Week 4 of Treatment

“……. but even Jesters cry”

Monday 8^th – Keeping Up Appearances

Monday morning arrives with a howling gale & the rain coming down sideways. I woke at 5.30am after having an undisturbed night. Morphine really does the job when it comes to knocking you out. This morning I had a trip to KwikFit to get four new tyres fitted to Octi. Not too bad, 30k on the original set. Coffee in Costa, Caversham whilst the tyres were being done. It’s a great place to people watch (Yummy Mummy central). RT was scheduled for 1pm today, but they were running 90 minutes late L However one of the Radiographers came out & let everyone know what was going on, did they read my feedback form from last week? The upside of the delay is that I earwigged two ladies of an elderly disposition who were from “Well to do” backgrounds, or at least that’s what Mr Judgemental thought. They were talking about where they lived. One was from Mortimer, the other said, & I kid you not “I currently live in Woodley, but we spend as much time as we can in Sonning or Henley” – I nearly wet myself with laughter as when my parents moved to Woodley from Yorkshire some 45 years ago my Yorkshire (& posh) Nan told her neighbours that we’d moved to Sonning J It was like watching an episode of that much loved Sitcom “Keeping Up Appearances” a case of I’ll see your Sonning & raise you a Wargrave.

Luckily Breakfast Club Tony arrived before I totally lost it. We spent the delay in treatment by having a good chat. Turns out he sold his 650cc motorbike last year as his wife thought it was time he grew up – he’s 83 next birthday. 

The weekly session with Ms Jean Brodie (Scary Surgeon) was a bit raw today. I’ve lost weight since Thursday & she could tell from the minute I walked through her door that I wasn’t in a great place. My attempt at Keeping Up Appearances failed dismally. Box of tissues to hand she explained in no uncertain terms that I’ve got to stop being a twat & take the morphine if I’m in pain & that I won’t get addicted to it. It’s almost as if she’d read last week’s blog. 30 minutes later she let me out with only 500 lines to write “I promise to take morphine if my throat hurts!”  & a shed load on new drugs to try out. She thought about using the cane but suspected I may enjoy that.  I know I take the mickey out of her on here but that's only because I entirely respect her knowledge & skills. She listened to me today when I needed someone to listen. She was good enough to explain that recovery is going to take a lot longer than I’d envisaged, up to 12 months to feel 100% again. The darkest hour will be the week after the treatment is finished. So I suggest I may be best avoided w/c 29^th February, you’ve been warned J I mentioned that Carol & I are hoping to get away for a sunshine break to our friends in Corfu as soon as I feel fit enough & were looking at May or June. She positively encouraged that idea so long as I don’t expect to be able to taste very well, don’t drink (too much) & promise to wear a big hat! I get a feeling I’ll be buying Scary Bird a large bottle of champagne when she’s finished with me. I may even send her a copy of this blog if I’m feeling brave enough.

Max has finally owned up that he’s got a NetFlix account courtesy of Bella’s family, so the xBox has been installed downstairs as my entertainment of choice (Getting a bit bored of Jezzar Kyle). Carol is now off work to look after me (All together now, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh) so we can snuggle up on the sofa with popcorn whilst poor old Max is at school.

Tuesday Chemo tomorrow – Tuesdays are crap!! Therefore if it’s not too crap I’ll be on a winner. I remember after my first session of Chemo I commented to someone I know that I didn’t feel or look as ill as the other folk who were having the treatment. He replied sagely, give it time. I now know what he meant. Looking in the mirror today I can see my eyes are becoming a bit shrunken & my skin a little bit grey. It’s a good job I’ve never really given a shit as to how I look. 

Tuesday 9^th – Cheese, pickle & coleslaw

Regular readers of this blog will know that Tuesdays for me have been a bit pants of late. Chemo followed by delayed RT have left me in a pretty poor mood by the time I eventually stoat home. Another reoccurring theme is food, so I thought I’d sum up todays feelings by combining the two. If a bad day is a Peanut butter sandwich served on stale bread & an excellent day a fillet steak served with rocket & parmesan slivers on a warm ciabatta, then today has been a cheese, pickle & coleslaw bloomer. Tasty, satisfying but not over the top! I arrived as per usual about an hour before the session was due to start, this means I can get a parking space with no difficulties & indulge in a large cappuccino whilst getting myself ready. I tend to walk around the grounds of the hospital for 20 minutes or so to get some exercise & fresh air prior to being stuck on St Edwards ward for 8 hours. Today I was exiting the main building on Craven Road when two blokes were standing right outside of the door, vaguely blocking the exit & next to the bloody great big sign saying “No Smoking”, both puffing away. I ended up walking through their smoke which I didn’t really appreciate & there is a perfectly good shelter not 10 yards away that they could have been using. I pointed this out to them & got a mouthful of abuse back. I’d love to say it’s the “Youth of Today”, but these guys were in their 60s!

Anyway, enough waffling……… Chemo started on time, the poor old nurses were rushed off their feet as they were short staffed, but they still manage to convey a calmness & cheerfulness that can’t be easy when they’re feeling the pressure. One patient reacted badly to their treatment meaning the crash trolley was deployed, again no panic, just efficient & calm reaction. Crisis averted. My CNS Nurse, Jo, popped up to see me today. She was concerned that I was quite upset during the meeting with Princess Ann yesterday. She was good enough to spend 30 minutes or so just chatting though what we’d discussed yesterday & coming up with some great ideas to get us through the next few weeks as comfortably as possible. She’s reiterated that morphine is a help, not a hindrance, it wouldn’t have been prescribed if it wasn’t needed. There’s no point in sitting there suffering when a quick swig of the bottle will kill the pain. Apparently I’ll know if I’ve taken too much of the stuff, presumably I’ll be seeing flying fairies or something.  

(There are days when you realise keeping that photo of a flying Eek would actually come in handy) She’s also ordered me a Nebulizer to wear over my face which should hopefully help to produce saliva a bit more productively than at present. Jo’s name will be added to the growing list of folk who’ll be receiving a Champagne bottle from me in a couple of weeks when the treatment is over. As will Frances, the nurse who’s looking after me on Chemo. Whilst she was dismantling the drips & cannula today I mentioned that it had been a busy one for them. She looked knackered & confessed she’d had no break from when she came on duty at 8am, it was now 4pm. Chemo finished on time & for once RT wasn’t delayed!!! So I was home with my feet up by 5pm. I’d imagine the Nurses on St Edwards were still on the ward gone 6pm.

Overall not a bad day, due to cooking a late dinner we’ll have pancakes tomorrow. Fully loaded with banana, cream, brown sugar! I tried my first Ensure Plus drink this evening. They supposedly contain all the proteins, vitamins & goodness you need to take in. It tasted of nothing at all, but 6 of those a day & I’d be sorted. Suspect I’ll continue to try & eat some real food.  A friend on Facebook tagged me to post 1 Nature photo per day, for 7 days, so I’ll be trawling through the folders to find something decent. That’ll make a change from my usual shots of muddy rugby players.

Wednesday 10^th – Ham Salad in a roll (For starters)

Not quite as good as cheese & pickle, but not bad. The now usual 5.30am rise ‘n shine, but as I’m getting around 6 hours sleep straight now I’m not too concerned. I quite like the 90 minutes or so before I get ready to go to the hospital. A large coffee with two of the Breakfast Club & before you know it the time had come to slip on the mask. I asked one of the RT nurses if they had names for the 3 machines they use & surprisingly enough they don’t. I suggested calling LA5, the machine that zaps me, Lettuce as I find the process quite soporific. She looked at me like I’d got two heads. Obviously not a Peter Rabbit fan!

I thought it about time I discovered what this NetFlix stuff was all about when I got home. It looks pretty impressive with the number of films & shows available. Today I watched Zoolander (pile of pants) & Happy Gilmore (Slightly better, but not brilliant). Any suggestions for films you must see before you die would be received with thanks! Pancakes stuffed with fruit for an early tea before we headed off to OBR as a family.

I’d been looking forward to Wednesday evening. We met up with a friend from Brixham RFC. He’s working in the area & came over to OBR for a couple of pints & a guided tour of the club. There’s no escape from the long tentacles of the rugby family, you think you’ve given then the slip & the buggers find you & gave you a cuddle J It was just what the Dr. ordered too, both for me & as importantly for Carol too. A good night, in fact a fillet steak on rocket leaves with parmesan shavings served in a warm ciabatta night.  As well as the company Steve kindly gave me copies of 6 recent matches from Brixhams campaign, that’ll keep me busy for the next couple of days. I wonder if this little highlight will be included? - http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/35292422/rugby-player-dives-over-wrong-line-celebrates-and-is-pummelled-by-opposition 

Thursday 11^th

An early 8am RT appointment today followed by my weekly follow up with Kate, Head of RT – Another recipient of the “Thanks for the support” Champers in a couple of weeks, at this rate I’d better buy a case of the stuff. Good news, I’ve gained 1kg since Monday. Not sure how, I’m not that constipated at the moment J Regular followers of this blog (you poor people) will know I usually meet up with the Breakfast Club before going through for treatment. I was a bit worried today as Tony (82 y/o biker) wasn’t around. Today is the first day I’ve missed him in two weeks, I know he was due to be in for an 8.30, I hope he’s ok, he’s a top bloke who always makes me smile.

I decided to treat the current Mrs C. when I got home by taking her for a coffee at the Mad Hatters Tea Room in Tilehurst, Big Pete pointed out that we should fit in nicely at a place by that name! My plan for the rest of the day was nothing more strenuous than lying of the sofa. I’ve loaded from NetFlix Breaking Bad & watched On The Beach, a wonderful adaptation of one of my all-time favourite books by Neville Shute. Pretty dark in places, but with some great comedic moments, also pretty raunchy for a film made in the 50’s. I can highly recommend that you watch it if you get a chance, very relevant storyline, even in today’s modern world.  

A bit of a result today in that I didn’t need to take any pain relief until around 4pm, that is a VERY positive sign. The ups & downs of this treatment are massive, I’m beginning to appreciate when the ups are here, & I’m not afraid of the downs any more, well not whilst I have my mate Morphine by my side.

I think it’s possibly time to invest in either NetFlix or Amazon Prime. I’m going to be stuck at home for a while & both seem to offer a 1 months free trial. As a family we have Amazon deliveries almost of a daily basis, so that the savings may push us that way. I’ll spend a couple of days comparing. Will probably have to upgrade the TV too as I suspect Max will want his xBox back at some point. Our Sony Bravia is getting on a bit and apparently it isn’t a “Smart” TV, it looks pretty clever to me, but what do I know.

Carol is out for dinner tonight with a good friend, so it’s just Max & I in. He’s got a rather nice looking Chicken Biriani for dinner, I’m having a sodding protein shakeL My revenge will be on Sunday. Bella, Max’s girlfriend is coming round after rugby for a romantic Valentines dinner that I’ve said I’ll cook for them, little do they know that the chef has a special “Romantic” outfit to cook in – 

Friday 12^th

Well that’s Week 4 of treatment completed. 10 more sessions of RT, 2 more of Chemo & with a fair wind the bastard Cancer will have been zapped away. I asked what happened after the treatment was over. Is it a case of “So long & thanks for all the fish”? DON’T PANIC Of course it isn’t, I just love using that quote. I’ll get to see Ms Jean Brodie once a month & will have a weekly call with Jo the CNS Nurse to make sure everything is going ok. But this is getting a bit ahead of myself. 14 more days on the Fun Bus first, then we can worry about what happens next.

Another early RT for me today, no Breakfast Club Tony again, I’m going to have to ask about him on Monday. A dash into town for my annual eye check up, last weeks was just for my contacts. The guys in Eyesite are pretty good, there’s no change in my glasses prescription other than I wold benefit from varifocals, but as I don’t use then all day every day they said not to bother, so saving £300 or thereabouts. Well, actually we’re about £150 down on the day as I’ve ordered a Samsung 40” Smart 4k TV thingy. After testing the scribes on FB last night we’re going to try a free 1 month trial of NetFlix & Amazon Prime & see which one suits us best as a family.

Eating, or the inability to eat is now my major concern going into the last couple of weeks of treatment, about the only things I’m able to get down my throat now are chicken soup, mushroom soup or the darn protein drinks. It really is a case of shovelling stuff down my with no anticipation of getting any pleasure out of the process.  I tried some of the homemade chicken soup I’d made last week, but my throat contracted so badly I couldn’t swallow at all. I then realised I’d added tomatoes into the mix prior to being unable to eat them. So it looks like it’ll be tinned soup from now on in. Max is out this evening, so Carol & I will have another Friday “Home Alone”, I’ve some sea bream defrosting & will try & get some of that down, cooked in milk with mashed potatoes, what a waste of a bloody decent fish. Could be a “NetFlix & Chill” evening, no idea what the heck that means though.

My non-alcoholic beers have gone to a good home. They were also reacting with my throat, so a mate who’s gone on the wagon for a while has taken them off my hands. They weren’t bad, but even if the taste buds return I can’t see me drinking them again. I also slipped in the undrinkable white wine, wonder if he’ll notice J

Hopefully a weekend of rugby to look forward to. Rams are taking on Barnes RFC at home tomorrow. I normally show up at about 10.30am & help out with the matchday duties, I think tomorrow I’ll probably leave it a bit later before I arrive. Not sure whether I’ll take my camera or not yet. The forecast doesn’t look great. If it’s chucking it down I’d be a bit daft to stand outside getting cold & wet, I don’t want to get this far & go down with a self-inflicted infection. Sunday will be a trip to Henley RFC with the Colts & a chance to catch up with two ex Rams who departed to Henley. Possibly a case of “I’ll see your Sonning & raise you a Henley”?

A very up & down week, but apart from the eating situation I think we’re ending on an up which is a good feeling.

Thank you for continuing to read this blog & for the continued support. We may not show it very openly, but it’s hugely appreciated.

To be continued…………..

#shouldertoshoulder