Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one
Eleanor Roosevelt
I had a very encouraging meeting with my oncologist on Tuesday. She went over the scan results in more detail and they were more positive than first appeared. One of the tumours they are pretty sure is necrotic. This means that the tumour rapidly outgrows its blood supply, resulting in tumour cell death. This is good and bad as far as I can gather. Its good in the sense that what appears to be the tumour growing on the scan is more likely the dead cells. It's bad in the sense that it is very aggressive cancers which result in tumour necrosis. I am currently going with the good. The other tumour has grown by 2 mm which my oncologist says is negligible and the other tumours are still responding to chemo. I think that's a pretty good result all in all. I am therefore going to continue with my current chemo regime and I will be meeting with a thoracic surgeon in the next few weeks to look at possible lung surgery to remove sections where the tumours are. It is a fairly big operation and I will keep an open mind as to what the doctor has to say. If it gives me a chance to stay alive longer I will of course gladly sign up. I am also going to be meeting with the doctor who will advise me on Radiofrequency Ablation. This is keyhole surgery and would therefore be my preferred option. To have these potential surgeries open to me is amazing and I am feeling positive. In 16 months there has been no new evidence of disease, this is encouraging and leaves me hopeful. It reminds me of why I started this blog. We must not be defeated by statistics. We must find strength to fight for our own lives and we absolutely must always see ourselves as individuals. Only then will we believe we can overcome anything.
Friday 7 February 2014
Tuesday 4 February 2014
A new challenge
If you don't get everything you want, think of the things you don't get that you don't want.
Oscar Wilde
Well I got my results of the scan. I had prepared for the worst and was still hoping for the best. I got something in between. The great news is that I have no new signs of disease, so it has not spread to other parts of my body. The not so great news is that unfortunately my chemo doesn't appear to be doing the job that it was doing anymore. 2 of my tumours are starting to grow again. It's assumed that these are the tumours which were originally found 16 months ago as it makes sense that the older (wiser) ones have learned to fight against the chemo. They are still small but for how long? I am disappointed as I was hoping to continue with my existing regime and essentially eek out more time on one of my lifelines. The list of drugs which can be used is by no means endless and it feels a bit like ticking one off and taking a step closer to death. However, I am determined not to get too down about this as it also potentially opens up other doors. I was told back in October that because my tumours were so small that it would probably be difficult to have radio frequency ablation. So in a way you could say that this little growth spurt now enables me to become a candidate for this treatment. So maybe I should be thankful for it (every cloud...). I have also started the LDN and within just a few days I have a noticeable difference in my joint and bone pain, wow I am hoping it is having the same effect on these bastard tumours, who knows. All I know is that I am merely going to view this is a new chapter in my life with cancer. I am seeing my consultant today and we will discuss the next steps. The road is still (fairly) long I think. All I can do is travel that road one day at a time.
Oscar Wilde
Well I got my results of the scan. I had prepared for the worst and was still hoping for the best. I got something in between. The great news is that I have no new signs of disease, so it has not spread to other parts of my body. The not so great news is that unfortunately my chemo doesn't appear to be doing the job that it was doing anymore. 2 of my tumours are starting to grow again. It's assumed that these are the tumours which were originally found 16 months ago as it makes sense that the older (wiser) ones have learned to fight against the chemo. They are still small but for how long? I am disappointed as I was hoping to continue with my existing regime and essentially eek out more time on one of my lifelines. The list of drugs which can be used is by no means endless and it feels a bit like ticking one off and taking a step closer to death. However, I am determined not to get too down about this as it also potentially opens up other doors. I was told back in October that because my tumours were so small that it would probably be difficult to have radio frequency ablation. So in a way you could say that this little growth spurt now enables me to become a candidate for this treatment. So maybe I should be thankful for it (every cloud...). I have also started the LDN and within just a few days I have a noticeable difference in my joint and bone pain, wow I am hoping it is having the same effect on these bastard tumours, who knows. All I know is that I am merely going to view this is a new chapter in my life with cancer. I am seeing my consultant today and we will discuss the next steps. The road is still (fairly) long I think. All I can do is travel that road one day at a time.
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