I have cancer, and I am having so much trouble keeping friends abreast of developments that I decided to try blogging as a solution.
My hobby/amusement/distraction from the above is technology, so I may well bore you with that sometimes for a change!
Thank you to everyone who has sent cards, emails and comments. It is lovely to know how much you all cared for George.
George's funeral will be on Monday 14th December at 2pm in Dalwood Church. He is being cremated, but he wanted the whole service to be completed at Dalwood, including the committal - he didn't want anyone to go to the crematorium. His ashes will be buried in the churchyard later, privately.
No flowers please, but if you would like to make a donation in George's memory please do so to either the Cancer Research UK project on malignant melanoma:
(There will also be an opportunity to donate to Hospiscare at the Church).
Friday 4 December 2009
I'm so very sorry to be posting this. George died yesterday, very peacefully, in the Hospice in Exeter. We went in there in the morning after his condition deteriorated, and I was with him.
Alex and Theo (and Jo) had visited the day before, and Anne also came round for a private communion.
I will post again in a few days.
Christine
Monday 30 November 2009
I'm afraid I'm still not feeling very well, and I missed another day yesterday. However, I'm a bit brighter today, which was good because the Hospiscare nurse and the District Nurse came round this afternoon and talked about whether we need extra help. Someone is going to come round in the mornings, which is good, and I'm getting more toys including a rope ladder to fit to the bed (me Tarzan)!
I've also been given some food supplement things which are horribly sweet, but said to be ok mixed with yogurt. Many thanks to Ray B for fetching the yogurt at a moments notice.
I am sorry not to have blogged for a while, but I haven't been too well for a few days. On Monday we had a pretty full day at the hospital, where I met my new consultant. We had a very full discussion about chemo, a lot of which I didn't follow! Basically there is an option which sometimes knocks the tumours back a bit, but it has very serious potential side effects for people with brain mets. It is also heavy duty chemo rather than the pills the previous Doctor talked about (which are not likely to be effective either). So I need to think about this chemo option, but it is difficult to focus on at the moment because I am feeling ill and the pain in my leg is bad again. It might be because we had a full day on Monday, but I actually missed yesterday, beyond having a vague idea that the Hospiscare nurse visited and said that I should just be allowed to sleep, and would feel better tomorrow (ie today)!
I do feel better today, and Alex visited which was nice, but I still feel pretty lousy and the involuntary jerks are annoying. They are trying an anti-convulsent for this, so fingers crossed.
Evening all; for those that have been wondering what I have been up to after my recent new treatment, the answer is sleeping practically all the time. They did say I might suffer from flu-like symptoms but made no mention of sleepiness. I'm also finding it difficult to concentrate, so Christine is typing this for me. And there was something else, but I forget what it is - oh yes, forgetfulness!
Yesterday we went to Otter Nurseries, as Hilary mentioned on Sunday that they had a lot of helpful disability aids. New toys include a clever stick to pick things up, a fluffy neck pillow, a magnifying glass and a special LED reading light. Should keep me happy.
The wheelchair technician came yesterday to fit the new leg rest, and says that the lightweight wheelchair should be here soon. A man from Social Services came to measure for a bigger shower step this morning, and the District Nurse popped in to change the dressing on my leg. We are truly grateful to have these wonderful organisations - it all works so well.
Theo is visiting today and tomorrow, and has moved heroic piles of logs into the house for us.
Yesterday we went to the service in St Peter's, at which Morris from the Tuckers Arms was christened in front of his proud parents and family. He played his part perfectly until right near the end, when he made it clear that getting wet was not his favourite past-time.
We spent a day at the hospice today, mainly for an infusion of a drug called Zometa. This replaces the previous drug called Pamidronate, and is far more effective in causing bones to absorb calcium more effectively, and hence may be better at helping to control pain in my leg.
We also talked to the consultant about how to recognise the progress of the disease, and she said that the most likely scenario would be increased tiredness, and more prolonged periods of sleep. She felt that it would be possible to manage pain levels so that they did not become a problem.
Yesterday was very special, in that some friends in the village had organised an informal prayer meeting which took place in the morning in the village church. Anne Mills led about twenty-five of us for about an hour, and both Christine and I felt really uplifted. Thank you to all who could attend, and to those who were unable to be there but support us from a distance
Today is Alex's birthday (our eldest son) and he popped down for lunch in River Coffee Canteen, which was lovely.
There is no news on the medical front, but a lightweight wheelchair is on order.
Our Hospiscare nurse Mary came on Friday, primarily with a view to correcting the fluid retention problem which seems to have developed as a side effect of the other medication. I now have to keep both legs elevated as much as possible. It has resulted in two more tablets to take each day! I have also acquired a very comfortable pair of slippers from Trinity House (a shop n Axminster); since shop was heaving on Saturday and the menswear department is upstairs the assistant came out to the car and we did the trial fitting in the square. Full marks to him for good service!
The consultant in Bristol is making enquiries about the suitability of low dose oral chemotherapy, and which consultant in Exeter would be responsible for arranging administration, which would hopefully be done at home.
We have also acquired more information about the clinical trial mentioned by Professor Dalgliesh; it now looks as if I may be ineligible on the basis of the number of brain metastases and possibly the presence of bone mets.
The physiotherapist came on Friday to review my mobility, and the the occupational therapist is coming on Monday to look at improving access to the shower. We will also see Mary from Hospiscare to check on overall medication yet again; it will be a busy week here yet again!
I'm afraid I suffered a hiccup yesterday in that I tipped a glass of orange juice over my portable laptop keyboard, thereby rendering me unable to post or email.
In summary, we saw a new oncologist who specialises in immunology, with a particular emphasis on new compounds which are going through the early stage approval process. He gave us some advice on over the counter vitamin supplements which help with some types of cancer.
He also identified a compound which is far more effective on bone pain than the one I have been taking via infusion at the hospice.
Lastly, he identified a compound which could well be effective on the skin lesions of my disease, and for which he is waiting for trial go-ahead in the next month; if it does proceed he sees me as an ideal candidate.
Overall the situation has not changed, as nothing mentioned can be regarded as a cure. Nevertheless they should have a positive effect on my quality of life, which is important.
The new week is starting on an up after a visit at lunchtime by my Hospiscare nurse, during which we revised the medication levels and added two further drugs. I have had a pain-free afternoon, which has been wonderful!
Tomorrow we are off to London by train for my next appointment with a new oncologist. I am not expecting much out of this appointment as the chap specialises in very early clinical trials, for many of which I may not be suitable; however, there's so harm in asking.
We are staying at our usual hotel in Jermyn Street, and seeing some friends on Wednesday before travelling home.
I'm taking the PC so will probably post whilst there. TTFN
Yesterday we went to Sidmouth, ostensibly for a trip out, but of course we happened on a Waitrose where we shopped. The weather on the front at Sidmouth was nothing like it was at home - cold, very breezy, and truly bracing! I forgot to mention that I'd had my hair trimmed the day before, and my poor scalp took the full force of said weather.
Today held one other unpleasant surprise, in that my morphine patches were due for changing at tea-time. Unfortunately they ran out five hours early, which apparently can happen. I have often wondered what would happen if my pain relief ran out completely, and now I know. That will not be allowed to happen again. It was absolutely excruciating, but fortunately the replacement patches took very little time to kick in - about twenty minutes or so.
We've had what feels like a roller-coaster day today; we changed over from morphine tablets to skin patches last night, in an effort to better control the pain in my leg. It certainly seems to have helped with pain control, but when I attempted to get in the shower I apparently passed out. I'm taking it very easy today, just to be sure. I'm also adjusting the dose for another painkiller to see if that helps. No damage was done to either me or the shower apart from a small loss of face on my part:-(.
Thanks to those who have already offered to provide lifts, or patient-sitting (me). I can already see that your offers will be well-used.
Sorry to have been quiet for a few days, although some of you may prefer it that way. In fact we have been having somewhat of a battle with the pain in my leg recently. We and our Hospiscare nurse have revised the pain control medication, but the pain has been increasingly intolerable, to the point where we finally met her today and switched the morphine delivery to skin patches, and we have added local control of the skin pain using gel. It will take a day or so to switch over and judge the effectiveness of the changes.
We have also been giving some thought to how we can make use of the numerous kind offers of assistance that keep arriving. For example, our youngest son, who has no transport and lives in Glastonbury, is doing his best to visit weekly. This taking up about four hours of Chris's time per week (two trips times two hours). It would be really helpful if folk could step in and help with this. It would also be good if people could help with drug pickup from the pharmacy when theyare in Axminster. Offers on either front are welcome.
On the treatment issue, we now have an appointment next Tuesday evening in London with a consultant oncologist specialising in early clinical trials for melanoma. We have no idea whetherthis holds any promise for my situation, but it seems worthwhile checking out, even though it is unlikely to change the end game.
Yesterday we went to Lyme Regis and took a leisurely stroll along the front, which took in an ice cream each. This is becoming a bit of a habit, but the problem is we know the road and its various potholes, whereas other places are not so familiar; of anyone knows the roads to other locations such as Bere or Branscombe and can vouch for their paving, please let us know and we can branch out.
Today we both seem to have been thrown by the clock change, and neither of us can keep our eyes open at 7 o'clock (was eight). Never mind, we've done some heavyweight Christmas shopping online. From a standing start we seem to have moved into an almost finished position on the Xmas present front! Scary or what?!
Tomorrow is busy too; we are off to Taunton to meet my sister and nephew at Brazz for lunch, and to collect our youngest in passing. Hopefully things will calm down somewhat after that. We are waiting for a medical appointment with another oncologist, but this may take a couple of days to filter through.
Tuesday went as planned - a heavy shopping day! Yesterday started early but slowly with Communion at 0930 - believe me, the Church is cooling down for the winter - must take a coat next time. The afternoon was taken up with PC stuff for various folk so I will spare you the detail.
Today was a BIG day, though I don't suppose that most of you noticed? Yes, it's true, Windows 7 was released on time, and my three copies arrived on schedule, despite the post strike. You really have to hand it to Amazon for meeting deadlines and generally running a tight ship. Unfortunately attempts to install any of the copies have been forestalled by 'stuff'; better luck tomorrow.
On the medical front, it has been suggested that I ask for and obtain a referral to a further oncologist in London who is doing clinical trials; I am very unsure about the wisdom of extending the treatment scope further as there must come a point where enough is enough; I continue to pray about it and to turn it over in my mind.
Just in case you thought I was taking it too easy...we met our youngest in Taunton today and had lunch at Brazz, the brasserie in the Castle Hotel. Unfortunately the main restaurant isn't open on Mondays, so we had to make do with the brasserie. That, however, wasn't at all bad - we had chicken liver parfait, goat's cheese with grilled vegetables, and smoked salmon with mixed vegetables, followed by pasta with mushrooms, burger, and Greek salad. We didn't look at the wine list, but I've no doubt it was acceptable.
Tomorrow we are taking him back to Glastonbury where, I've no doubt, we will have a look around Clarks' Village and other sales emporia within half a day's driving distance. I'll let you know how I get on in my next post.
Since my sister was the only person prepared to comment on my last post, I assume that the rest of you are all too well bred to say what you think!
...and it was good fun! It turns out that one of our lime trees has honey fungus, which is great because I've never liked it along with a few others that I would love to remove. However Chris demurs, and she is probably right. Of course if it spreads...
In any case it had to come down as there was a huge mass of fungus around the base of the trunk, so, armed with my trusty chain saw, we set out to deal with the offending article. So if anyone wants some infected lime wood before Ray Venn gets his hands on it, just let me know.
There's no real news about me today, so it seems like a good opportunity to say thanks for all the donations to Cancer Research. Having set a completely arbitrary target of £500, we have reached £713 including Gift Aid. You are all very kind. If it helps to prevent further experiences such as mine it will have been very worthwhile.
We've made it home today in more or less one piece - that is if you discount me tripping over and wrenching my tumorous leg this afternoon. The pain is somewhat off the scale, even after a double dose of morphine, but here's hoping that it will settle down overnight.
Chris and I have been talking about what to say about my prognosis in the light of the gamma knife treatment. Naturally we asked my consultant (I seem to have graduated to a professor); his opinion this morning was that the tumours in my brain have reduced as a mortality risk, but that tumours elsewhere mean that the overall time scale may not have changed. In any event I have a follow-up appointment with him on December 9th which will involve a further MRI scan, and should enable us to check progress in my brain.
I'm told that I will feel exceptionally tired over the next few days, so apologies in advance if the blog goes quiet for a while. A bientot.
A breeze, that is, apart from getting up at 0530 to get to the hospital. After that and the usual messing around to give them the same personal details for the umpteenth time, the donning of the usual reverse robe which anyone except the wearer can tie,and the screwing of the metal frame to the skull. Ah, this last bit is different - the professor used four steel pins preceded by an ampoule of local anaesthetic per pin. Each one was screwed into the skull with considerable force, and much local anaesthetic was needed. The adjunct 'this will sting a bit' was never so true, but the frame once fixed was not going anywhere. Still, when the man was intent on frying my brain in seven locations, I was not about to complain. For those interested, the pins in question are just visible at the top of each vertical post on my forehead.
The planning MRI was done with me wearing the cradle, so that they could plot the co-ordinates precisely, shortly after which I was loaded into the linear accelerometer and treatment began. To my shame I can recall very little of the entire process, as I fell soundly asleep!
After treatment, I had to wait three hours on the ward before being discharged back to the hotel, where we relaxed for a another couple of hours before eating what for me was a healthy-sized supper of sausage and mash with a side salad. Needless to say, we were rather the talk of the kitchen, and had cause to meet most of the waiting staff during the course of the evening. On reflection, it did sound rather odd to have had brain surgery that afternoon, with nothing to show for it but a huge, relieved grin!
Had the MRI scan today, and saw the consultant. He confirmed seven tumours, widely spread, but of a manageable size. We discussed the risks of radio surgery which include potential loss of right-side peripheral vision and epileptic fits - but this is unusual. On the other hand although its not a cure it may serve to damp things down in the brain, so we decided to go ahead. I have to be at the hospital tomorrow at 06.30 for a procedure that will take the best part of the day. Hopefully I'll be back home on Wednesday.
Well, this is the weekend we go to London for my MRI scan at the Cromwell. They do something called 'Three phase contrast', which I suppose is superior to what we do down in the West Country. All I know is that there seem to be a lot of parking charges and hotel costs associated with it:-). We've decided to drive because we can take the wheelchair, although the leg support has just broken, and it should have been more comfortable whilst there.
The schedule is rather a whirl - we have the scan on Monday at 1430, then go next door to hear what, if anything, they can do. We think it will be rather sudden, but as the treatment is next day and takes most of the day including fitting a cradle to my head, there's no time for messing around!
It hasn't all been so frantic; yesterday we were invited to Michael and Sue's for a crab lunch with champagne - some excuse about being my birthday a while back! Still, who's counting when the food, wine and company are so elevated?
One of my over-riding impressions is how small the hotel and it's facilities were. Whether this is due to the limited land available, or the relatively smaller size of the Edwardian frame, or both, I'll never know. Nevertheless, this did nothing to reduce the pleasure we derived from it in the slightest: the baths were deep and hot, the food was ample and good and the room we had sported an easterly view where we could watch numerous brave souls kite surfing in what I can only describe as life-risking encounters with the elements.
I wasn't allowed to use the sea tractor and was confined to using the Land Rover for transport across, but to be honest this was probably more comfortable than a John Deere on stilts.
Dinner sported suitably pink beef and duck for yours truly, and an ample selection of things vegetarian for madam, who looked as beautiful as ever in a period-evoking Droopy and Brown evening dress. I, in a moment of weakness, had surrendered to black tie and tails despite a previous vow never to dress as a penguin again.
Even the negative points had their virtues; hotel sourcing policy specifies Free Trade, Organic, Local all appear on the menu. Unfortunately this means that Darjeeling tea doesn't make it (no, not because of 'local', sillies; they just can't find a Free Trade version. We ended up drinking an Assam-based mix, which is very dark and 'in the face'!
Today was another kettle of fish altogether; the weather for the return journey was completely awful; since we've been home we have hunkered down and drunk our sort of tea! (Darjeeling, mild). I've also managed to spoil the paragraph formatting, but I'm tired, so it will have to stay as it is...
...and we've just confirmed a reservation for dinner at the Burgh Island hotel. It is really on an island, which can only be reached at low tide or, if one is feeling extravagant, by helicopter! At other times one can use the sea tractor or a land rover.
Those of you of a certain age and above may recognise the architechture as the art deco background to much of the 'Poirot' detective series, starring David Suchet. It is a program that we watch to chill out some evenings, feeling it to be cleverly acted and wryly amusing.
This trip is a precursor to the visit next week to the Cromwell Hospital in London, where I will have another MRI scan and decide whether or not to have the Gamma Knife radiosurgery.
On a purely local note I am pleased to say that the Major/Owen team have finally managed to repair the church light half-way down the drive, with the generous assistance of many others along the way. We narrowly avoided defeat at the last minute by a long-life light bulb which had failed to live up to its name.
It is with profound relief that I can confirm that the answer is indeed 42; no, not the answer to life, the Universe, and everything; the fact that I did indeed pass my driving test 42 year ago today :-)
Anyway, with that out of the way, I can tell you the outcome of my appointment with the oncology consultant today. In essence, he had in front on him the scans from Bristol, together with the recent CT scan done in Exeter. In comparing the two he could tell that there are been no rapid change in activity within the brain; equally, there is quite a lot of oedema present, and this would account for my recent period of unwell-ness and its control by steroids. It then becomes a question of deciding which are the most active areas of cancer, and focusing treatment on those. It is true to say that my right leg is most troublesome pain-wise, but this is manageable with drugs and by limiting activity. I asked the consultant how he saw the disease developing within my brain, and he surmised that at the present rate of development I would expect to experience function loss (mental capacity/movement/sight/taste) possibly leading to drowsiness and coma, and that this could take place over the next two to four months. Like other consultants he was keen to emphasise that this estimate could be spectacularly wrong in either direction.
We asked his opinion about the Gamma Knife option at the Cromwell and he would not commit himself except to imply that he would probably decline the procedure were he in my position, subject of course to the fact that I haven't been there and had the specific diagnostic MRI that they use prior to surgery.
Year end
The turn of year seems like a good target to have completed any handover of responsibilities that I have on behalf of the village, so if you think you are aware of anything that I'm doing for the community please let me know in plenty of time. I'm aware that the website needs a handover to Ian Wallace, but other tasks are fairly small.
I hope you will understand that Christine and I will increasingly turn our attention inwards, so apologies if we seem less than usually responsive.
Much to my surprise I was allowed home this morning. We told during the doctor's round that the the Exeter CT report had been completed, and it showed approximately four lesions in my brain. Given that we have been told varying numbers from 5, to 6 , to 8, I'm beginning to wonder either about the technology involved or, possibly about the arithmetical skills of the people involved:-) Seriously though, it is possible that whole brain radiotherapy has reduced the number of tumours involved, or that the interpretation of the results is indeed a subjective opinion.
The plan now is to ask Bristol for a digital copy of past MRI and CT scans and to give these to the Exeter oncologist to whom I have been referred on Friday at 1100. What seems to have happened is that adjusting my medication, specifically steroids, has had the effect of stabilising some brain swelling which may have caused my past symptoms of nausea and instability. I continue to feel very tired and unable to concentrate but I doubt you will notice much difference in my day to day behaviour!
It goes without saying that a big thank you goes to everyone at the hospice and to everyone involved in the movement!
Apart from a little deviation when I managed to bring back all my painkillers immediately after breakfast, today went as planned. I had the CT scan of my head, which I hope will be reported tomorrow. Providing nothing untoward has emerged, the plan will continue for me to see an oncologist later in the week. With luck I should be home mid-week.
Having a spare afternoon we decided to take a short trip into town, and did a tour of the cathedral. It's a lovely 10th century building where they were already practicing carols - at least the treble and descant parts, but I suppose that these give the most trouble so need the most practice!
Rarely has a weekend passed so quickly: on Saturday morning Christine collected me from the hospice, PC bag, books and in hand. We had had a roast dinner with wine; by tea-time on Sunday I was back at the hospice (Danielle: wiki hospice) with the same paraphernalia under my arm.
In the mean-time we had gone home; visited Church where I had my favourite hymn (Psalm 23) sung in my honour; had a visit from a neighbour; and got back to the hospice by 1730.
On another note, a friend recently commented that Christine rarely rates a mention in this blog: I'd like to emphasise that this is at her own request. She feels that this is a description of my journey and that she does not want to influence its direction. Having said that, I'm extremely grateful for the prompt to mention her, because without her I doubt that I could make the journey at all, or that it would be a completely different journey altogether. The love, patience, support and outright courage that she brings to each new challenge that we face is just a wonder to behold and I cannot possible thank her enough for all that she does. I hope she knows, in fact I'm sure she knows that I love her as much as possible, and then some more.
After a couple days adjusting medication and observing results it has been decided that I should come home from tomorrow morning until Sunday afternoon. I will have a CT scan in Exeter, and this will be compared with the one sent down from Bristol. If, as seems probable, the recent poorliness, is due to pressure on my brain from a tumour or tumours, the plan will be to set a level of medication to keep me stable and send me home.
The plan further on will be to visit the Cromwell in London for a MRI scan to assess whether Gamma Knife treatment is still appropriate. It is difficult to self-assess one's mental state, but I do know that my own typing and interpretation skills have substantially slowed down; witness the fact that it has taken me over an hour to complete the above text; going any faster merely results in many more typing errors. It is therefore difficult to give any prognosis about time or condition. One can but hope that my condition will improve with the love and prayers of those whom I know are supporting me. My communication skills are amongst those most precious to me, so long may they last!
As some of you may have heard I was taken into the Hospice yesterday after a sudden poorly period. I have had some tests and may have a CT scan tomorrow, so I'll let you know more when I know it myself.
I'm still quite confused and tired so I'd prefer blog comments and emails to general visitors please (having said which it was very comforting to see Alistair today, thank you).
Despite the suspicion on our part that the recent tyre repair had failed, we were wrong. It was indeed the same tyre, but it had collected two additional screws.
Anyway, the above episode made us re-think the fact that we don't belong to any breakdown recovery organisation. If anyone has any recommendations, or horror stories, please let me know. At present the RAC seems like the best bet.
Apart from that, and managing a short walk along the lane, I seem to be going backwards at the moment. Here's just hoping that it's a temporary blip.
This afternoon I staged a late rally, and did a bit of gardening. This mostly consisted of pruning some box hedging.
Anyway, that's all for now folks. Apologies for the inconsistent formatting today - I seem to have broken Google's automatic formatting and have had to revert to laying out in html. Do you sometimes get the feeling the world is against you?!
I woke this morning expecting to feel somewhat more recovered than yesterday, whereas in fact my face is more swollen than yesterday, and I feel rather more limp. Still, not to be deterred, I suggested a trip to Lyme Regis for a customary ice cream on the Cobb. We had had a rear wheel puncture repaired recently, and you can imagine my displeasure when a kind citizen tapped on the window and informed us that...
Even so, we connected up the tyre inflator and brought the tyre up to 2 bar, where, fortunately, it seemed to hold. So we probably have a slow puncture, and it can wait until Chris goes to Honiton tomorrow. I didn't relish the prospect of changing a wheel on crutches, or from my wheelchair!
I could write at some length about a particular fascinating technical problem I'm playing with, but even I realise that no-one out there will be in the slighted bit interested in how to install and run an email server on a home network; so I won't. I'll just save this bit of knowledge to feel smug about to myself.
It's Tuesday lunchtime and I'm back home already. The surgeon didn't manage to remove all the lumps on my scalp, for the reason that it would have created too much tension and there would have been a risk of stitches tearing. Instead, he opted to take out those lesions which were probably the biggest stumbling block to fitting the Gamma Knife cradle. Of course he was having to guess as until they do the scan he couldn't be cure which ones these are.
I had planned to attach a couple of photos showing the surgeon's handiwork, but to be honest there's not much to see; I look as if I've gone a couple of rounds with Joe Bugner. I've fallen asleep at least three times, just in typing the last two two paragraphs, so I'm going to quit while I'm ahead!
Well, the birthday is over, the medical plans for next week have been confirmed, and the cancer donation fund has reached its (arbitrary)target. We will be in Bristol for the first part of this coming week, although I will have my PC with me. I would just like to affirm my thanks to everyone for all their prayers, good wishes, cards, and donations in lieu of gifts; some of these were anonymous so I can't say thanks directly. I've had a truly memorable week, and, despite the prospect of yet more anaesthetics and surgery, I feel well set up to deal with what is to come. I couldn't really ask for more!
The weather is set fair this afternoon so the plan in to trim the rest of the lavender, the bay tree, the lawn, and sundry hedges surrounding the oil tank, the greenhouse, and the like. Of course I will have a little help with this; possibly to the extent that I'll be watching and instructing in the use of power tools...
We saw the plastic surgeon at lunchtime yesterday and agreed a plan to remove the lesions on my lip, chin, eye, and as many of those on my scalp and he could accommodate without giving me the 'too much plastic surgery' taut and shine skin finish favoured by Hollywood elder statesmen and women. Unfortunately the location and time involved means having a general anaesthetic, which I prefer to avoid, but never mind.
Birthday update
We hadn't planned it to this level of detail but as soon as we arrived at the hotel I realised that the location was perfect. It's a Cotswold hotel (where I hail from); combined with supreme comfort, service and a Michelin star that even Giles Coren couldn't rubbish:see http://tinyurl.com/mydefm; and cognac topping out at £105 per shot of which our sons mercifully didn't avail themselves after we went to bed.
The Owen clan haven't been together for a while now, and the girlfriends haven't even met before so it must have felt quite strange for them. However they seem to have got along famously from the outset. Actually, given that, as one remarked, she couldn't believe how similar the chaps were to one another, it's perhaps not too surprising that their chosen partners got along too!
Finally, to all those folk who kindly donated to my fund, and/or sent me cards and messages of good-will, can I say a huge thank-you. To my family, and most of all to my lovely wife, whose care, affection and organisational skills pulled off the above and so much more in our lives, a big, big thank-you. The whole day has been just perfect.
As predicted, today turned out to be busier than of late. I duly went down to the hospice to have the infusion, and got into a major review of medication which led to upping some pain-killers, adding anti-biotics to counter a possible infection, and drawing lines on my leg and taking photos to mark the possible march of a red line up the aforesaid limb! We then hared back to Axminster where I had a leg x-ray to check for potential instability as a cause of the increased pain. I will say that the doctors at the hospice are nothing if not thorough! They also seem to share my scepticism about the advisability of amputation, and feel that they have lots more to offer in their chemical arsenal before we resort to the saw and knife. I know who I'm backing!
Anyway, it's the big day tomorrow (well, the day before the big day). Alex, the eldest and Jo arrived back safely from Vietnam in the last twenty-four hours and so are on schedule to join us for dinner at the hotel. Let's hope they are awake!
That's all for now. I need a good early night tonight!
As most of you know things have been relatively stable, with increasing pain in my leg being the main source of concern. After going through this otherwise quiet patch, things are starting to hot up a bit. I had to arrange a blood test today to check my blood count, prior to having an infusion of a drug which is designed to strengthen the bone in my leg, which is where a major source of cancer is located.
So tomorrow I'm off to the hospice in Exeter for the infusion tomorrow morning. Happily they are also experts in pain control, so I'm hoping that they can advise me on reducing the pain with drugs, thereby hitting one bird with two stones!
On Thursday we travel to Bristol for an appointment with my skin specialist to look at removing the lesions on my eyelid, scalp and shoulders. However, the same evening we are staying at the Lucknam Park Hotel for my family birthday dinner (see 29th August entry in the blog). This should provide some welcome light relief from all the medical stuff!
Any surgery to remove skin lesions will take place on Monday 14th September in Bristol, which should give plenty of time for wounds to heal before the Gamma Knife procedure in London. on 14th October, which will hopefully remove the larger lesions in my brain. However we need to be careful about which ones are removed, as the Gamma Knife relies on a cradle being fixed to my skull to precisely locate the ray guns. I'd hate to have screws going into recent lesion remove sites!
I think it's an indication of improving health that I feel up to taking a short trip out each day; today it was Axminster and Lyme Regis. We managed to buy a pill dispenser with which to manage my increasing stock of tablets. I freaked myself more than a little a couple of days ago when I could remember whether or not I had taken my morphine; doubling the dose could have had very exciting consequences:-).
We achieved no more than a double ice cream in Lyme, where we also watched a bride taking her first steps along the Cobb - very picturesque!
There is a downside to the increased activity; the pain levels in my leg have shot up further, so we are back into the loop of adjusting dose levels to bring it under control again. This is all getting rather repetitive, for which I apologise. I will have to think about reporting less detail, less often in order not to bore you again.
Someone commented today that we seem to be going out to lunch rather often. In fact we did go out today - to River Cottage Cafe canteen in Axminster, where we took Michael and Sue to celebrate his birthday. It wasn't a particularly significant number - just a higher number than mine:-)
I've little to report on the medical front, apart from an increase in pain levels in my leg. We've embarked upon the now familiar juggling of doses of the two/three main painkillers, to try to stabilise it again.
Looking at Google Analytics I can see that the visit rate to the site is showing a slow but steady decline, which I regard as a good thing. My reasoning is that no news is good news, and the longer that lasts the better!
We went for a very lazy day today; getting up at around lunchtime (me, not Chris!); reading and generally 'going with the flow'; and then at 4pm deciding to take a trip to a tea-shop at Burton Bradstock. It's an easy and smooth half hour from home, with a navigable beach and beach path on which to stroll. It was a very pleasant and tiring walk, after which we refuelled with a Dorset cream tea and Darjeeling. Interestingly, it also serves freshly caught fish and crab of the day, both at lunch and dinner. I can see a very pleasant evening being spent there, suitably wrapped up warm.
I needed to wear my buff there today; the onshore breeze had an edge to it and I'm not as well-insulated as I was: hence the above picture!
Looking at the results of the Wikipedia poll, it seems to me that the key finding is that those who have heard of it but used it little could do some more of it and have some fun. I know at least a couple of folk who haven't been entirely open, in that I know you aren't from Earth, but didn't admit it:-) That does skew the results you know!
I know that some of you know that it's my 60th birthday on 11th September. Chris and I have talked about a party or drinks at the pub for friends in the village, but to be honest I would find it much too tiring. We have decided to limit celebrations to dinner for our sons and their girlfriends at a nice hotel near Bath (Lucknam Park. See http://www.lucknampark.co.uk/ ). It's on 10th September to fit in with Hayley's shift patterns and a couple of hospital appointments in Bristol.
I'm sure that you will all want me to have a great birthday, but I do want to emphasise that I really don't want or need any presents / bottles of wine / flowers. There really is nothing that I need. In fact, my biggest birthday wish is that sooner or later someone will come up with something to fight melanoma, which so far has proved a hugely difficult disease to treat. To this end, my family are using this website http://myprojects.cancerresearchuk.org/group-giving/george-owen to donate money into a Cancer Research project on melanoma. If any of you really must buy me something, a few more pounds towards this vital goal would be much more welcome than a present.
Chris and I were invited to join the Corrydales in their post-show get-together yesterday evening, in which they watched a preview copy of this year's video which is being put together by Michael B. It says nothing about the content, or about the video, that I managed to stay for only the first half! Indeed, I think it's fair to say that the show was up to its usual standard, with jokes falling thick and fast, some pretty fair singing, and some even fairer dancing:-).
Michael has done an amazing job of grasping the technicalities of the sound system, the camera equipment, and some new video editing software in order to come up with a product in record time. In the process he relieved me of a job I simply couldn't have done this year, and for which I'm supremely grateful.
Today I'm spending most of the time apart from doing this posting in sleeping, which is presumably due to the effort spent yesterday evening; still, it was worth it!
I thought that for this posting I would pass on a tip about a web feature that I use so often that I never give it any thought, but which I realise may have escaped some folk who look at my blog. The feature I'm talking about is Wikipedia.
To read the formal definition of what a Wiki is please read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page. In summary, it is a public encyclopaedia authored by, well, anyone! The idea is to capture the knowledge of individuals about subjects in which they have an interest. Yes, it allows people to post wrong or misleading information. Equally, these issues are simple to correct, and each subject tends to be 'guarded' by a small number of people who care about the integrity of the information in a particular domain.
There are also private wikis, and they are used by academia and major multi-nationals for collaborative research (as in pharmaceuticals) where scientists can be spread around the globe.
For our purposes, we are interested in public wikis. To try it out, all you have to do if using Firefox browser is to type 'wiki search item' into the address bar. If you are stuck on Internet Explorer, type the same term into the Google search box.
Still unsure about it? Try typing any of the following into your browser search box :
wiki Formula 1
wiki Dalwood
wiki 'whatever your hobby or secret passion is'
This method of research is particularly useful for answering technology questions, and may help to explain why I appear to know so much about PC's!
If you feel you know enough about your subject matter to be able to contribute, go ahead! All you need to do is to create an account and follow the instructions provided, and you can be broadcasting your wisdom to the planet within minutes:-)
Health update
I may be wrong, but when I woke up this morning I thought I felt marginally better, for the first time since I had the radiotherapy. I've still been very tired during the day, and decisions such as 'what would you like for lunch?' still seem hard to answer, but I'm hopeful that the down swing has been halted.
Had a surprise burst of activity today - lunch out with our two sons at the Lord Poullett Arms in Hinton St George. For a variety of reasons we haven't been together for a while, so this was a real treat.
As you will see from the link, it's a pub with attitude; check out the reviews page, if nothing else. Gastro -pub of the year 2008; National Dining Pub of the Year 2009 - Good Pub Guide 2009. Some folk - men - may vote in favour of the loos - but you'll have to go there to see what I mean!
One last piece of advice; don't go on the day they are holding a relic tractor ploughing competition next to the A303; if you do you can be sure that your fellow humanity will stop their cars on a major A route just to watch this absolutely exhilarating piece of entertainment that can surely only be beaten by the Cornish paint drying championships (white) category.
Health update
Health not improved by waiting in back of car for above delay to clear. Other than that, no change either way I'm afraid. I'm down by another twenty hairs, but still have more than some folk of a similar age in the village:-). The sleepiness is unabated, which I had hoped would be improving by now...
Cheeky quotes
By the way, not a soul commented when I replaced the fish with the Cheeky Quotes. I thought it would raise the tone and provide some amusement - you weren't all in a queue on the A303 watching a ploughing competition were you?
Again, not much change to report. I have developed a small lesion on my lower right eyelid that I'm having looked at in early September. It isn't causing me too much of a problem apart from mild discomfort at this stage, but I probably need to have it removed before it gets too big else there won't be enough spare skin to heal over. One of the things I've learned that plastic surgeons worry about is skin tension - imagine if you will a stiff or rigid eyelid:-).
Thanks to everyone who has sent me messages, posts, or emails of support. It's nice to know you all care (enough to be rude about me, in some cases!).
Apart from sleep I've done little apart from read the first 'Inspector Wallender ' novel in the series. Why I decided to read a Swedish novel in my condition I have no idea - it must be the lack of daylight, or cold, or some Scandinavian gene, that makes the characters so unutterably miserable!
No change to report again - bumping along the bottom a bit?
I thought it was time I shared the hair loss issue with you all. Some of it is hanging on for dear life. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not?! Sorry about the facial expression but I'm barely awake. I'll spare you the back view for now:-)
Good afternoon, all. Well, I'm still in bed and it's 12.25, but there it is.
Not much to report as ever. I made it to the Fair Service, which was very enjoyable en plein air (very warm and with the odd wasp for added spice).
My main purpose in posting today is to wish the Corrydales the best of luck with the show, which is this evening until Thursday. We have decided not to try and attend as I know only to well that I will sleep for most of the evenings, and I'm sure it's far too good to miss:-)
Good luck also to Michael, and to Jason, with the filming and with the sound. Thanks to Michael , and to the availability of the technology, we should be able to see it in High Definition this year. Can you imagine close-ups of the cast in five times greater definition than last year? It doesn't bear thinking about!
Made it! Well, only for a while. It was good to see some of you, but I admit that I'm paying for it now:-( Well at least the weather didn't hit us for a third year running, which is a relief! To all those that I didn't have a chance to speak to - apologies. Ruts and butts in wheelchairs don't really go too well.
I'm off for a very early night tonight, in the hope that I'll be clambering up the other side of the treatment soon.
Sorry folks, but the sleepiness is still increasing. I spend a couple of hours or so 'awake' each day, during which I read. I'm not really cabable of interaction or any demanding intellectual pursuits (such as writing for such a high-brow audience). I just need to sit it out - sorry.
I had in mind all kinds of technical titillation - let's just hope I remember the ideas when I wake up - or perhaps not!
We passed a pleasant weekend, with a visit by Theo, our youngest, and his girlfriend Hayley. He is currently studying a foundation OU course and is doing very well. Hayley has joined Thames Valley Police and is part-way through her training. She loves it - "I didn't know you could get paid whilst having so much fun".
They were very accommodating about my constant sleeping, and Chris managed to sort out some very divergent dietary requirements - I have no idea how!
Medical update
It feels to me as though practically all my hair as come out now - judging by the shower filter! However Chris tells me I've still got more than most men my age. I'll wait until the end of the week before updating the photo, and you can all be the judges.
One slightly less welcome development, which is probably due to the R/T, is that my typing has become rather more erratic. The consultant believes it is probably due to swelling in the brain, and that it should be possible to relieve it with steroids. However there seems to be a conflict between the need to take it for this purposes and the need to take it for pain control in my leg. I've trying to co-ordinate views between the various parties to get this sorted out.
As the song goes. Anyway, this melon is getting less hairy by the minute. This may have something to do with the fact that Christine has ministered to me with the hoover, and also with a length of parcel tape. Of course, looking at it from her point of view I can see that piles of the stuff around the place is not ideal:-)
Other than this, I've become even more tired, and it's not even the end of the first week after treatment. If they are right and the symptoms will deepen until the end of week two then there really won't be much point in 'watching this space' at all!
On an unrelated note, I had a completely unexpected and welcome visit from Dr. Hodges. I had had to ring the surgery to arrange a change of medication, and he had kindly arranged this at nil notice. I gather that our own doctor, Sarah Ellis, will be away for a while and he thought it would be a good idea to put a face to a name (for both of us). Well done, Dr H!
Sorry all, this is more of a Tweet than a blog: All I'm doing at the moment is being awake in the morning (If one can call it that); having lunch, and then sleeping until tea time); followed by an early bedtime; even I can see that this is less interesting than paint drying. If I were to guess I'd say that this symptom is rapidly deepening, so don't expect much real news in the next few days. Sorry about this.
It's still a case of no news is no news really. This round of radiotherapy is finished, and there's little to show for it apart from increased tiredness, more loose hairs in my keyboard, and an odd red rash across my forehead:-)
The consultant popped down to see me in the treatment area, mainly to answer face-to-face an email I had sent her over the weekend. She really is a nice person. Anyway, the question was about medication and flying (yes or no). She thinks we will be fine if we stick within the EU, and advised a short course of steroids to counteract any swelling in my brain as a result of pressure changes during take-off and landing.
The EU point is a good one in case we had a medical emergency, and casts doubt on St Petersburg as a destination unless it's a stopping point on an EU-based cruise. What a nightmare!
Looking ahead over the next few weeks looks something like this; for the next two weeks the symptoms will deepen (tiredness, hair loss); from then on energy levels should improve - call this weeks 3 to 9; week 10 is Cromwell week. Apparently the procedure I'm having is "Stereotactic ablation of tissue of brain". If you don't use the word ablation every day, you may want to look it up. Anyway, the point of this forecast is to alert you to the fact that I sincerely hope to be boring for the next little while, so anyone who is an adrenalin junky is likely to be disappointed. However I'll do my best to include some riveting technical news, which I know you all love:-)
Simple: none. I've still got my hair, although I've noticed that there are quite a few more extraneous loose ones in my food, on my clothes, and generally around the place; I'm sure Chris's hair looks thinner:-) I do also feel more tired, but this is to be expected. So, instead of coming home and sitting down, we went out in the garden and drank tea before I had a go at weeding the drive.
Cromwell Hospital
I had an email from the Cromwell this evening to say that I have to wait for eight weeks after the current treatment before proceeding with Gamma Knife. They have arranged for me to have an MRI scan on 12th October, and if I'm suitable for treatment that will take place on the following day.
And in the meantime...
...I've asked my consultant what restrictions there are on flying. If we have to wait eight weeks (less a couple to get over the worst of the current treatment).
Medical update Precisely nothing (thank goodness).
Anyone lost an Enya CD?
A while ago I repaired someone's laptop, and in the process took an Enya CD called "And Winter Came..." out of the CD drive. It has been hanging around here ever since while I try to recall whose PC it was. That isn't happening, so if anyone reading thinks it is theirs, please let me know.
Any now for something completely different
I've recently finished reading a book which was given to me by a friend, and it made a big impression; so much so that I've decided to share it here. The reason I have hesitated is because it is a work of Christian fiction, and until I received this book I didn't realise that such a genre existed. I'm also well aware that not everyone who reads this blog would describe themselves as Christian, and I've no desire to sermonise anyone.
The book is called 'The Shack', by William P Young. Be prepared for a plot which involves the murder of a young girl, the appearance of God as a large black woman, and an altogether unsettling read. I found myself upset, amused and challenged in equal amounts. Yes, it's very American; yes, the writing style can be a bit schmaltzy, yes, it isn't attempting to project true theology; For all that, it rattled some of my cosy preconceptions, and didn't take that much time to read. For details, and the views of other reviewers, have a look at the Amazon listing: http://tinyurl.com/nlvy63. If anyone would like to borrow my copy, just let me know.
Absolutely nothing new to report I'm afraid, apart from the fact that travelling in the back of Gwyn's car is something of a luxury experience; it certainly smoothed out the bumps along Seven Mile Straight!
Yesterday I threatened to start making stuff up - today I can honestly say I'm too tired; sorry about that.
Again, little to report. The symptom build-up is much more noticeable; feeling queasy and tired. Apologies if I nod off in the middle of a conversation with any of you (more so than usual, that is).
It's also nice to be back home in one's own bed. Tomorrow Gwyn is taking me to Bristol (what a nice man to risk his leather seats:-). If tomorrow is as straightforward as today I may well have to start inventing stuff to blog, as I know what sensationalists you all are!
We are staying in Bristol tonight, and are making a bit of an occasion of it by meeting my sister and nephew, who hail from Banbury. They seem to have had great fun visiting the SS Great Britain, a rusty metal boat parked in the centre - so oddness does run in the family:-).
Medically, there's nothing to report. The treatment machine broke down so there was a 45 minute delay, but hey, what's the hurry anyway?
Thanks to all for your various emails and comments. You may not realise it but they are a great encouragement. TTFN.
Today has been a real treat; we've done a bit of this and a bit of that; to be more precise; had another go at clearing the garage (which I love doing because it feels so worthwhile but has no end - and so is endlessly worthwhile:-); almost finished wiring up the outdoor Victorian pedestal light for the church; had a very enjoyable visit from Alastair, the vicar; and generally engaged in a variety of displacement activities (sorry Alastair, I don't mean you are...)
I've also submitted to having my picture taken with my buff - with a very poor grace, I hasten to add. Christine seems to think it will keep Danielle quiet - all I can say is that I thought her memory of teenagers would be better than that:-(
So, 40% complete! I can't say I'm sorry it's the weekend; the M5 only has so much to offer by way of variety; today it was dense traffic as people made their ways down to their holiday homes. I'm looking forward to a rest for a couple of days.
The first treatment symptoms have started to emerge; nausea, tiredness, and mild headaches. Still at least I've got my hair for a while longer.
I had a phone call from the Cromwell today following up on my referral from Bristol; they wanted me to go up for an MRI scan using their protocols, which I take as a slightly positive sign that I may be suitable for treatment with Gamma knife; there's no real reason why it should be positive, but in the absence of any other indication, it might as well be a good sign as bad! Unfortunately I can't go on Tuesday, and the consultant has gone back to Sweden for a few days, so this will be delayed for a while. This may be a good thing anyway, as the effects of this treatment need to settle before they can assess suitability for Gamma Knife.
It's interesting that yesterday's post elicited not a single public comment. I must have something to learn about judging my audience; perhaps you aren't all subscribers to New Scientist or Geeks Monthly:-)
Every so often something appears in my mailbox that makes me think "I must share this with humanity" which means you, dear readers! The latest nugget came from a weekly newsletter from PC Pro, which I subscribe to, and which is partly responsible for some of the advice that I pass on to you. However, this particular nugget is not PC-related.
It comes in the form of a link to some videos made in 1974 for Cornell University, and features Dr Richard Feynman giving some 'classic physics lectures'. However, even if physics did for you at school like it did for me, please don't stop reading yet! This is how PC Pro describes the videos
What I find even more amusing is that Bill Gates and a friend were going on holiday together and wanted to take some videos with them - now I don't know what sort of stuff you take, and please don't tell me, but physics?! When Bill watched these he immediately bought the rights to them, and through a Microsoft project has posted them for all to see, which is why you can watch them now.
To watch the videos, go to Project Tuva. If you are prompted to install something called Silverlight, please allow it. Thereafter, enjoy! Even the introduction is worth watching, so if you go through it all you have about seven hours of material to plough through. I've watched the first one and certainly intend to view the rest!
The Bad
Have you ever wondered what PC repair shops get up to when you take your PC's in for fixing? Not me, I hasten to add! This story in the same email will make your hair stand on end! The moral is, back up your data (where have you heard that before?!), delete it from your hard drive, and try to go to someone who is recommended!
I'm going to cheat and slip in another Bad, this time about premium rate phone numbers, which are often used for support calls (such as to HP, Gwyn!). There is a little-known way to circumvent these; it's not foolproof, but it's worth a try; go to this SayNoTo0870.com. Enter the 08nn phone number in the phone number box, and see what alternative landline numbers it throws up. You can also enter the name of the organisation and see what it throws up. We have certainly saved money using this facility, so good luck!
I'm afraid it's more of the same today, thank goodness. The journey was uneventful, I went in for treatment early, and then went for a very pleasant lunch at Browns Restaurant.
A little Google tip
I know I bang on about Google rather a lot, but then it is a very clever business proposition. If you push me I'll start lecturing on the future of computing (it's called The Cloud) and Google are right at the front of it.
Anyway, I digress. On a more mundane note, I wanted to point out a feature of the Dalwood website. As some of you may know it now has a calendar on the home page. If, like me, you have a Google email address (and therefore account), you can also have a Google Calendar. By clicking on entries in the Dalwood calendar, or any other public calendar, I can opt to have them inserted in mine! So, no excuses for being late for church now! Just think of the potential if all Dalwood organisations had their own calendars - no more being late for Corrydale rehearsals; oops, must go and wash my mouth out...
There's really not much to report; we went to Bristol, narrowly missing an horrific accident in which a lorry ploughed into the back of a Highways Agency Incident Support vehicle; the tailback was still there when we came back five hours later.
The treatment was unventful; there had been machine problems so there was an hour or so delay, but we are used to that. I shouldn't start to notice side-effects for a few days, and the hair loss may take a couple of weeks. Still, in anticipation of that event, and because of the inordinate interest aroused by the hat issue, I've had some pics taken of the various items we bought. Unfortunately, due to the fact that they make me look like a barrel of lard with a handerchief on my head, you are going to have to wait a while longer before seeing them:-)
No, it's not a cryptic clue for some fiendish quiz - it summarises my life over the past few days.
Pain Clinic
We saw Becky Baines, a consultant at the hospice in Exeter this morning to review my pain medication regime. As you know I've been keen to make this appointment for a while, as I'm convinced there are better ways of dealing with the pain than amputation! It was a really useful session, but also quite challenging in some ways. Have you ever tried to describe a certain pain, in terms of location, nature, and what brings it on? Anyway, whatever I said seemed to make sense to Becky, because she looked at the current medication profile and suggested several changes that may help, and may also allow me to use my leg more than I have been at present - avoidance of use being perhaps the best strategy I've had available until now. I was amazed to hear that one of the drugs I started taking only recently (at her suggestion) has quite a lot of headroom in the dose. I'm on 300mg per day, and the most she has ever used is 2700 mg per day! She also looked at the morphine dose and recommended an increase, and also suggested switching to a larger dose tablet - 100mg instead of 20mg. You'd be surprised how tiresome it can be to take 11 tablets of a morning or evening, so cutting the number by 4 will be very welcome. Anyway, it will take a couple of days to phase in the changes, so I'll keep you posted.
Driving licence
Today we posted my driving licence back to the DVLA, as having a brain tumour means I'm no longer allowed to drive:-(. Furthermore, Christine checked the DVLA website, only to find that failure to notify them carries a £1,000 fine! That seems a bit harsh, on top of losing the licence! I've had a full licence since October 2nd 1966 - isn't it odd how useless bits of information like this stick in one's mind? Ah well, if the Queen can get used to being driven, I'm sure I can.
Hats I'm now the proud owner of three new hats, or rather, two hats and one 'buff'. The hats are pretty ordinary skull caps, but the buff is amazingly complicated. At first sight it looks like an ordinary tube of cloth, but there are so many ways of wearing it that it has its own instructional video in the shop, and also a website! Please watch the video on this site - it really is quite mad! I'll consider posting some pics after I've had a practice with them all.
Life has been quite busy since I last posted on Wednesday. That evening we were invited around to Michael and Sue's for 'Gewurtztraminer and onion tart'. I took this as a small snack and drink before returning home for our supper; not a bit of it! We staggered the fifty yards home, hours later, under the influence not only of the Gewurtz, but another bottle and a lethal dessert later.
I'm sure I hadn't recovered from this by next day lunchtime, when we met at the Venn ranch for a Majorca trip reunion. Of course, the food and drink were themed accordingly, and yet again a good time was had by all. Unfortunately we had to leave to drive up to Bristol for an appointment first thing this morning and, in my role as back seat driver, I really couldn't drink much more than a glass of sangria:-)
When I had radiotherapy to my neck, at the start of this year, it involved making a plaster cast of my head, from which a plastic mould was made. This is used to keep the head and neck still and precisely located under the xray beam. The process took about half an hour with the plaster; about three hours and a couple of elapsed days in the workshop to make the plastic mould, and a second visit to check the fit before treatment could start. This time we were confronted by a perforated purple plastic sheet in a frame, which was immersed in water at 70 degrees for two minutes and then clipped to the table and moulded around my head . There was an eight minute wait while it cooled and set, and that was it - a mould ready for use next door under the planning xray machine! The new process saved a couple of elapsed days, a second visit, and hours of technician time.
I don't really understand the physics of x-ray but gather that these machines include a feature called 'skin sparing', whereby the radiation envelope is weaker at the skin than it is inside the body. However in my case I have quite a few lesions on the skin itself, which I was going to have surgically removed. The radiotherapy consultant suggested that, by wrapping a layer of material around the outside of my head to act as a false skin, the skin proper would receive a full dose, and hopefully the lesions would be removed at the same time as the internal lesions are treated. Obviously I couldn't see what was happening from inside the mask, but I could hear lots of tearing of material, and cutting of sellotape, while the extra layer was applied. I couldn't help but be amused by the contrast between the high-tech equipment and calculations being employed to calculate the dose of radiation required, and what sounded like the cast of Blue Peter having a field day with old egg boxes and sticky tape!
We also sorted out the appointment times for the next two weeks, which included slipping the start date to Tuesday, thus enabling me to keep the long-awaited and twice-postponed appointment at the pain clinic in Exeter.
The only thing left to organise now is a hat, or hats to cover my naked scalp when the hair comes out. This apparently happens about three weeks after treatment starts. I haven't been especially attracted to some of the ideas put forward by some of you, especially in pink; the problem is that everything I look at on the web is being modelled by someone thirty years younger and a lot more handsome than me - why don't they get Joe Public to wear this stuff, I wonder?!
Time for a little light relief after the recent heavy stuff, I think! Following a recent clear-out at home, in which we sold several books (mostly technical manuals) on Amazon, I wondered if any of you have heard of or used this facility to get rid of unwanted items? It really is quite easy, especially if you already have an Amazon account.
First, go through your bookshelves to identify items which may be saleable; enter the title or ISBN into Amazon, and check how many of them are for sale 'Used'. If it looks as if there may be a demand for the title in question, then decide on a selling price - I usually pick a number slightly lower than the bottom price - and then enter the details requested. That is basically all there is to it! Of course you may find that there are hundreds of copies available at 50p, you may decide that it isn't worthwhile :-) .
One category of books that apparently sells well is children's books. So, if you are hoarding things that you read as a child, you may find that they are in demand from others who also had them when they were young!
Amazon do take a commission on each item sold, but the main benefits of using them are that they handle all the payment administration, and books just sit on their site until they sell or until they are withdrawn.
Bypass Vista; go straight to Windows 7!
As some of you already know I have been running a pre-release test version of Windows 7 for some time now, and believe it to be far superior to Vista in many ways; speed, usability, and stability, to name but three. Today is the first date on which you can pre-order Windows 7,which becomes available on 22nd October. Microsoft have authorised a small number of retailers to sell W7 at heavily discounted prices, depending on the version that you are interested in. For example, W7 Home Premium, which will suit the majority of home users, is for sale at around £50, as opposed to the predicted full price of £150. W7 Professional can be bought for around £90 instead of £250. One good thing about these licences is that they are full retail versions, which means that they can be re-used on other PC's if you upgrade your machine. Most licences are OEM (Other Equipment Manufacturer), which means that they are tied to the PC you buy and cannot be moved to replacement machines.For more information about this offer, and about the features of each version, go to http://www.microsoft.com/uk/windows/buy/offers/pre-order.aspx. I should warn you that the number of licences available is limited; I tried to buy from ebuyer this morning as they were slightly cheaper than other places, only to find that their allocation of 300 licences had gone within a few minutes of being available this morning!
You are eligible for this offer if you already have a genuine copy of XP or Vista, and your PC meets the minimum hardware specification. To be sure, go to http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/upgrade-advisor.aspx and download the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor tool, which will check your PC's hardware configuration.
Medical update
The Oncology Centre have confirmed that my planning appointments are this Friday morning at 0930, and treatment starts on Monday. All I need to do now is decide whether I want a wig (probably not), or what style hat I want to protect my head; I quite like those turbans which we see all the time on the news, although they are usually worn by the bad guys :-)
I’ve also just received by email in the past few minutes a draft copy of a referral letter to the Cromwell, asking them to consider me for Gamma Knife treatment. Presumably my consultant has thought about this since yesterday and has decided that this is the more appropriate of the two advanced treatments which are available. It sounds as if this could take place in early August, immediately after the whole head treatment.
Sorry for the length of this post, but, like buses, news seems to arrive all at once!
George
