2007-09-16 — Newsletter

Dear All,

Well the chemo part is over and it looks almost certain that I’ll be going home tomorrow after my regular (for the next 4 weeks) midday radiation session.

The last chemo bag (there were a total of five 500 ml bags) finished about 15:00 Saturday. It should have been earlier but the drip feed machine was inaccurate. And of course I calculated it all and made a spreadsheet to chart progress — which the doctors and nurses ignored of course. [It was set to 24 ml per hour but was actually operating at about 19 — anyway end of geek stuff, but when there is not that much to do it is easy to get obsessed].

So I was free of the bag and trolley and could go and buy edible food from the lobby and could bring up yoghurts and things.

The problems have been with side effects — the chemo gives me nausea spells which are not too bad and should reduce now. But the radiation is hurting the inside of my mouth — it is very dry as saliva glands react faster to the radiation than the tumour and on Friday I got an ulcer and today my tongue is red and sore. This is all unpleasant — it is not an extreme problem and I can put up with it but it makes it difficult to eat much of the stuff they bring — fairly dry bread, schnitzels, vinegary salads. So eating has been difficult but when I’m home I’m going to do pasta with ‘gentle’ sauces — so that problem should be minimised.

They took blood samples yesterday and today (these are the deciding factor in whether I can go home Monday) and the duty doctors said the results were excellent so they it almost certain for Monday but the final decision is made by the Professor! But they removed the catheter thing with all its dangling tap things (3 of them) from under my collar bone this morning. That was done by the two young female identical twin doctors who work on the ward.

So, anyway the chemo is over and this hospital stay nearly gone. To come is 4 more weeks of radiation, 8 weeks of recovery from that and then the operation. The operation will be bigger than I originally understood — they remove the upper set of lymph glands in my throat (the Professor made a ‘cutting my throat’ gesture to indicate how they will do this). If those lymph glands are clean then that is it, but if there is anything malignant then they operate a second time to remove the lower set of lymph glands. There is apparently a microscopic ‘fleck’ visibly on the scans and so the upper glands are removed and it will be analysed.

Had one bout of disbelief last night — a “how can this be happening to me” experience but otherwise am in good morale considering and will be a lot better when I get home! It is not that comfortable here and I miss my comfy things!

David