Nearly there....

[Pipmeister]

Re:

Good for you! Keep it up, I'm almost through with my treatment-2 weeks to go...

Cheers Pat - it's good to hear that you are coping so well on your treatment. I saw that you were out riding on Monday 9th March - good man .

That first pic looks like you’re an extra in the Ram Jam Black Betty promo vid.

Superb.

Sub zero cool.

Cheers H.M., and a good call - top production on that song with a great guitar sound.


A little update:

My brother took me to the Royal Berkshire Hospital on Wednesday morning for Chemo Cycle number 7 of 12. I saw my Oncologist’s Registrar who told me that my White Blood Cell count is lower that they would like to see. As a result of this, my Chemo Cycle was cancelled for that day . He said that the compromising of my Immune System is too big a risk to take, and therefore the Chemo Cycle will probably recommence next week.

I was told to keep an eye on my temperature, and avoid people with any sort of infection like a cold or a sore throat. If my temperature rises above 37.5, I have to ring the Hot Line number that I was given and I will be taken straight to A&E for intravenous Antibiotics.

Blimey!


Pip.

 

[The History Man]

Re: Halfway there....

Don’t worry too much. It happens all the time. They don’t want to properly kill you. Just almost.

 

[Pipmeister]

Re: Halfway there....

Don’t worry too much. It happens all the time. They don’t want to properly kill you. Just almost.

Yeah I had the same during treatment for Testicular Cancer in 2002. That was 9 weeks of three Chemo Chemicals; Bleomycin, Eetoposide and Platinum (BEP) - the Protocol that Lance didn't have.

As you say, "They don’t want to properly kill you. Just almost."

I was in a right old state - really weak and Fubar'd. About 8.5 stone with no body hair, not even eyelashes :shock: .

I got over that one though, and I expect to do the same with this little inconvenience.

Pip.

 

[hamster]

Re: Halfway there....

Sounds familiar - I had my immune system crash with 39C and ended up for 2 weeks in isolation.
I was on ABVD (Adriamycin, Bleomycin, Vinblastine, Dacarbazine).
They used to give me GCSF to boost my white cells every fortnight...like EPO but for white cells.

Courage, mon vieux!

 

[Pipmeister]

Re:

An update on my treatment and progress:

I completed the last of 12 Chemotherapy cycles yesterday, which has taken just over 6 months. It was a bit of a bumpy ride; what with alarming reactions to one of the three Chemo Chemicals, and my White Blood Cell count falling too low….. well anyway, it is all finished now.

I have a short course of G-CSF injections to self-administer over the next few days, like the ones that hamster mentioned, and my PICC Line should be removed today, which is another milestone.

I’m due to have a C.T. Scan in August, and then I see Oncology again following a Carcinoembryonic antigen level blood test to see if the Cancer has been eradicated.

If that is all good, I hope to have my Colostomy reversed. I was told by Oncology that this could be as early as next Spring, but I have to liaise with the Colorectal surgeon who will be performing the procedure.

Meanwhile I plan to return to work part-time in August, with a view to working full time again. I have been signed off since the surgery last November :roll: .

Phew! Let’s hope that will be the end of it .

Pip

 

[hamster]

That's good news, great update. I remember when I restarted work, the Occupational Health nurse said that I would be on half days for the first 2 months. I thought that was silly. On the first day I was almost asleep after two hours I was so exhausted!

 

[wadsy]

Re:

Well done Pip!

My best wishes for continued progress and good news!

Martin

 

[M-Power]

Re:

Hope you make a full recovery. Im always interested in new advances in treatment for C. They cant come soon enough.

 

[My_Teenage_Self]

I had a PICC line a few years ago (nutrition, not cancer*). I smiled when I read that you were having yours out. I then read that you could have your colostomy reversed, and nearly shed a tear, as I have also been through that (20 years ago). Congrats on the progress Matey, and It's so good that you're willing to share details on what can be such intimate problems.

*I was being 'fed' by my PICC line for a while, I was pretty out of it. My wife was sat by me one day in hospital as I was being 'fed', and asked what it was like. Bearing in mind, I was in and out of consciousness, in a very bad way, and facing an uncertain future (at the time, being measured in days) I managed to reply that it tasted like crap, before promptly nodding off. Due to my condition, she never thought twice, and believed me.

I don't remember any of this, and the story was told to me some time after the event by my missus. I laughed out loud, and asked her how the hell would I taste something that was being fed directly into my heart via a tube in my arm.

There was some indignation.

To this day, she will tell you that even at my worst, I can still be a complete C***.

 

[shedobits]

Re:

Fingers crossed for you mate.