next to the glazing which should conserve heat in the winter and keep the room cooler in the summer. Still feeling in good condition and not at all tired and I left around 2.30 pm to go into Kingston Hospital, where they took blood samples from me to monitor my levels and see if there were any possible issues that would prevent me from having the next round of chemotherapy, which of course starts tomorrow. I went to bed hoping that all would go well and there would be no hangups.
Monday 29 July
Again woke up around 7 to 8 am but didn't get down stairs until around 9 am. As I was feeling quite good I decided to prune back hard a Eucalyptus tree that was growing too big and putting down roots around my roof drainage pipes leading to a soak away. This took most of the day and I still felt good but decided to relax and spend a bit more time reading C. J. Sansom's book Sovereign. Overall an active and productive day and I went to bed feeling fit and well.
Sunday 28 July
Woke up feeling good, decided to get a shower after all the walking around we did yesterday at the Olympic Park. I felt a lot fresher as it has been quite warm and muggy over the last few days. My body seems to have recovered from the effects of the first dose of Chemotherapy and I feel in control and back to normal. Cycled up to the URC Church about 1 mile for the regular Sunday Service this time led by John Latham who is covering prayer this week and next Sunday.
I then cycled down to the Methodists as they were having a farewell celebration for the lay pastor, Ben, who is leaving after 5 years there to go to be part of a joint missionary team in a Church in Milton Keynes. The Large hall was packed and we had an excellent cooked lunch followed by a wide selection of cakes and puddings, followed by tea and coffee. Cycled home and watched the Ladies World Cup football final with Germany winning yet again. Had an early night as again I had not had a sleep in the day.
I then cycled down to the Methodists as they were having a farewell celebration for the lay pastor, Ben, who is leaving after 5 years there to go to be part of a joint missionary team in a Church in Milton Keynes. The Large hall was packed and we had an excellent cooked lunch followed by a wide selection of cakes and puddings, followed by tea and coffee. Cycled home and watched the Ladies World Cup football final with Germany winning yet again. Had an early night as again I had not had a sleep in the day.
Sunday, 28 July 2013
Update 26 and 27 July
Friday 26 July
Woke up early this morning and felt quite good. After breakfast Wendy cycled into Kingston to go to the market and buy green groceries for a farewell lunch the Methodists were organising for their lay pastor on Sunday. I stayed at home and got on with my blog. When Wendy came back with all her salad food we had lunch followed by coffee, I sat in the armchair to drink mine. However when I woke up Wendy had gone out. I guess I needed an hour or so of sleep, she left a note to say that she had left for Sainsbury's. Quite a good restful day as we were going to the Olympic park with our friend Liz tomorrow to see Mo Farah, Usain Bolt and Jessica Eniss-Hill competing in the Diamond League athletics event.
Saturday 27 July
Woke up early and decided to have a shower and as we were going to be out all day I changed my stoma bag to a drainable one and made sure I covered the air vent to stop water getting in to it while in the shower. In order to have a shower you need to be able to keep your PICC dry otherwise there is a strong risk of infection. This means pulling a rectangular shaped bag with a largish hole one end to fit round your upper arm and a small hole at the lower end to fit over your lower arm into the right position. So stoma bag vent blocked, PICC protected by a stretchy plastic bag it is safe to get into the shower. After the shower I got dressed and went down for breakfast feeling fresh and well and ready for an interesting day ahead. We breakfasted on cereal and toast, prepared a packed lunch with plenty of water and left home at 10.30 am to catch the 10.50 am train to London Waterloo. From there we caught the Jubilee tube line direct to Stratford and the Olympic park. It was a great day out and gave me a chance to forget about whatever else is going on and enjoy life. This was the first athletics event that I have ever been to and it was interesting to see how they fit all the different events into a 3 hour slot, (A cheer goes up where do you look?). A fabulous stadium but looks a bit large to be used by West Ham as a football stadium!!
Seem to be on the up at the moment I wonder what tomorrow will bring.
Woke up early this morning and felt quite good. After breakfast Wendy cycled into Kingston to go to the market and buy green groceries for a farewell lunch the Methodists were organising for their lay pastor on Sunday. I stayed at home and got on with my blog. When Wendy came back with all her salad food we had lunch followed by coffee, I sat in the armchair to drink mine. However when I woke up Wendy had gone out. I guess I needed an hour or so of sleep, she left a note to say that she had left for Sainsbury's. Quite a good restful day as we were going to the Olympic park with our friend Liz tomorrow to see Mo Farah, Usain Bolt and Jessica Eniss-Hill competing in the Diamond League athletics event.
Saturday 27 July
Woke up early and decided to have a shower and as we were going to be out all day I changed my stoma bag to a drainable one and made sure I covered the air vent to stop water getting in to it while in the shower. In order to have a shower you need to be able to keep your PICC dry otherwise there is a strong risk of infection. This means pulling a rectangular shaped bag with a largish hole one end to fit round your upper arm and a small hole at the lower end to fit over your lower arm into the right position. So stoma bag vent blocked, PICC protected by a stretchy plastic bag it is safe to get into the shower. After the shower I got dressed and went down for breakfast feeling fresh and well and ready for an interesting day ahead. We breakfasted on cereal and toast, prepared a packed lunch with plenty of water and left home at 10.30 am to catch the 10.50 am train to London Waterloo. From there we caught the Jubilee tube line direct to Stratford and the Olympic park. It was a great day out and gave me a chance to forget about whatever else is going on and enjoy life. This was the first athletics event that I have ever been to and it was interesting to see how they fit all the different events into a 3 hour slot, (A cheer goes up where do you look?). A fabulous stadium but looks a bit large to be used by West Ham as a football stadium!!
Seem to be on the up at the moment I wonder what tomorrow will bring.
Friday, 26 July 2013
Update 23 to 25 July
Tuesday, 23 July.
Woke up this morning feeling generally OK and after breakfast updated my blog. Around mid day I started to feel tired, so I stretched out on the bed for a rest but when I woke up I had a bit of a shock - my stoma bag had filled with air and excretion and was almost forcing itself off my body. Quickly I got some water and was just about to change my bag when cousin Joan rang from Australia, I said I was dealing with an emergency and she agreed to ring back about one hour later. Removing the bag the excrement was unusually soft -- I had diarrhoea!! I had been warned that this was a high possibility, so I decided to use a drainable bag this time, I hadn't got one prepared so I had to mark and cut out the hole to fit it around my stoma causing me delays and worrying about a sudden rush of soft excrement before I could get the bag attached (I should have done the preparation before removing the bag, folks!!). Everything worked out fine and I went down for lunch and as promised Joan rang to see how I was getting on and to say she found the blog site a useful way of keeping in touch. She said she had recommended to Ann "Dissolution" by C. J. Sansom set in the reign of Henry the eighth and featuring the lawyer Matthew Shardlake. I read a few more pages of the book before going to bed each night at around 11.30 pm.
Wednesday 24 July.
I woke two or three times during the night to drain my bag that had filled up with loose excrement each time. That morning at 6 am Wendy said that I should be taking the tablets the pharmasist had given me. She went down to get them and started me off with 2 2mg Loperamide Hydrochloride capsules and the she made sure that I took the rest of them one at a time every two hours until 6 pm. Wendy has been fantastic through this week making sure I have my treatments and logging my blood pressure for next Monday. The rest of the day went fine with the diarrhoea under control.
In the afternoon I had to go back to the Sir William Rouse Unit at 4 pm to have my PICC line cleaned. As my daughter Alison was working a 12.5 hour shift as a student nurse in Alexandra Ward of Kingston Hospital I had arranged for her to come and see how the device should be cleaned. After the cleaning the sister on the Chemo Unit said that before Alison could do the cleaning at home she would have to come back another time and be monitored by the Sister to ensure that she was competent to do the PICC line cleaning (Something to do with Insurance).
Thursday 25 July.
I have found so far this week that I now tend to get tired very easily without doing anything particularly strenuous. Most days this week I have had to have a short 1-2 hour sleep at some point during the day. I hope that this will decrease as the week goes on. I arranged to take Alison into Kingston to set up a savings account for her at a Building Society. After that we shared a banana split ice cream at Creams, I had to go to the Hospital as Alison said my PICC line looked a little inflamed and was oozing. It turned out to be OK. Later that evening we all went to the Thursday evening Curry Club to enjoy the company of our friends from the URC. I am trying to keep doing those things I would normally do as far as possible including cycling and gardening whenever possible.
Woke up this morning feeling generally OK and after breakfast updated my blog. Around mid day I started to feel tired, so I stretched out on the bed for a rest but when I woke up I had a bit of a shock - my stoma bag had filled with air and excretion and was almost forcing itself off my body. Quickly I got some water and was just about to change my bag when cousin Joan rang from Australia, I said I was dealing with an emergency and she agreed to ring back about one hour later. Removing the bag the excrement was unusually soft -- I had diarrhoea!! I had been warned that this was a high possibility, so I decided to use a drainable bag this time, I hadn't got one prepared so I had to mark and cut out the hole to fit it around my stoma causing me delays and worrying about a sudden rush of soft excrement before I could get the bag attached (I should have done the preparation before removing the bag, folks!!). Everything worked out fine and I went down for lunch and as promised Joan rang to see how I was getting on and to say she found the blog site a useful way of keeping in touch. She said she had recommended to Ann "Dissolution" by C. J. Sansom set in the reign of Henry the eighth and featuring the lawyer Matthew Shardlake. I read a few more pages of the book before going to bed each night at around 11.30 pm.
Wednesday 24 July.
I woke two or three times during the night to drain my bag that had filled up with loose excrement each time. That morning at 6 am Wendy said that I should be taking the tablets the pharmasist had given me. She went down to get them and started me off with 2 2mg Loperamide Hydrochloride capsules and the she made sure that I took the rest of them one at a time every two hours until 6 pm. Wendy has been fantastic through this week making sure I have my treatments and logging my blood pressure for next Monday. The rest of the day went fine with the diarrhoea under control.
In the afternoon I had to go back to the Sir William Rouse Unit at 4 pm to have my PICC line cleaned. As my daughter Alison was working a 12.5 hour shift as a student nurse in Alexandra Ward of Kingston Hospital I had arranged for her to come and see how the device should be cleaned. After the cleaning the sister on the Chemo Unit said that before Alison could do the cleaning at home she would have to come back another time and be monitored by the Sister to ensure that she was competent to do the PICC line cleaning (Something to do with Insurance).
Thursday 25 July.
I have found so far this week that I now tend to get tired very easily without doing anything particularly strenuous. Most days this week I have had to have a short 1-2 hour sleep at some point during the day. I hope that this will decrease as the week goes on. I arranged to take Alison into Kingston to set up a savings account for her at a Building Society. After that we shared a banana split ice cream at Creams, I had to go to the Hospital as Alison said my PICC line looked a little inflamed and was oozing. It turned out to be OK. Later that evening we all went to the Thursday evening Curry Club to enjoy the company of our friends from the URC. I am trying to keep doing those things I would normally do as far as possible including cycling and gardening whenever possible.
Tuesday, 23 July 2013
22 July
Woke up about 5.30 am feeling really bad, I had an excess of mucous at the back of my throat which I kept trying to clear and was causing me to gag. But even worse was wind coming from my gut that I had to keep belching to clear, this left me with a sharp pain in the middle of my chest. I tried going back to sleep but couldn't get comfortable and after 20 or 30 minutes the symptoms came back and again I had to sit up and keep belching and clearing my throat. Eventually I did drop off for a short while but by 7.00 am I decided to get up and set up a visit to my GP. Her surgery opens at 8.30 am but after 10 minutes of phoning I could not get connected so having had breakfast I cycled to the surgery and saw the receptionist and got an appointment for 11.10 am straight away ( This is how we normally get appointments on the day). Meanwhile I got together the records of my daily blood pressure that I had been taking to show my GP as instructed by my nurse on Wednesday.
The GP that I saw was a young male locum, normally all our practice GPs are female. Firstly he checked my blood pressure which he observed was higher than the readings that I was taking. The reading was something like 163/80 and he decided that I should immediately start taking blood pressure tablets. He then checked my ears as I was having trouble with excess mucous and blocked ears and he found that only my left ear was blocked up with wax so he gave me oil to put in the ear three drops three times a day. He couldn't do much about the wind and pain in my chest as he felt this was entirely due to the chemotherapy but I could take some antacid (chalk) tablets if it made me more comfortable. Finally he checked my stomach and agreed that it was nice and soft. (soft is good, hard lumps are bad I guess).
Today the effects of the chemo have kicked in hard and I have felt quite tired and had a 2 hour sleep after coming back from the GPs and a further 2 hours in the afternoon and then after our evening meal I settled down to read a book borrowed from my cousin Ann called "Dissolution" a crime novel set in a monastery at the time of Henry the 8th. What will tomorrow bring?
The GP that I saw was a young male locum, normally all our practice GPs are female. Firstly he checked my blood pressure which he observed was higher than the readings that I was taking. The reading was something like 163/80 and he decided that I should immediately start taking blood pressure tablets. He then checked my ears as I was having trouble with excess mucous and blocked ears and he found that only my left ear was blocked up with wax so he gave me oil to put in the ear three drops three times a day. He couldn't do much about the wind and pain in my chest as he felt this was entirely due to the chemotherapy but I could take some antacid (chalk) tablets if it made me more comfortable. Finally he checked my stomach and agreed that it was nice and soft. (soft is good, hard lumps are bad I guess).
Today the effects of the chemo have kicked in hard and I have felt quite tired and had a 2 hour sleep after coming back from the GPs and a further 2 hours in the afternoon and then after our evening meal I settled down to read a book borrowed from my cousin Ann called "Dissolution" a crime novel set in a monastery at the time of Henry the 8th. What will tomorrow bring?
Up date 18 July to 21 July
Thursday After a very tiring day on Wednesday we surprisingly woke fairly early Thursday morning, I had not been strangled in the night by the PICC line that went across my pillow so that the pump could be tucked in at the bedhead. As I was feeling alright I decided to do some jobs a little pruning on the Wisteria which was getting very ragged as usual and then on the allotment I tackled the weeds around the onions before lunch. Wendy was getting a bit cross with me because it was so hot and I was in danger of overheating. So after a light lunch we decided to go to Kingston as Wendy needed to buy a few things in John Lewis and Lakeland and it would be relatively cooler in the shops. We got back by 4.30 pm as I had to take a couple of steroid pills with a sickness tablet with some food before 6 pm., apparently the steroids would prevent me from getting to sleep if I took them later than that. Generally I have felt fine today with no noticeable effects from the drugs.
On Friday I had to go back to the Sir William Rouse unit to have my pump removed roughly 48 hours after it was attached. I arranged for Alison who is on a nursing PGDip course at Kingston University and is gaining nursing experience in Alexandra ward at the Hospital to come and see the pump being removed. Then if the clinic approved she could remove the pump at home and take it in for disposal. Carrying the pump had not been a problem as most of the time it was in my trouser pocket. Although I needed to have a shower I didn't feel like having one with the pump connected to the PICC line as I could not see how to keep it dry and where would I put the pump when I had nothing on? So for a couple of days I was having a strip wash with a wet flannel. Still not feeling the effects of the drugs.
Saturday. Wendy was spending most of the day at Church helping with Messy Church the last one for this term. As I normally try to go cycling with the club on Saturdays and I was still feeling good I decided to out for a ride. I rode out to Non Such park in Cheam, via Kingston, Berrylands and Worcester Park, to join the group at 2 pm. I joined the long riders and we cycled off through New Malden, Richmond Park, Ham and finishing at Teddington Lock where we stopped for tea. I rode on with the group to Bushy Park where I left them and headed for Hampton Hill to watch a bit of cricket and see the Club's new pavilion. Still feeling good and in the evening Paul and Nicola came round for a barbeque, the weather still remains hot!!
Sunday. Seemed to have a bit of a problem with the development of mucous in my throat which occasionally made me gag as though I was being sick. Went to Church but had difficulty singing as my ears seemed to be blocked up and to me my voice sounded peculiar. My first signs of a reaction to the drugs. As we both had busy days yesterday we decided to lounge around and have complete rest and watch a bit of the Tour de France and Froome's victory parade into Paris.
On Friday I had to go back to the Sir William Rouse unit to have my pump removed roughly 48 hours after it was attached. I arranged for Alison who is on a nursing PGDip course at Kingston University and is gaining nursing experience in Alexandra ward at the Hospital to come and see the pump being removed. Then if the clinic approved she could remove the pump at home and take it in for disposal. Carrying the pump had not been a problem as most of the time it was in my trouser pocket. Although I needed to have a shower I didn't feel like having one with the pump connected to the PICC line as I could not see how to keep it dry and where would I put the pump when I had nothing on? So for a couple of days I was having a strip wash with a wet flannel. Still not feeling the effects of the drugs.
Saturday. Wendy was spending most of the day at Church helping with Messy Church the last one for this term. As I normally try to go cycling with the club on Saturdays and I was still feeling good I decided to out for a ride. I rode out to Non Such park in Cheam, via Kingston, Berrylands and Worcester Park, to join the group at 2 pm. I joined the long riders and we cycled off through New Malden, Richmond Park, Ham and finishing at Teddington Lock where we stopped for tea. I rode on with the group to Bushy Park where I left them and headed for Hampton Hill to watch a bit of cricket and see the Club's new pavilion. Still feeling good and in the evening Paul and Nicola came round for a barbeque, the weather still remains hot!!
Sunday. Seemed to have a bit of a problem with the development of mucous in my throat which occasionally made me gag as though I was being sick. Went to Church but had difficulty singing as my ears seemed to be blocked up and to me my voice sounded peculiar. My first signs of a reaction to the drugs. As we both had busy days yesterday we decided to lounge around and have complete rest and watch a bit of the Tour de France and Froome's victory parade into Paris.
Friday, 19 July 2013
17 July, Day 2
The first day of my second round of chemotherapy treatment at the Sir William Rouse clinic in Kingston Hospital. I had to be there for 9.00am and got there on time only to have to wait until 9.45 am for the doctor to see me and confirm what treatment I was due to have, there was also a check of my bloods to make sure that everything was normal, no low counts etc. After signing to agree to the treatment I was let into the clinic. This is a large room with high windows on two sides and reclining chairs arranged around three sides for patients to relax whilst being infused with highly toxic liquids.
My nurse for the day was Sunam who was very thorough in everything that she did. She took me through the process that I was to undergo which involved the use of three different drugs, the first would be a 90 minute infusion of irinotecan, followed by a two hour infusion of Aflibercept (folinic acid) a drug designed to make the irinotecan more effective by lowering the blood supply to the cancer cells (My understanding). The next drug would be given in two doses a short 30 minute infusion of 5FU mixed with glucose. Finally I would be fitted with a pump that contained a much larger dose of 5FU which was connected to my PICC line and had to be taken home to be returned in 48 hours for disconnection providing it had been fully discharged into my body.
Before the treatment could start I had my blood pressure checked to make sure it was within the allowed limits of 140/90, my initial reading was 147/80. Out of range need to wait for me to calm down after hearing about all the nasty side effects that these drugs can cause such as the possibility of heart pains and tightness in the chest and the need to immediately dial 999. 15 minutes later the test was repeated this time 143/83, still no go and the need to consult with the doctor, doctors are always busy so it was a wee while before the decision was made to go ahead provided that I monitored my blood pressure over the next week and took readings to my GP to see if anything needed to be done.
The time was now 12.15 pm and the treatment time including flushing out with saline between drugs etc. meant that I would finish around 5.30 pm. Wendy and I eventually left at 5.40 pm to catch the buses home to arrive at 6.50 pm because of the heavy traffic. During diner I took the first of my sickness pills as there is a high possibility of feeling/being sick.
Bed time was interesting where do I put the pump when I am in bed? Finally we decided that it should go behind my pillow so that the PICC-line came up from my left shoulder through the top of my night wear and onto the pillow. That settled we had a well earned sleep after a very long day.
My nurse for the day was Sunam who was very thorough in everything that she did. She took me through the process that I was to undergo which involved the use of three different drugs, the first would be a 90 minute infusion of irinotecan, followed by a two hour infusion of Aflibercept (folinic acid) a drug designed to make the irinotecan more effective by lowering the blood supply to the cancer cells (My understanding). The next drug would be given in two doses a short 30 minute infusion of 5FU mixed with glucose. Finally I would be fitted with a pump that contained a much larger dose of 5FU which was connected to my PICC line and had to be taken home to be returned in 48 hours for disconnection providing it had been fully discharged into my body.
Before the treatment could start I had my blood pressure checked to make sure it was within the allowed limits of 140/90, my initial reading was 147/80. Out of range need to wait for me to calm down after hearing about all the nasty side effects that these drugs can cause such as the possibility of heart pains and tightness in the chest and the need to immediately dial 999. 15 minutes later the test was repeated this time 143/83, still no go and the need to consult with the doctor, doctors are always busy so it was a wee while before the decision was made to go ahead provided that I monitored my blood pressure over the next week and took readings to my GP to see if anything needed to be done.
The time was now 12.15 pm and the treatment time including flushing out with saline between drugs etc. meant that I would finish around 5.30 pm. Wendy and I eventually left at 5.40 pm to catch the buses home to arrive at 6.50 pm because of the heavy traffic. During diner I took the first of my sickness pills as there is a high possibility of feeling/being sick.
Bed time was interesting where do I put the pump when I am in bed? Finally we decided that it should go behind my pillow so that the PICC-line came up from my left shoulder through the top of my night wear and onto the pillow. That settled we had a well earned sleep after a very long day.
Thursday, 18 July 2013
Day 1, 16 July 2013
This is the beginning of my second round of chemotherapy treatment for bowel cancer. It follows on from my surgery on 12 March to remove the tumour in my anus and provide me with a permanent stoma. This operation went very well and my quality of life post-op has been very significantly improved and I thank the whole surgical and the nursing support teams at Kingston Hospital for their excellent work. Following the operation a CT scan showed that the cancer had spread into the rest of my body hence the need for more palliative chemotherapy which started today 16 July 2013.
I had to be at the Royal Marsden, Sutton for 9.00am and we left home at 8.15 am arriving 5 minutes late to be greeted by the nursing staff who were going to fit a PICC line into a vein on my upper arm leading into a larger vein near my heart. The PICC line is a Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter which can be left in for at least one year and saves having to have a cannula fitted for each treatment, it also allows for bloods to be taken without needles, Yes!!
The whole procedure was done under local anaesthetic by a brilliant nurse, Lisa, who had explained everything clearly to me in advance and was very proud of the recently acquired online system that was able to plot the progress of a small magnet in the end of the line which allowed her to get the end of the PICC line in exactly the right place. This had to be confirmed by X-rays and signed off by the doctors before I left at around 12 noon. All in all in wasn't such a bad experience and I was able to drive Wendy home with no problems apart from the hold up at the Scilly Isles roundabout where there had been an accident between two cars and two lorries.
I had to be at the Royal Marsden, Sutton for 9.00am and we left home at 8.15 am arriving 5 minutes late to be greeted by the nursing staff who were going to fit a PICC line into a vein on my upper arm leading into a larger vein near my heart. The PICC line is a Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter which can be left in for at least one year and saves having to have a cannula fitted for each treatment, it also allows for bloods to be taken without needles, Yes!!
The whole procedure was done under local anaesthetic by a brilliant nurse, Lisa, who had explained everything clearly to me in advance and was very proud of the recently acquired online system that was able to plot the progress of a small magnet in the end of the line which allowed her to get the end of the PICC line in exactly the right place. This had to be confirmed by X-rays and signed off by the doctors before I left at around 12 noon. All in all in wasn't such a bad experience and I was able to drive Wendy home with no problems apart from the hold up at the Scilly Isles roundabout where there had been an accident between two cars and two lorries.
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