16th September
Hello all. Yes, another health update. Maidstone & Tunbridge Hospital obviously doesn’t like me as they have, again, refused me! Someone obviously has a red reject stamp especially for me. I’m now being dealt with at Guy’s and St. Thomas’ (now that name is an excellent demonstration on how to use the apostrophe). Whilst Maidstone oncology is considered one of the best Guy’s is considered to be even better. In addition the views and facilities at Guy’s cancer centre are superb (view shown in above pictures). Anyway my chemotherapy starts on Thursday. The even better news is that I don’t have to go to Guy’s for the treatment. It will be done at Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup. Only 35 minutes drive. All other appointments are still in London though. 6 months of treatment consisting of 12 courses one every 2 weeks if my body can cope. Tootle pip.
19th September
So then. Thirty-four hours after treatment started. I woke up breathing this morning. Good start. I am now trying to see what, if any, side effects I may suffer from. The problem being that the list of side effects is so long (like the list of possible side effects that come with any medication nowadays but three times as many) that every 3 seconds I’m having to decide if something I feel means imminent death or else ‘stop moaning and get on with it’ (like a footballer rolling around on the ground). Walking around for the next 17 hours with a chemo bottle strapped to me infusing me with some other toxic medication. Still alive, so that’s a positive. Well, for me anyway. It looks as though the number of medical appointments I have for this will make the number of my appointments I had for my liver pale into insignificance. Now about to explore the world of the ‘District nurses’. I must admit I thought they only existed in Agatha Christie or Midsummer Murders. I’ll report back if I discover anything of interest.
14th May 2026
It has been a while since I provided a health bulletin. Something I will rectify forthwith. Following four false starts, my fifth attempt at seeing a cancer consultant was successful. My CT scan shows no sign of cancer careering around my body like a Viking on a busman’s holiday. It did show two hernias (Harry’s revenge) and mild inflammation in my colon. I also have an itchy bottom, although this didn’t show up in the scan and I’m not sure how relevant it is but I just thought I should add it in for completness. CT scans and blood tests every 3 months for the next couple of years. I’m off for a big scratch.