Too Young

For the second time in three months I have attended the funeral of a friend who has died of cancer. Another peer (a year younger than me) who succumbed to this dreadful illness.Pete was externally positive and always thinking of others. Today's funeral was as much celebration as anything else. The church was packed and [...]

Jubilee

It is now time to share one of the longest running sagas of my Myeloma. A long running dispute which has only been partially resolved at the very end of our time in Tanzania.

Headache

I have woken with a bad headache. Interestingly that in the last few months my general health has been good and I have had little in the way of other illness.  At the same time I have been much more attuned to my body. I think the fact you're being tested and measured on such [...]

Free

I'm free. I have no scheduled appointments at hospital for many weeks ahead. 😃 Today I met with my consultant who does not need to see me again until October, after my Stem Cell transplantation has taken place. That leaves only my scheduled stem cell harvesting in late August and the transplantation in early October.  [...]

Getting Mobilised

The next phase of my treatment is going to involve the use of Stem Cells. My own stem cells! Stem Cells are immature cells. Blood forming stem cells are found in the bone marrow, they are known as mononuclear cells and are continually growing into mature blood cells (red blood cells, white blood cells or [...]

Next Steps

Today I went to Nottingham. This important visit was to meet with the medical team at Nottingham City Hospital who are overseeing the next phase of my treatment. That being the production, extraction and reinsertion of my stem cells back into my body either side of some intensive chemotherapy to destroy the remaining Myeloma cells. [...]

Umbilical

It's just about a week now until the family leave Mwanza. I'm looking forward to seeing them back in the UK - it's over three months since I bid my wife and daughter farewell on that twilit Kenyan Easter Monday Morning. Yet at the same time as I am excited to see them - there [...]

Rolling to the Right

The first manifestation of which I was aware of in Multiple Myeloma was the severe pain in my right shoulder. This became apparent in December. I naturally roll over to my right when I am going to sleep at night and I began to notice that this was becoming increasingly sore and uncomfortable. By February [...]

WPC: Tea Collage

A contribution to the new photo challenge:Collage A collage  of Herbal Teas to give a little variety in my beverages.

Dental Decay Dilemma

I'm here at the dentist. As if I didn't spend enough time with the medical profession these days. It's hard to believe that I only used to visit the doctor once a year at best for Hay Fever prescriptions. I'm here for a check up, but in reality I'm joining the dentist as I gave [...]

Progress

Today I have met with my consultant. We meet every three weeks at the end of a chemotherapy cycle. A chance to touch base and reflect on progress. I have just completed my third cycle of chemotherapy and so approximately half way through the process or so I believed. It turns out that I have [...]

Day of Rest

In the English vernacular" I'm knackered". After three days out of the last four days on the road I'm exhausted. A sign of my illness no doubt as well as the variable sleep patterns over the weekend. I had enough energy to walk to the doctor for my weekly INR this morning  where my blood [...]

Pins & Needles

As the chemotherapy treatment progresses there are signs of some of the side effects becoming manifest. One of these is Peripheral Neuropathy. This term describes damage to the nerves in the hands, feet, arms and legs and is both a symptom of Myeloma and it's treatment with Valcade (Bortezomib) and other chemotherapy drugs such as [...]

Aches and Pains

It is the end of my second cycle of chemotherapy and I enter into my chemo free week. This brings mixed blessings - firstly there are no steroids to take so that I shall hopefully be able to get better sleep as the week wears on. There are no Valcade injections so less trips to [...]

Progression

A progress update at the end of the second cycle.