I think the kindest description for this week is that it has been rough but with some good points.
There was the terrible uncertainty of when, and sometimes even whether cycle 4 would ever start. Of course it did, and I went into hospital on Tuesday evening, kindly driven by Fabienne, which took a burden off Gillian, thank heavens. She felt the effects of the uncertainty rather more than I did, and had had an early start on business that day, so we were both very grateful for Fabienne’s support.
That evening the pain in my ribs and back flared up again, until I was eventually forced to ask for 10 mg of morphine simply so that I could get some sleep. The pain seemed to back off during the chemotherapy treatment, which went well, so I was quite dismayed when it returned again once I got home, and I was once again forced to take some more doses of morphine. Although the morphine helped me cope with the pain, it did have some side effects on my digestive system, which made me feel somewhat queasy for the last few days. That was probably the most troublesome part of the week for me as my energy levels drooped somewhat.
We are moderately sure that the back pain is being caused by healing tumours on my spine and/or ribs. To make sure, I had a bone scan on Thursday, immediately after finishing the chemotherapy. We’ll get the results next Wednesday.
Fortunately we were able to overcome those drooping energy levels with naps and fun things to do. We went to a Saturday Matinee and had a lot of fun and laughter, and then followed it up with a stonking chicken and pomegranate tagine. As is always the case with stews and casseroles it was even better the second day when Gillian made it into an even more stonking risotto for today’s lunch. And then this evening we ate one of the softest, tastiest bubble and squeaks I have ever had. A Nigel Slater recipe involved first cooking sliced sausages in goose fat, then pressing the potato, cabbage and ginger mixture around the sausages and cooking the whole as one large cake. It was delicious, especially when served with asparagus, as we did.
With all that food, it should come as no surprise that my weight has gone up again, and is now a shade under 12 st (168 lb, 76 kg).
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I hope that the results of the bone scan come back with the positive outcome. It sounds as though you are certainly making the most of even the poorer days. The bubble and squeak sounds wonderful. Potatoes cooked in goose fat are always good to eat:)
Well, the bone scan is more about gathering information than confirming progress. The next stage will probably be a bit of radiotherapy to knock the bone tumours on the head.
As for the goose fat and potatoes, you are so right, they do go well together. I hardly ever roast potatoes in anything else these days, except perhaps duck fat 🙂