Catching Up With Family

We've just spent a lovely day with family from Northern Ireland. My aunt and uncle are over from Lisburn, visiting my cousin & his family in Bristol so it was really lovely to see them all and catch up and get to play with Eric & Sue's gorgeous little daughter :-)

Back to London in a few hours for an 8.15am appointment for a scan.

We heard today the sad news that my Dad's sister passed away, so I am making a quick trip home for the weekend, heading to the airport straight after my scan.

My 300th Post!

Wow - can't believe that we've got to 300 posts!  Thank You to everyone who has been reading the blog over the past 3 years and keeping up with my progress.  It's been so special to be able to connect with so many friends and family in this way and your love & concern means so much to us :)

This one is a health update....

Yesterday we went to London for my bone treatment and, more importantly, a meeting with the oncologist to get the results of last week's scan.  He said that things have got slightly worse than the last scan in November but he's happy that it's mostly under control.  The one thing he is concerned about is that some of my glands are swollen so he wants me to start back on chemotherapy.....apparently I've had my break!!

He was going to wait for the gamma knife treatment to finish but as this is scheduled for March he wants to get one cycle done in February.  That means starting chemo again next Tuesday. This is another new drug to me and will be given in 2 doses - one next Tuesday and one the following Tuesday, then a break for a week between cycles.  It has most of the same side effects as previous drugs but there is also a 50% risk of hair loss / thinning so I've got to decide by next Tuesday if I'm willing to take the risk or go through the pain of scalp cooling again!!

Although this is not the best news, it could have been a lot worse, especially considering what we heard on Thursday.  He's being proactive and wants to get on top of the issue before it gets any worse so we're a little relieved as well as concerned.  In the meanwhile, I've been having some pain in my neck, maybe just a muscle thing, but I'm having a full MRI of the vertebral column on Friday to check things out properly.

After all that, it was great to be able to meet up with Ralph for lunch, he's over in London with work for a couple of days so we really appreciate you taking the time out to catch up :)

Awaiting tomorrow

It's been good to be away for a few days and take in the news we got on Thursday.  It's a real blow seeing as I had been feeling so well recently and it's very scary to hear that there are several new tumours, but we are reassured that the consultant said they can be treated & he's happy to wait a few weeks rather that do it immediately.

Bracing ourselves to see the oncologist tomorrow, get the results of the body scan and find out what lies ahead of us next :(

One Of Those Tougher Days

If you've read the "About Me" page that Sharon wrote, you'll see that she mentions that things have been a roller-coaster of highs and lows.  Well, last Thursday was unfortunately one of those lower points.

Sharon had two scans booked on the same day....one for a brain scan and the other for her body.  The brain scan showed that whilst her tumour has not grown any further, unfortunately there are several new growths.  To put things in perspective, the size of these tumours range in size from a pea to a pin-head.  Whilst this was very disappointing news to receive, the consultant was positive that the same gamma-knife treatment could be successfully applied as before to these new tumours.  As the machine is currently being upgraded with new cobalt, the procedure is tentatively scheduled for 5th March.  We travel to London again this coming Tuesday to get the results of the second scan (on the body area).

As you can imagine, this news has been a huge shock to us and we are still quite raw.... we had not expected any issues with the brain scan and had more reservations about the results of the second scan on the body area.

Sharon and I have headed away this weekend and having some time away coming to terms with the news.  It has been a time for us to talk, cuddle, cry, and above all, pray.  For ourselves, we need to remember that this news, has not caught God by surprise and He is in absolute control of all things (and that includes Sharon's health).

Thank You for reading!

Still Snowing!!

We had another huge dump of snow last night!!  

Dave has been round to the town gardens to take a few photos.... I'm staying in to keep warm :) 

Welcome To My Updated Blog

If you've clicked on my blog and ended up on a totally different site to what you've seen before, don't worry you are on the right site!  Dave has given my blog a facelift!! 

I think he's done an amazing job and I'm so thankful to him for all the effort he's put into it! We hope you like it too :-)

Please let me know if you are having any problems with the new design or have any comments that we can use to make things better. I will try and update the blog more regularly than I have been doing and also try to include a few more photos along the way rather than just writing :)

January 20th

We had a lovely day with Ian, Beverley & Aston today :)  It was great to spend time with you all and Thank You all so much for a really great afternoon!  Thank You Aston for taking time off your study to chat to us! Thinking of you so much as you sit your exams this week!!

January 19th

It's Snowing!! Everywhere is covered in white and it looks so beautiful :)  We donned our hats, ski jackets and crampons! and headed out for a walk in the town gardens this afternoon.  It was so lovely to see the trees covered in snow and watch kids out with their sledges....Dave wouldn't let me have a go!! 

January 18th

Today we had a meeting with the Drug Development Unit in Sutton to discuss the possibility of taking part in drug trials in the future.  These are trials of new drugs which haven't yet been released on the market as they still need to determine the exact side effects and the correct dosage to administer.  It's very exciting to see that new treatments are continuously being developed and tested and that I may have the opportunity to be part of a trial targeted at my specific type of cancer.  

They have put me on their list of candidates if/when this is appropriate for me but this is also dependent on my brain mass being stable. The oncologist will make a decision on whether further treatment is needed once he sees the results of my next scan and may prefer me to use tried and tested drugs that they have better knowledge rather than sending me for a trial.  I have two scans scheduled for Thursday and see one consultant on Thursday and the other on the following Tuesday.

We heard that snow was on the way so we stayed in London last night....it was clear first thing this morning but started to snow heavily before 8 and continued all day.  We had a slow journey back to Swindon but grateful that all the roads were passable!

January 11th

We had a very special afternoon with Mez, Miriam & the girls and Colin today and we all had lots of fun with our new Christmas toy... a Party Wok!!  So good to spend time with very special friends :) 

January 8th

We got back to Swindon around teatime yesterday but had another very early start this morning.....in to London for back treatment and a meeting with the consultant.  The tumour markers in my blood were slightly raised in December so he wants to check whether a scan is showing any major differences from the last scan in November. This is scheduled for the 24th and he will decide on the next course of treatment once he sees the results.  In the meanwhile, looking forward to a rest and a lie in over the next couple of days!

2013!!

Christmas T(h)ree!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 

Apologies I have missed out on updating the blog for the past couple of weeks!  It's been a really busy time over Christmas and New Year.  We spent almost 3 weeks in Cork (mostly running around from place to place!) but we got to spend plenty of time with family & relatives, catch up with lots of special friends and, as always, eat far too much!!  Thank you SO much to everyone who had us round for coffee, lunch, dinner and chats and for all the very special times we shared :)

Laura, Lisa & Bethany at the Youghal Carol Service

The Carlaws :) 

Dave surrounded by girls!

And Thank You to Charis for letting us stay with you in Tramore on the way over & back - it really helped break up the long drive & ferry trip. We got back to the UK on Monday (7th) pretty shattered but really looking forward to a rest!