Dates now all set

Brief update.

I found a working MRI machine and got another good scan back; everything has shrunk a little more and is responding well.

I also have some dates set for the new year now. I will see my surgeon on the 9th to review what is to be done regarding surgery, and then will be going for the surgery in the following week (12-16th January). All a little quicker than expected.

More than likely, this means I won't be returning to work in 2009 until March, after the recovery.

For now, I intend to have a very merry, and chemo-free, xmas and new year :)

Cold Turkey before Xmas

So today I had my last injection, and tonight I am due to swallow the last of the Cepecitabine tablets. My right arm still hurts a little from a fortnight, my scalp is dry as heck and a couple of my fingers are starting to get quite painful around the nails... but I'm still in one piece !

This morning's MRI scan was delayed due to a broken MRI machine, so I am due to return to their other clinic tomorrow morning to get that done, after which I have an appointment on Thursday to discuss the next steps. Only then will I know 100% if we are going ahead with surgery, which would mean a break of Chemo over xmas, or if they have other things in mind. If they say otherwise, I will scream, but I'd rather do what's best advised rather than what suits me.

Got most of my xmas shopping done over the weekend too (much of it online) so looking forward to a pleasant and manageable run up to xmas holidays. Overall feeling quite confident that half of this is all behind me now, and with help, patience, experience and strength, the latter half will go even better.

More when I've spoken to the doctor on Thursday...

Inejction #4 - battling through it

Yesterday's injection was much-dreaded. A long seven hour session at the clinic, as it was a Cetuximab AND Oxaliplatin session, and also because we slowed the Oxaliplatin down to take three hours instead of two.

This may of helped reduce the reaction, which was still painful like last time. Pins and needles up and down my arm (right arm, this time) and lots of stiffness and soreness. But I'm fighting through it this time. I got up at a good time, got my pills down me, and spent the morning chopping and preparing a tasty Heston Blumenthal Spag. Boll. (8 hours cooking time - yum) so that I was doing something and using my arm muscles, not resting them. The little pain I get from using the arm is somewhat countered by the movements slowly reducing the pins and needles and making me feel less "crippled" by the painful arm.

So all in all, emotionally this cycle has been so bad yet. For the first three days, I have to take the stronger drugs, including steroids that really wire me up, but once through them I hope to come out in good shape. I am also cheered that this might be the last cycle for a couple of months now, letting me look forward to christmas and snowbaording in the new year.

It's good someone knows what's going on - shame it's me

Regarding my previous post - I just spoke to my Oncologist (who had e-mailed with my Liver surgeon) and it seems we had got numbers mixed up - when he spoke about 6 cycles, he had assumed I was on 2 week cycles (probably because of the Cetuximab, which IS a 2 week cycle). But my main chemo is given on a 3 week cycle - hence when he talked about 6 cycles, he meant 12 weeks (e.g. 4 of my cycles)

All in all this means the plan is "back to normal" - I am due one more cycle of chemo (starting Monday) and then a month off over xmas so that I am ready for surgery around mid-late January. I am somewhat relieved, my world is back in order now. But somewhat worried it's back in order because I've been resposible for reminding my professionals of all the details of my case. I don't want to be in charge, I hardly want to be invovled, I just want top notch medical scientists to do what's best for me and get me cured !

But still, drama over for today :)

Bah, Humbug

So I had my (somewhat brief) meeting with the liver specialist. Was a little annoyed he had not seen my latest scans - so what were his current decisions based on ? - but was partially to blame as I had been advised to bring the copy I had along with me, and had forgotten to do so.

In any case, he said that as I was responding to the Chemotherapy, I should continue with it for a little longer to ensure the required surgery was as minimal and risk-free as possible, advising me to continue for SIX cycles. I had been hoping it was only to be four, as these last two cycles will fall across the Christmas holidays and my planned snowboarding weekend in January, all the way up to the 1st Feb - which means I'll get a nice present this year for my birthday anyway, as I would then come of Chemo for February in preparation for surgery in March.

No date was set in stone for the surgery though - More CT / MRI scans after the 6th cycle would determine what happened next. There is a small outside chance that the chemo might "clean up" the liver all on it's own, but this is quite rare.

In truth, right now, I'm gutted. I was looking forward to a "Chemo free Christmas", esp. as each cycle gets harder. I had put these dates and plans down as a mental crutch - waypoints to help me get through the long journey ahead, and in 10 mins with very little information provided, I've had it all messed around and shifted with what seemed to be a fairly uninformed decision. Probably not the wrong decision, and already I am mapping out what this new news means and finding solace with what it might offer : cheeky snowboard week in February anyone ? Might also be up for a mini-birthday celebartion now as well. And having my folks look after me over xmas week when I am struggling with the nastier part of it is surely not a bad thing.

All of which reminds me it's injection day on Monday. &^%k. With these extra cycles now planned, am I once again going to persue getting a "long line" or "port" fitted, that will allow the drugs to be adminsitered straight into my central blood stream, not via my poor arms. This should remove the pain in my arms which is one of the very worse side effects, after maybe the vulnerability to cold.

Overall : Bah, humbug.

A scanner lightly

Yesterday I had two scans taken - a CT and an MRI scan - the check the progress of the chemotherapy I have been taking now for almost 2 months.

The CT scan showed that there were no other "mystery spots" other than what was on my liver, pretty much as expected. The MRI scan then offered better imagery on the lesions on my liver and was compared to the previous scan I had the day before going in for surgery (just over 3 months ago now).

The MRI showed that the largest lesion on my liver had reduced in size a little, and a smaller cluster of lesions elsewhere on the liver was not as pronounced. Which in summary is great - it means the secondary cancers (which we must surely now presume these lesions to be) are shrinking under the chemotherapy drugs I am taking, and hopefully will be easy to remove.

I have a meeting with a liver specialist next week to talk about what exactly the new MRI scan shows, and what my choices are regarding removing them. It is expected we will book some surgery for this; surgery which needs to be at least 1 month after I stop chemo, and preferably not much more than a month. So it is my hope we will stop the chemo mid-Dec (which is after one more full cycle) and schedule the surgery mid-Jan, giving me xmas off. Which would work well for enjoying that time with my family, as well as the cheeky snowboarding weekend I've booked in the new year !