October 6th 2011

It is just about 2 months since I last wrote, mainly because life has been very quiet and not much has been happening.

I saw the doctor last week and she is very pleased with my progress.  She mentioned that the bone scan that I had a couple of weeks before showed that I have Osteopenia,  which is a lack of calcium in my bones.  She didn’t seem at all concerned about all and although it could suggest Osteoporosis later on, it doesn’t automatically mean that it will.  I have tablets, taken once a week, which is helping that.

The down side of the above is that the medicine that I am taking, for hormone therapy, which I need to take for the next five years is causing quite bad bone ache in my legs.  I told the doctor how bad it is sometime and asked if I could change the medicine.  She wasn’t too keen as this is the newest and best one for breast cancer.  She suggested that I take paracetamol and ibuprofen alternatively to ease the discomfort, not something that I am very keen on; especially for any length of time.  Elizabeth, a friend from church, offered to check on line to see what was suggested.  The ache comes in about a third of patients, and although there isn’t actually a cure for it; they did have some good suggestions.  It appears that taking Vitamin D regularly will help it considerably; also getting sun for a little bit each day as well.  I am quite happy with both of those, especially the second.  Fortunately we are having a late summer at the moment, so it gives me a good excuse to sit outside.

Last week I not was only suffering leg ache but I had acute back pain; which was so bad that I could hardly move.  I suffered this for two days and at the Sunday meeting two ladies prayed for me.  I want to thank God that within 24 hours the back pain was gone completely; perhaps I can get rid of the aches as well the same way.

My hair is doing very well; I have been to the hairdressers a few times and it is getting much thicker.  I am going to keep it short because firstly I really like the style and secondly it is much easier to look after.  I would like to change the colour but that is not possible for at least a year, unless I use a product without peroxide.  Actually I am looking forward to bleaching it white; we saw a girl with that colour at the hospital and it looked great.

I also asked the doctor about reconstruction as I thought I was seeing the doctor in January but it appears not.  I received a letter this morning saying that I had the meeting with the plastic surgeon in late August of next year.   I can’t say I am very pleased about this as I was hoping to look much better for next summer but if that is what is needed; unless I can persuade the doctor to bring it forward; I will have to live with it. 

Anyway that is me up to date.  My next doctor’s appointment is next April where she told me that if the medicine is still causing problems she might change it; I am not convinced: sometimes they tell you what they think that you want to hear. 

Sunday 7th August 2011

It is now seven weeks since I finished radiotherapy.  In many ways it seems longer and yet it still looms as large as life in everyday things.  My skin hasn’t quite got back to normal; it is slightly discoloured, and needs cream on it daily.  I am still tired from all the treatment that I had but it is getting better slowly. 

I want to go to the beach with family but obviously, I have to wear a t-shirt to the beach.  There are other things I would like to do but they aren’t practical.

I think the main reaction I am having at the moment is my total lack of enthusiasm for getting going.  We have had various people staying or visiting and even with that it takes me a while to get going.  Once I make up mind to do things that is fine and I am off and running.  I also get upset with silly things; things that in the past I wouldn’t have give a second thought to.

There are some times that I look forward to the cooler months so that I look like everyone else; all wrapped up.  Then when I look at other people I realise how fortunate I have been with the way things have gone.

I see the doctor in September and it will be interesting to see what she has to say.  Up until then life goes on as normal as it can.

Tuesday 21st June 2011

I just want to add a little bit to today's notes.

I have just returned from the hairdressers where my hairdresser managed to tidy my hair up and begin the shaping for my new hair.  It was such a good feeling to have what little hair I have washed and looked after as if nothing had ever happened.  Life is certainly looking up.

Tuesday 21 June 2011

Yesterday was a normal day off for Bill and me as we work on Sunday at Riverside and finally I am getting back to normal life.  No more train rides into the hospital for some time.  I finished my radiotherapy on Saturday; having started a day late; so I had to do six sessions last week.  T he radiologist asked me to come and visit them to say hello when I am next in the hospital; for some reason that is not top of my list that I would like to do.  Nothing personal to the staff who were all extremely nice but I really don’t want to visit that part of the hospital for some time to come.  The nicest thing that the radiologist doctor, who I saw last week, said to me was “See you in a years’ time”, so that is when I will go back to that department.  Unless you have been there you cannot imagine how good that sounded.  When I talked to the doctor last week she pointed out that where the radio on my body was being done was very red and inflamed.  I thought that was normal but evidently I was allergic to the cream that she had given me.  This meant that I had to buy a new cream and put that on.  It is still red and I am not sure how long it will take to go back to normal coloured skin.  Until the skin is back to normal it is best not to sit in the sun; after all I do not want to make it worse.

So what do I have to look forward to?  I need a reconstruction so that I am not looking lopsided.  That sounds like it will be at the beginning of next year; unless I can persuade them to do it earlier.   My main aim at the moment is to rebuild my strength and get back to full health.  With the weather is being good at the moment exercise is easy; especially as Bill needs to keep his exercising up as well.  Our new thing is to go out on the bicycles as often as we can.  We have a lovely cycle track only minutes from the house so we are currently checking how far we can go on that.

I thank God for all the support that we both have had.  May I be able to support people as much as my family and friends have supported me.

Tuesday 14th June 2011

Well it is over two weeks since I last wrote; I have celebrated my 60^th birthday and spent a great week with the family who came from the UK to celebrate with us.  During the same week Bill and I celebrated our 40^th wedding anniversary.    I admit that the way we celebrated both wasn’t one I would have chosen.  I have done 19 days of radiotherapy and have 6 days left.  On my birthday I spent a good 3 hours at the hospital seeing the doctor and then going on to radio.  The doctor’s comments were positive; she is very pleased with the way things are going.  As for me,  I am tired; so tired that I come home from the hospital and sleep for a while before I can carry on the rest of the day.  From Monday to Friday my day goes like this – get out of bed, shower, eat breakfast and walk along to the train station where I first catch the train and then from there ride the metro to the hospital.  I normally arrive at the hospital around about 11am.  In the hospital it is a first come first served in the treatment and people have been arriving from 8:30 if not earlier.   The waiting time varies from 1 hour to 2 hours; on a bad day it can be worse.  Fortunately most days Flavia comes and picks me up and takes me home which is great as this saves about half an hour or more.    I have 6 more treatments to go and then I can catch up with sleep, relax and begin to enjoy normal life again.

The effect from radiotherapy is nowhere near as bad as chemo.  Inwardly I don’t feel sick or anything like that at all.  What I am feeling after 4 weeks is what feels like sun burn.  The patch where the radiologists are doing the treatment is now quite red and itches a lot.  I have been told to use two lots of cream, one Nivea and the other one that was prescribed from the doctor, which is actually a burn cream.  I use the burn cream two or three times as it stops it itching and the Nivea at night to soften the skin; especially the scar from the hospital.  At least I only have a week to go.

My hair is beginning to grow and soon I will be going to the hairdressers; not to really have it cut but for her to start to shape it a bit.  I actually started washing it during the last week which feels really strange after so long.  I only use the stuff that I shower with as it is a non chemical one which is ok for what hair I have got – but at least it is a start. 

On Friday the 8^th it was a public holiday here in Porto and Bill and I met up with other members of the American Club for a game of softball.  Neither of us plays and anyway we were late as although being a holiday I still had treatment.  It was lovely just to sit on the grass in the sun, having a chat with friends and feel like I was living a normal life.  These days have been rare.

I am now beginning to look forward to the days which don’t have treatment and visits to the hospital.  There will be the odd couple of days over the months when I have to visit the hospital to check with the doctor etc but those I will be able to live with. 

Wednesday 25th May 2011

I didn’t realise that it was so long since I updated my blog until today. 

The effects from the chemo are more or less gone and I am now in the middle of my radiotherapy.  I had to wait three weeks before I started radio to make sure that I didn’t need any more chemo.  On the 10^th May I had an appointment with my chemo doctor who gave me the great news that as far as they were concerned there was no more trace of cancer.  I still have to have radio for the next three and half weeks, having completed 7 days already.  This is more tiring than I thought as I have to travel into the hospital on a daily basis from Monday to Friday.  I should have started on the 16^th May and would have finished on the 17^th June but the hospital was a day late starting so I will probably finish either on Saturday 18^th or on Monday 20^th; either works for me; as long as I finish.  The wonderful news is that it should soon be over and that I have a friend that is concerned enough to pick me up most days from the hospital to take me home so that I don’t get too tired - thanks Flavia.  Also thank you to Bill for being patient when I am really tired and in not a very good mood.

It has been interesting to go to the hospital every day; not necessarily in a good way; but within a couple of days I sorted out the system.  In the first two days Julie and I turned up at the hospital before 10am to see if I could get treated quickly; no such luck: we waited at least two hours.  I then asked the girl who was treating me if there was a good time to come and yes there was.  The next day I turned up at mid-day and within half an hour was being treated and was back out again in 10 minutes; wonderful.  It is the waiting time that makes it tiring.  So from now on I turn up either at 11:30 if I get a ride or mid-day if I catch the train; either way works well.  Obviously the Portuguese like to eat at lunch time and don’t want to wait around the hospital; as for me I can eat later if the waiting time is shorter.

I have noticed that there are days when I feel really tired and am very irritable; they are probably connected; but I feel bad for anyone around me, especially Bill.  This is something I am going to have to deal with as it is not their fault that I feel bad and as least I am getting treatment; completely free and although not the best organised so far it is now working well.

At the end of my chemo but before my radio started Bill and I took the opportunity to go away for three days.  Our girls had bought us a voucher for the Pousadas which is a group of very nice hotels in Portugal.  We travelled down to Beja which is in the Alentejo part of Portugal and I don’t think you could get a quieter part of the country.  The weather was just right and we spent a lovely time just walking around the town and travelling through the countryside.  I was always slightly tired but it was great just to relax and be looked after by someone else. 

Anyway only 18 days to go and believe me, I am counting down.  Next week I have an appointment with my radio doctor to see how things are going.  I am very optimistic.

Saturday 30th April 2011

We had a bit of a scare yesterday, although it didn’t turn out too bad.  I was sitting at my desk and came over very strange.  I went very dizzy, very hot and couldn’t seem to function at all.  Bill took my blood pressure which was almost nonexistent.  After a quick chat with Isabel, Bill decided that I needed a check up at the hospital; so off we went.  I was still feeling odd even at the hospital for some time and so we waited to get checked out by the doctor.  She was great; she took my blood pressure and gave me an ECG which turned out to be normal.  It seems that this is an effect of the chemo and I was advised to go home rest, put my feet up and take salt; not normally something I would do.

Today was a little strange as well but I think it was the same thing.  Bill took me shopping as I wasn’t sure about driving and he wasn’t about to let me anyway.  I felt in a different land whilst out; which could be a good thing as shopping on a Saturday morning is a bit hectic.  After lunch I had a good sleep and now feel much better; perhaps chocolate biscuits helped. 

As this is the last chemo hopefully I will start to feel better soon.  I had the light headiness before the last time but this was the scariest; especially for Bill.  I am definitely looking forward to feeling better.