Settling in.............

It's over a week since my last post and the time has flown by, seems like only a couple of days. The antibiotics have done the business and I'm now able to swallow solid food so I'm back on the Ruby Murray's and the chinkees. Still got the thyroid lump and my new doc is referring me to a specialist - but thinks it will sort itself in time. My latest blood test showed normal blood counts and near normal thyroid levels although the TSH is still low.
Got my first cancer follow up appointment with my new haemotologist in Aberdeen on 31st May, then probably every 3 months for a year or two and then 6 monthly for the next 10 years-ish.

Had a hair raising journey from Ardrossan in the overloaded tranny van the other day. The front brake pads collapsed only a few miles out from Ardrossan, so had to make the journey up to Aberdeen with the handbrake only - doh!!! Had one or two 'tanner-shillin' moments with some near rear end shunts - ooer, but eventually arrived safe and sound - Tranny's off the road now, waiting for bits and the drivers seat requires a valet!

Settling into the new house well, everything is superb at the moment apart from the Starlings that are nesting in the chimney - my trigger finger is getting itchy!!!

Thoughts go out to Chris, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin's shortly after my own diagnosis. His post chemo PET scan has come out positive with some residual disease, so he has to undergo further chemo. Stick with it matey, we'll soon have this cracked!

Moooooved

We're now on a temporary dial up connection until our broadband is up 'n truckin in the next week or two. Blog updates might be sporadic!
Moved into the new house on the 15th, everything went sweet and we're now busy emptying what seems like a thousand boxes! The house backs onto a field full of cows which stampede towards the house when the dogs start barking where they remain for an hour or two looking over the fence and scratching themselves on our wheelie bins.

Haven't eaten anything for twelve days now, my throat has been pure hell and I've demolished a couple of boxes of painkillers which give only slight respite. Went to the quacks the day before move day who suggested the pain was due to thrush, which apparently is common in chemo patients. The medicine prescribed has had no effect so I was at my new doctors yesterday where he suggested it might be strep throat and so prescribed an antibiotic which after only a day seems to be having an effect, might be eating normally next week. Lost 17lbs of blubber so far!
The doc suggested my blood counts might be low, so I also had a blood test while I was there, results on Monday.
Back to the unpacking........................

Radiotherapy - Week 3

This week has easily been the worst week of my adult life!! Even worse than my baddest chemo days. I haven't eaten anything since last Monday and even drinking water is pure torture. My throat is extremely sore and swollen and I have been told that this will persist for another two weeks before getting better. I've had no sleep for the last two nights either and I'm vomiting on occasion due to the swelling stimulating my gag reflex. On the bright side - if there is one, the radiotherapy is now complete and I've dropped 9 lbs of lard this week.
I'd expected these side effects, but me being a bad-arse thought I'd just shrug them off as usual but how wrong was I? I'm rattling with pain killers, I'm even on oral morphine but none of it is doing any good.
I also have a large bald patch on the back of my head which, as you can see looks fantastic!
My bowels have seized up due to no food, haven't had a Tom Tit for 5 days.

The blood test taken to check my thyroid function shows it is not producing the normal levels of T4 hormone - hence the sudden weight gain, but further, my pituitary gland is not producing enough TSH hormone to stimulate the thyroid. This may all be hangover from the chemo and is now being walloped by the radio. I am being referred to an endocrinologist when I get to Aberdeen. If its not one thing, its summink else!!!

Apart from that, everything's champion!!!!
More whinging to follow......................................

Radiotherapy - Week 2

Two weeks down, one to go. This week was pretty much like the first, plenty of window shopping around Glasgae, seemed to have spent most of the week reading magazines in Borders bookshop.
One side effect is kicking in big time - my throat is as sore as a mackem caught up the Toon, and it's getting difficult to swallow solids just now, by next week will probably be on liquidised food, last nights zinger was torture!! Also getting a bit of a suntan on one side of my face and neck.
Saw the consultant on Wednesday, discussed my Thyroid and took a blood sample to checks its function - will find out result next Wednesday, it's still very swollen and is causing additional problems when swallowing.
The silver lining of the throat problems is that I'm off my food and feel like I've dropped a few pounds this week. Chins are down from four to three and I appear to have only one arse!!
Went to the flicks last night to see 'This is England', set in the 80's, it's about the skinhead culture of the time - worth a watch, especially if the cinema has Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia - brilliant for a raggy throat!!
Got home this afternoon on the 1230 boat.

Thyroid

Been doing a bit of surfing to find out what the large swelling is in my throat, just below my Adam's apple. I've had this swelling since the start of chemo in January. It comes and goes but is usually always there and is even more prevalent since the start of radiotherapy.
The lump is my thyroid gland and when swollen usually means it is not functioning correctly. The thyroid is responsible for regulating metabolism and when not functioning can lead to weight gain and fatigue among other symtoms - I knew it wasn't the pies!!! I'll bring this up with Doc F on Wednesday. A blood test/needle biopsy (woohoo) will confirm its function and can be substituted with thyroid hormone replacement therapy, although I think they won't entertain this until the radio is finished in two weeks. Off to the mainland today for Radio week 2, see ya Friday........................

Radiotherapy - Week 1

Two words sum up this week.................bored shitless!!!
No internet (so no blogging) for a week as there was no suitable connection available in the hotel.
Arrived at the New Beatson Hospital on Monday - Treatment room H. This hospital is brand new and the equipment has been recently commissioned but still has a few teething problems as I was to find out later in the week. I was soon called into the treatment room which was more like the internals of the Enterprise - loads of impressively gleaming equipment, flashing lights, lasers and VDU's. Prostrate and shackled to to the bed via my mask the radiotherapy machine went about its business of buzzing then rotating and further buzzing. In less than two minutes I was done, no pain (no gain) or other sensations at all. The volunteer driver service turned up after a few minutes and whisked me into the city for my first of four nights in the Jury's Hotel. Apart from the occasional delay due to equipment faults, each day was much like the first and I whiled most of my days away window shopping. I have to admit to doing something that I swore I never would! I've been forced into shelling out for the largest pair of jeans I've ever bought - 38" waist - doh!!! I was just so fed up with my elasticated jogger bottoms (chav pants) that I've admitted defeat to my ever growing waistline. I still feel like I'm getting bigger even though I've hardly eaten this week (hotel food is grim) due to no appetite - although I had a one-off visit to KFC last night for a zinger after a rare trip to the cinema - Shooter, superb!!! But fear not dear reader for I am planning a new blog - Daz's battle against the bulge. Two more radiotherapy groundhog weeks to go, then the new Battle will start - drop 4 stone in 52 weeks - easy, easy!!
Back to the therapy. Starting to suffer the sore throat they warned me about, getting worse each day, also after day 2 I developed a sore swelling on the zap site just below my ear which went away overnight. Apart from that, nothing else to report although I'm getting a tan on one side of my face! Now washing with baby soap and shampoo until further notice - Doc's orders.
Back home Friday afternoon.

Sssssssmokin'.............

There are occasions in life when you encounter things that make you say 'you don't see that everyday', today was one of those days!
Another trip abroad, this time to a new hospital for me, The Beatson Oncology Centre - Glasgow, for pre-radiotherapy shenanigans. Left Arran on the first ferry, arrived at Beatson 1045 - traffic was horrendous! Hung around the waiting room for an hour before being summoned into the 'Mold Room'. Here I was to have a mask custom fitted to my turnip for what I mistakenly thought was to protect my head from the X-rays, not so, it is purely to keep my head and neck rigid while being zapped. After stripping down in front of several onlookers I climbed aboard a CT scan type bed which had a neck support at one end. They made several attempts to raise the bed with the electric jack but my gargantuan weight was too much for the feeble motor and I had to get off the bed while they raised it to the correct height. The onlookers, now five in number, eyed me with fattist distaste for nearly breaking their machine while I tried to hide my threpenny bits and ample gut, it was like trying to juggle jelly - I wasn't embarrassed at all......not! Back on the bed they showed me a large sheet of thick plastic which had clips around three sides and a small hole in the middle - this would eventually be my mask. The sheet was heated in water then stretched over my face, neck and shoulders then clipped to the bed. Then, what felt like a dozen hands pressed the flaccid plastic into every nook and cranny, eventually molding into the shape of my face. After cooling, the now rigid mask was un-clipped and removed, I got dressed and returned to the waiting room. This was one of those moments in life, the whole experience was just bizarre!

Later I was summoned to the CT scan room where I once again 'got me tits oot', had the new mask fitted and a full CT scan then ensued. This allowed them to pinpoint the tumour sites and mark them onto the mask for targeting the radiotherapy machine. All done, I was again dressed and shown to a side room to see the consultant.
Dr F explained the radiotherapy process and told me I was getting a larger field of therapy than I was expecting. She also explained the side effects I would probably get:
Severly sore throat after about two weeks - may not be able to eat for a week or more - woohoo!!!
Loss of salivary gland function - may be permanent
Loss of thyroid gland function - may be permanent
Loss of facial hair on one side - for several months
Loss of chest hair - I knew that Hasselhoff chest wig would come in handy
Stop me if its getting boring.........
Loss of hair on the back of my head - what the hell's that gonna look like - Frair Friggin' Tuck!!!
The only good news out of this is that I am getting only three weeks of therapy and will be complete before our house move.
With all that good news ringing in my ears, I was soon on my way back to Ardrossan for the 1515 ferry.

Big thanks this time to NACC (North Ayrshire Cancer Care) for the taxi duties. NACC are a voluntary organisation who's main role is to provide transport for cancer patients around North Ayrshire. They exist purely on public donations and income from a few charity shops they operate and have about forty volunteer drivers - Jim, many thanks.

I might be out of the woods, but there's still a few trees to negotiate.

Tale of the tape

For any fellow sufferers out there who don't want to wade through the blurb to see how this all started and what the time scale was between diagnosis and cure etc. Here's a fairly accurate timeline of events.......................

Nov '06 to Apr '07 - Gained 19lbs (8.6kgs) of lard - doh!!

September 2006 - Noticed small lump on left side of neck
September to December 2006 - Felt more tired than usual (if that's possible!!)
5/12/06 - Went to see doctor about lump on neck, also found small lumps just below left collar bone.
07/12/06 - Full blood test and chest X-ray
08/12/06 - Surgeon confirmed swollen lymph nodes in neck and suspect groin
14/12/06 - Check up with E, N&T consultant - needle biopsy on neck lump
20/12/06 - Officially on sick from work
21/12/06 - Result of needle biopsy, not enough material gathered to give meaningful result, lump requires full biopsy.
27/12/06 - Neck lump removed under general anaesthetic
04/01/07 - Diagnosed Hodgkin's disease
10/01/07 - Admitted to hospital to begin staging tests - Heart scan, ECG, lung function, bone marrow.
11/01/07 - CT scan
17/01/07 - Full staged diagnosis - Hodgkin's Type 2B - nodular sclerosing - Small tumours in neck and between lungs (1.5cm). Later downgraded to type 2A
18/01/07 - First of six fortnightly infusions of ABVD chemotherapy
27/03/07 - CT scan
29/03/07 - Last ABVD infusion
04/04/07 - PET scan
12/04/07 - All clear
17/04/07 - Pre-radiotherapy CT scan and mask fitting
23/04/07 - Commence 3 weeks radiotherapy
11/05/07 - Radiotherapy complete - Large bald patch on back of head - Officially in remission?
June/July '07 - Back to work?

Hodgkin's has left the building!!!

Off the island on the first ferry and into Crosshouse for 0940hrs. I must admit I was starting to feel nervous as it was just dawning why I was here. I hadn't really thought about it until now, I wasn't here for the chemo this time, it's my PET scan result I'd come to hear. My 1000hrs appointment came and went and I was eventually called in at 1020hrs, thoses extra 20 minutes seemed like hours!
Doc E didn't beat about the bush and told me what every cancer sufferer wants to hear, I was all clear - woohooooooo!!!! The tumours are dead and there was no evidence of any hodgkin's disease.
This life changing news is still sinking in, only a few weeks of precautionary radiotherapy to endure than I'll have my life back! I might indulge myself in a wee swally tonight.
Thanks to everyone for your messages of support, keep on checking the blog as I've still got radio stuff to report and the all important 3 & 6 monthly check ups - for the next 10 years!

'Crosshouse no more,
Chemo no more,
Blood tests no more,
Shite no more'

D-Day approaches

By now, my CT and PET scan results should be in the hands of my consultants who will hopefully find that my tumours are dead and all there is left to do is zap me with a bit of radiotherapy. I'm summoned to Crosshouse this coming Thursday to find out the actual results. Fingers, toes etc, crossed.
Chemo#6 is well and truly behind me now, the only remaining side effect is a sore mouth from the low blood count.
Yesterday I managed my first 9 holes of golf this year, and not surprisingly, I've still got the magic;)
Back on the bike today, got to shift some of this 19 pounds of blubber I've put on since the start of all this shite!! Might even give the rower a bash - not been on that since November.

Next post - Thursday (Daz Day)!!

'Ice
Your only rivers run cold
These city lights
They shine as silver and gold
Dug from the night
Your eyes as black as coal'