Well, Gaye and I are officially queenslanders now. We arrived on Saturday morning from Canberra, and immediately installed ourselves into our new home - and that's exactly what it feels like already. Of course, Gaye's mate Rob and our daughter Nicole - along with others - had done an enormous amount of unpacking for us, which made it so much easier. Thank heaven for family and friends!
I had my initial appointment with the oncologist we've been referred to: Paul Vasey. We're both very impresses. Youngish guy, maybe early to mid-40s, but very sharp, very empathetic. He's recommended that I start a four cycle (two month) course of something which escaped me at the time, commencing this Friday!! So much for building the strength and weight up.
In the meantime, I'm cruising along. I'm sleeping poorly, so each day is a series of mini-naps, which then of course makes it harder to sleep at note. I've had the doctor write me up a script for a sleeping tablet, so we'll see how that goes. Tried for the first time last night, but conditions weer not good, with present wrapping happening at 12.30, etc, but indications are hopeful. Roll on a full night's sleep. Maybe.
No change to cancer or prognosis. We're still playing an end game of uncertain length, but I have to say that the idea of a change of process and poison is a positive move: I hope that this time after it all happens, we get some relatively good news.
Tuesday 25 December 2007
Saturday 1 December 2007
Surgery Rules!
Well, my little bout of major gut surgery is over, and shows good signs of having been successful, at least in palliative terms.
I went in, very nervous, on Saturday afternoon, to be cut up by a bit of a Canberra Dream Team. 3.5 hours later, I came into recovery - apparently but unsurprisingly wisecracking all the way. I remember nothing of it, but Gaye tells me it was all very funny, and had the surgeons in stitches!. I actually woke up (sort of) at around 9.30, to the news that Labour was in. That made me feel immediately better.
The time in the high dependency unit was unpleasant, mostly because I had tubes hanging out of me all over the place: nose, side, neck and a catheter. Yuck. Also the bloke in the bed next to me who had an hip replacement snored all night, and wallowed around like a whale. Poor bugger also had 7 hours of renal therapy a day and diabetes. Sometimes I feel a little inadequate when faced with the problems of others!
I've been down on the ward since Tuesday, and every day I feel a little better. I've had practically no pain, which is good, and I've farted and crapped, which is even better from a surgery point of view (honestly!). I'm now totally tube free, so I get in and out of bed at my pleasure. I do get a period of unpleasantness most mornings, where I get flushes and feel unwell, but that passes after an hour or so. And I've had a couple of vomiting spasms over the last two days, but they've been pretty unproductive, so I suspect they're indicative of nothing except repair.
Prognosis. Understand that this surgery was a bypass, not the resection we were hoping for, this means that it was entirely palliative. The cancer is still there, and heading north up the duodenum. This means effectively that I have no medium or long term future, and its uncertain how long my short term will be - it all depends upon what the very unpredictable tumour does. It could be 6 months, 12, or even three. All of which is a bummer, but............. them's the cards.
Brisbane is now ramped up. We are out of the house (settled yesterday) and have a rough date we can get into the house up there (18th December). The only uncertain thing is my health. As soon as the doctors are happy that I'm fit to travel, and don't nee then anymore, we're off. In the meantime, we're downsizing the Lexus (Oh no!) and getting into something a little cheaper.
I went in, very nervous, on Saturday afternoon, to be cut up by a bit of a Canberra Dream Team. 3.5 hours later, I came into recovery - apparently but unsurprisingly wisecracking all the way. I remember nothing of it, but Gaye tells me it was all very funny, and had the surgeons in stitches!. I actually woke up (sort of) at around 9.30, to the news that Labour was in. That made me feel immediately better.
The time in the high dependency unit was unpleasant, mostly because I had tubes hanging out of me all over the place: nose, side, neck and a catheter. Yuck. Also the bloke in the bed next to me who had an hip replacement snored all night, and wallowed around like a whale. Poor bugger also had 7 hours of renal therapy a day and diabetes. Sometimes I feel a little inadequate when faced with the problems of others!
I've been down on the ward since Tuesday, and every day I feel a little better. I've had practically no pain, which is good, and I've farted and crapped, which is even better from a surgery point of view (honestly!). I'm now totally tube free, so I get in and out of bed at my pleasure. I do get a period of unpleasantness most mornings, where I get flushes and feel unwell, but that passes after an hour or so. And I've had a couple of vomiting spasms over the last two days, but they've been pretty unproductive, so I suspect they're indicative of nothing except repair.
Prognosis. Understand that this surgery was a bypass, not the resection we were hoping for, this means that it was entirely palliative. The cancer is still there, and heading north up the duodenum. This means effectively that I have no medium or long term future, and its uncertain how long my short term will be - it all depends upon what the very unpredictable tumour does. It could be 6 months, 12, or even three. All of which is a bummer, but............. them's the cards.
Brisbane is now ramped up. We are out of the house (settled yesterday) and have a rough date we can get into the house up there (18th December). The only uncertain thing is my health. As soon as the doctors are happy that I'm fit to travel, and don't nee then anymore, we're off. In the meantime, we're downsizing the Lexus (Oh no!) and getting into something a little cheaper.
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