Out of Routine

It's nice to get away. To break the shackles of the chemotherapy weeks. The biweekly trips to clinic 7 and Ingham award which force me to be in Lincoln. Every third week is a week off - it's a small respite as Instill need to visit my consultant on Thursday but it frees up the [...]

Dawn Chorus

The blackbird chirps away behind my window. Gladly greeting the morning. Regret not taking the sleeping tablet. It's been a steroid sleep. Wakeful hours. Toilet trips. Soon the midsummer sun will rise. A new day. An Abingdon day. Here to celebrate. A birthday. Nineteen Years on. Happy Birthday Son!

New Routine….Same Wait

Chemo routine subtly changed. Still Tuesdays and  Fridays Still Bloods to be taken Still Valcade to inject Same observations. Same Questions  Numbness? Hearing? Walking? Buttons? Location changed Clinic 7 to Ingham Fast through Clinic 7 Same long wait at Ingham Staff down  Nurses short Pharmacy slow Some things don't change. Waiting.

Sweet Dreams

I have a new ally in the fight against sleeplessness. Following several weeks of disrupted sleep I have got prescribed some sleeping tablets. So welcome on board a new drug to be taken as and when necessary. The drug is Zoplicone.  The drug has the advantage of helping me to sleep without leaving me drowsy [...]

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 [...]

Drugs War

Progress is being made and I continue to remain  healthy and better than I have been for several months in so many ways. The chemotherapy is working but there is a battle going on, inside a drugs war against my very own mutant cells. The bad guys, Myeloma Cells, are being taken out but there [...]

Waiting Times

It's become routine.  Anything up to to four hours at the hospital. Waiting. Waiting in a queue of cars on the bypass. Waiting to find a parking space. Waiting for blood at Clinic 7. Waiting for nurses to do the tests. Waiting for tablets at the pharmacy. Waiting for chemotherapy on Ingham Ward. Waiting.... Waiting.... [...]

Progression

A progress update at the end of the second cycle.

Myeloma Treatment (The Battle)

A summary of the whole process I am undergoing.

Doldrums

It would be fair to say that life is becoming routine. Six weeks after my return to England and three weeks after I was released from hospital there is a new equilibrium.  Life has changed do much in the past month and as the tornado disperses I am now finding myself in a calmer place [...]

Sunday Summary – 28th May (Symptoms)

Three weeks on from my previous Sunday Summary and a chance to take stock of where things are. This is a summary which is a good stopping off point if you are interested but don't want to wade through all my posts. I am now very much out of hospital and undergoing chemotherapy as an outpatient. I [...]

Steroids

Part of my treatment for a Myeloma involves the use of a steroid (Dexamethasone). Dexamethasone is a type of corticosteroid called a glucocorticoid. Dexamethasone helps to reduce inflammation and calms an overactive immune system. Dexamethasone mimics the effect of cortisol, a hormone released by the adrenal glands (located on top of the kidneys) that controls [...]

Outpatient

Today was the start of my second series of Chemotherapy. The first series had been entirely carried out on Waddington Ward, however today was the first time I had done this as an outpatient. The difference being that I first had to attend the doctor's surgery where I had my blood tested for my  INR. [...]

Clinic 7

This past week at home has not been typical of what is to come. This has been a chemo free week. A pause in the treatment and a break from hospital. This is about to change. Most weeks there will be visits to hospital as an outpatient. Twice a week for a Valcade injection in [...]