The highs and lows of living with a brain tumour.
With perfect timing, we arrived at hospital about 10 minutes before shift change, so had to wait whilst everything was handed over to the one Registrar who'd be in charge of four cancer wards for the night, poor kid. As there's a dedicated cancer hospital in Newcastle, there's no need to go via A&E, you... Continue Reading →
The first day of chemo started with a cup of decaffeinated tea, as prescribed by the safe foods list. It was of course, beyond rank. This whole chemotherapy lark better bloody be worth it, because as sacrifices go, decaff tea is up there with the worst of them. In the chemotherapy day unit, lots of... Continue Reading →
The first cycle of chemotherapy is scheduled to begin on the 10th January. Barring allergies, poor blood counts or other surprises along the way, I will have six cycles of chemotherapy, with each cycle lasting six weeks. If everything stays on schedule, that's 36 weeks. 252 days. It'll be mid-September at the earliest before I'm... Continue Reading →
Sorry, what? Sarah was right. Once the bell was rung, I could feel the tiredness kicking in even as we walked back to the car park. It was that release of something being over and done with, the breathing out when you didn't even realise you'd been holding your breath. I tried to make sure... Continue Reading →
Yes, I finished radiotherapy, and yes I rang the bell, but it was an anticlimax. Why? Well, lots of reasons really. First off, the day before my final treatment, at the weekly clinician review Sarah the Neuro Oncology nurse specialist reminded me that radiotherapy side effects usually get worse for a few weeks after you... Continue Reading →
Tomorrow is my last day of radiotherapy, the last of the 30 sessions, and the day I get to ring that bell like an enthusiastic Quasimodo. I've had a surprisingly easy ride, with relatively mild side effects, but the last few sessions have been a bit of a slog and I am more than ready... Continue Reading →
You're so brave! This is what people say to you when you're going through something like this. Nah. It's not bravery, it's lack of choicery. Life lobs these boulders in all of our paths, and you either climb over them or sit down and give up. No one makes it through unscathed, and we all... Continue Reading →
First off I need to make it clear that many people lose all their hair due to chemotherapy (even nose hair! who knew?) or alopecia and that is so very much worse than what is happening to me. I am lucky really, and need a dry slap. But I'm still going to whine. At length.... Continue Reading →
It’s me. This is the second Saturday in a row that I feel really quite down. A useless burden. Full of hate, and hateful. This tumour is like a newborn baby. It consumes all your time and available memory, leaving you with nothing else to talk about, boring the pants off everyone else. There's nothing... Continue Reading →
Although I knew full well that it takes around two weeks for any radiotherapy side effects to show themselves, it's hard not to interpret each and every twinge during the first half of my six weeks of daily radiotherapy as A Sign. Is this tired feeling a symptom of the treatment, a side effect of... Continue Reading →
Not today, Satan. Not today. 