Very tired - radiotherapy booked

I must admit I have been extremely tired over the weekend and am yet to make it out of the house at all. I certainly hope that this is going to happen and we did get a portable oxygen cylinder to use on my travels. In my absence Al's team lost 7-2 this morning (mind you it was 12-0 against this team time last time we played them).

Got a call on Friday to confirm that Radiotherapy, to try to ease the blockages in the lungs, is scheduled this week. On Tuesday and Wednesday I'll go for Verification and test visits to ensure they have the measurements set up properly. They cannot go via the same route due to previous damage that the original radiotherapy I received would have caused so they are going in via the sides - complete with 2 new tattoos! From Thursday onwards I'll receive 10-12 treatment doses on working days only. This could help relieve the symptoms over the next few weeks.

Home very Sweet Home

With Oxygen equipment installed at home this morning I have been allowed to return home - and boy is that a sweet feeling!!!

I must say I am feeling extremely positive this morning:

• We understand what is causing the breathlessness and are treating the issue.
• Whilst the Tumor has grown it has not grown that much and is not affecting the aorta or the heart, or the right lung tubes.
• The lymph nodes have not grown significantly
• No metastasized tumors are present.
• Radiotherapy could improve the breathing further.

The bottom line is that being out of breath is not going to kill me...it is more the psychological effects that I need to control - having the Oxygen equipment installed at home gives great comfort in that respect.

Mind you this is the ultimate roller coaster ride of all time - you never know what is coming next!!

Escape off (tunnel collapsed) - rescheduled for Thursday 25th Feb

The Engineer could not install the Oxygen equipment at home so need to stay in overnight.

Wednesday 23rd February - Hands up all those with 2 fully working lungs...."not so fast Mr. Seaton".

Had a CT scan today (Tuesday 23rd February). The results are enlightening. The Tumor has grown and has squeezed off the main tube to the lower part of the left lung - effectively collapsing the lung and making it unusable. It is also starting to affect the tube to the upper part of the left lung but this is still partially working. The result of this is the increasing breathlessness I have been seeing. The treatment is to undergo further radiotherapy - which needs to be very carefully targeted to ensure the damage caused by previous radio is not worsened.

The good news is the right lung tubes are not affected and neither the Aorta nor heart are being infiltrated. The tumor has grown since June 2009 but not significantly and the affected lymph nodes have not grown much. Importantly there is no spread to the lungs etc.

Assuming that Oxygen can be installed at home tomorrow then I will be able to go home.

Overnight breathing problems - admitted to Derby Royal Sunday lunchtime

I woke up early Sunday morning (around 1am) on the couch downstairs where I had been sleeping. I was extremely out of breath and very confused and incoherent.

Julia managed to calm me down and I was not to bad for the rest of the night but in light of the issues related to a high calcium level we called the hospital Sunday morning and decided I would be admitted after lunch on Sunday.

They started me on IV fluids for the confusion/calcium and began investigations for the continually worsening breathing problems - a 20 foot walk to the bathroom had become a chore!!!

Was in a side room for the whole stay this time and once more received excellent care from all involved.

Calcium back to normal!!

Had a call from the doctor this afternoon to confirm that the blood test I had yesterday has shown the calcium levels reducing to pretty much a normal value - good news! We will of course continue to monitor and check this remains the same.

Unfortunately no real difference on the breathlessness/wheezing front. I still need multiple ventolin puffs to walk 20 yards and heading upstairs needs to be carefully planned out in advance. Will complete the antibiotics this week and review options again when we see the Doc next Thursday.

*** STOP PRESS ***
Posh just beat Ipswich 3-1!! 4th win in 32 games!!!!

A road well travelled

During my various recent blood tests and meetings with doctors it has become apparent that yet another issue I have is a raised blood calcium level - without treatment this leads to confusion, unconsciousness and coma (might have been hard to spot over Christmas!!). Naturally we are doing our best to find out the cause and treat.

However whilst researching the effects and treatment for high calcuim I have come to realise that all of the symptoms affecting me at the moment are pretty par for the course for end-stage terminal cancer patients - some more than others but nothing too out of the ordinary. I actually feel pretty fortunate at the moment; my pain is under pretty good control; eating is not bad; I am able to remain at home rather than hospital/hospice. This still allows me to enjoy the remaining time I have with reasonable physical condition (until the next big thing!!). The flip side of this is the emotional side of the process is highly elevated at the moment.