An eventful day in Bristol

As expected, today's consultation was anything but routine. I'll try to summarise as briefly as possible:

• The current chemo regime appears to be achieving the opposite of what was intended, which was to reduce pain. Based on two cycles, it seems to be responsible for a substantial increase, but no-one is able to explain why
• Whether or not it is helping to control spread of the disease elsewhere, the increase in pain is not acceptable, and could get worse with further cycles. We have therefore decided to discontinue it for the time being
• Xrays of my chest and leg taken today suggest that it is progressing very slowly in other areas (ie chest), but more quickly in my leg
• We decided to check progress in the other areas (head, trunk) by having MRI and CT scans in the next two weeks
• In parallel with these scans I have been referred to the Bristol Orthopaedic team to review what may be causing the increase in pain in my leg (loose pin?) and to review what options they may be able to offer as a solution
• When we have an up-to-date picture of overall disease progress, and the input of the orthopods, we should be in a better position to decide a way forward
• If the disease is progressing slowly then one option I have been asked to consider is amputation of my right leg above the knee. Apparently melanoma has been known to be particularly active in a primary location, whilst developing much more slowly elsewhere. Removing the primary area of activity can further reduce development in other locations, although this is not guaranteed.

We don't know enough about the amputation option yet, but the decision is clearly influenced by how much good quality time I am likely to have left after the rehabilitation process. If, say, it takes six months to recover from leg removal, and I only have a couple of months thereafter, it would not be worth the trauma and recovery associated with amputation. If the period could be a year or more it may be worth considering.

I'm sorry for the length of this post, and the amount of detail. As you can imagine, I'm trying to come to terms with what feels like a very big decision; writing this is helping to clarify my thoughts. If anyone has any knowledge or experience of this area, I would love to hear from you!

To end on a lighter note, we did make it to the Banksy exhibition and it was well worth going. After all, where else will you see a chicken nugget hatching from its egg, or a fish finger swimming around a goldfish bowl? Furthermore, the picture of MP's in the House of Commons is so timely one could almost imagine Banksy has second sight! Go and see it - you won't be disappointed.