Cancer and its treatment are changing me. I was moved to write about all the changes when I wrote recently about how my sense of taste has changed. My body seems to be changing all the time, and so does my mind to some extent. It’s quite fascinating to watch the process, as long as […]
After last weekend’s excitement, this week has been much less stressful. The nausea has been well controlled, but I haven’t slept well, although it hasn’t stopped me getting things done. The consultant gave me a clean bill of health on Monday, so we were able to get home in the morning, having stayed overnight in […]
I have loved the taste of marmite for as long as I can remember. I know that it is a polarising flavour — people either love it or hate it — and I love it. Or at least, I did. Recently my tastes seem to have changed, and my morning toast and Marmite has become […]
My experiences this week seem to have affected people quite strongly, much more strongly indeed than I imagined they would. Three separate people have contacted me to express their horror at my plight, and to offer support. I am immensely touched by the amount of concern that people are showing towards me, but I do […]
Having written about a chemotherapy hospital stay, I think it’s time that I also described having my 5-FU bag changed, as that is the other side of my regular chemotherapy treatment. Once a week I travel to Worcester to meet the oncologist and report weekly progress before the bag that delivers my 5-FU and the […]
As I mentioned earlier, we went to visit the Staffordshire Hoard this weekend, at a temporary exhibition in the Stoke-on-Trent Potteries Art Gallery and Museum. We had tried the previous weekend, but the queues were three-and-a-half hours long, we were told, so we decided that the easiest way to make the visit was to stay […]
What an interesting week! Definitely not straightforward at all. It started with a late entry into hospital for the 3rd cycle, continued with a lovely week of visits with friends and a weekend away, and ended with another unexpected visit to hospital. The 3rd cycle start itself was uneventful, except that it was the first […]
I’ve noticed that my food doesn’t taste very good in the first few days after the start of the chemotherapy cycle. I think it must be due to the dexamethasone (steroids) that I mentioned yesterday as being so good at controlling the nausea as well as maintaining my good mood. Last night’s burger and chips […]
There were three of us oesophageal cancer patients out of the four on the ward, and the other two were first timers. I found myself telling them about a typical visit to the hospital for chemotherapy, and thought it might be of wider interest. The information in this post is specific to me, so please […]
Hospital food is renowned. Even today when it’s a lot better than it was in the past, it’s still not great. Think of school dinners, but with smaller portions. I think most of us on the ward spend a disproportionate amount of time waiting for the next meal. With that in mind I thought I […]
