Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Day 53 Medical update - DANGER

My life is beginning to mirror an Alan Bennett comedy but without the Earl Grey and Thora. There was a fantastic event that occurred today at the car wash which would of only come out of a Bennett play, but will save that one for the early post tomorrow.

Talking of which I have not had any post for two days has my postwoman died, or is she busily censoring everyone's mail to ensure that the village does not launch a granny strike against Charity shops. I rarely get interesting mail, but being at home you realise that the Observer still has adverts where you can ring and get a leaflet, normally on piles, weight reduction, viagra and stanna stair lifts, see back to Thora!

Anyway as you can see by the tone of my postings, the chemo issues have calmed down, Teignbridge Council and the Environment Agency has closed their floodwatch helplines and the flood gates leading onto the Exe has been released pending 14 days today. I have managed to tuck away like a little hamster a feast of "baddies" today, however crap my scales my weight loss is between 6/7 kgs, 14 pounds in a week. Now I must tell you on Consultants, Doctors, Nurses, Porters, and Peter in the post office I was told pack it boy because you will need it when the chemo and radiotherapy comes.

On a serious note I cannot afford to lose this amount of weight that quickly for the remainder of the chemo sessions. My long distance running days only 7 months hence tell me to carbo and protein load. I have been eating like that hamster ready for hibernation, in addition lucozade various drink supplements for energy, carbs and of course fluid and sulphates have been important. There is however a huge concern.

The radiotherapy has today for the first time started to affect the amount of saliva that enters my mouth, as a result my tongue, lips and mouth are very dry and hourly mouth wash, gargles and liquids of various forms are trying to keep things ok in there. I am ok at the moment in terms of having a sore throat and the ability to swallow, it is coming I can feel it, my fingers are crossed they will not cross with the next chemo days.

The radiotherapy(RT)is burning skin but there is some relief not only in cream, but in my body. When the Surgery was undertaken I knew I would lose feeling in parts of my left neck/ear/lobe area the area where treatment is being directed towards. This was a mixture between temporary loss and permanent loss of feeling. It is clear that despite the heat of the radiotherapy I cannot feel most of it because I have yet to regain nerve endings in that area. I currently have three zaps of RT, lower left neck, 45 degrees, then vertical into the tonsil area. I am almost sure these reduce to 2 soon, then one, but will find out on Friday when I have my first consultants update.

You can see mentally I am very "tiggerish" rather than last week great impression of "eyeore" My treatment is a three phased approach and in terms of treatment I only have 26 more days left, so on the scale of things, I am more than two thirds through my treatment already with some hard stuff to come I can smile and say nearly there.

It is my danger zone for infection 7-10 days after chemo so I have decided to live on the Black Pig, in the middle of the Exe with a 10 metre exclusion zone and small troop of marines to repel boarders. I have to be extra careful about things, avoiding large crowds, kissing babies, having sex with Doctor Chemo(sorry) as if you could even get a bloody erection, and generally steer away from generally unhealthy people. Kinda difficult where I live as the local beach on Sunday was swarming with people with brummie accents, short term life span issues due to obesity issues and dodgey body paintings that look like they were applied by a drunk artist needling the punter whilst sitting on a unicycle coming back on booze cruise from Calais! So sorry guys no snogging!

Anyway enough of this bollocks I am off to bed. Hope you are all well, keep attacking N x

PS: If there is someone in your life you detest, get even and ring up for all those leaflets and brochures in the back of the Observer and get them on the mailing list, they will have junk mails for decades :)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Nigel

OK, your column is now completely addictive. I love it. I don't wish you your current situation but the way you describe it is wonderful. There is a routine in the a.m to which I've added your column. Check the email for work which cannot wait, check the BBC, see how you're doing. Your style reminds me of the ALan Clarke diaries...whatever your politics he was a damned fine writer. By the way, I call your blog a column because it would make a fine one in a Sunday Supplement!

Hope you have a good day. Eat boy, eat...gosh,you're bringing the Jewishness out of me!

Nigel said...

Look my girl can you get me those jewish cucumbers you know the ones on Finchley Road, the sweet/sour ones, honey!

Anonymous said...

Strewth, I was thinking you needed something more calorific than a cumcumber :)!!!

L