A year on from a brain tumour diagnosis, I reflect on having a big cancerous melon for a heed.
One year in
Pick an end, any end
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 →
29/30
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 →
Being brave
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 →
Hairmageddon
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 →
Waiting for the shoe to drop
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 →
Radio 1
What I most hope radiotherapy will do is turn me in to a superhero. Most likely the Incredible Hulk, because Bruce Banner got zapped by gamma rays and it happened to him. Surely radiotherapy will look exactly like this? Crosshairs, weird contraption chair? It IS a given. To say I spend an inordinate amount of... Continue Reading →
It’s not a given
The thing about brain tumours is that there are over 120 types. Granted, adult primary brain tumours tend to be one of a handful of types, but multiply that by all the different places in your brain they could occur, and times that by the age and underlying health of the person who owns that... Continue Reading →
The hard wait
The first few days back at home were easy. It still hadn't really occurred to me to worry too much about the biopsy results. The biopsy itself had been the hurdle, and had been cleared. My sister in law came to visit for a few days with her toddler son. It was a lovely distraction... Continue Reading →
The easy wait
The day after the biopsy began with all the usual poking and prodding that comes with hospitals. Two healthcare assistants, Wendy and Jean came to offer me a bed bath. It seemed a bit previous, having met them mere seconds before, so I politely declined. They offered me a bowl of water to give myself... Continue Reading →
Not today, Satan. Not today. 