The Latest ...

Waitings rooms are not good places, and it is fair to say that Mary and I sat in the Cancer Unit feeling about as comfortable as Heather Mills at a Beatles convention. The news really isn't great, although there are a few positives. The postives are that the tumours on my lungs have decreased in size very slightly and that my liver is also clear. However, the main tumours in my pelvis have been untouched by the chemo. More worrying is the fact that my CEA level is much higher than expected and high enough to cause the oncologist concern. The CEA test measures the level of activity of the disease and so it is reasonable to assume that things are kicking off a bit, and that it is going to take much stronger chemo to contain it. That said, we are going to continue with the current regime (and the painkillers) until either things get too painful, or the tumours spread. At that point, I will go onto the 'combination chemo' which, sadly, is almost inevitably going to cause me problems.

So, what to pray for, for those of you who believe in it? I really want this chemo that I am continuing with to suppress the disease for a good few months. This is unlikely due to my CEA level, but then I guess that's why we are praying for it. If I can get through the summer before they bring out the 'big guns' then there will be a new deputy in place at school, and I am going to feel a lot better when I have to leave work during the treatment (which is likely).

The oncologist asked which parts of life I would want to reserve energy for, in the event of going onto the new treatment. I think he anticipated my reply about being able to get out and about with the family and I am sure he was waiting for me to refer to 'managing to work part-time.' However, he looked bemused when I added, " ... doing poetry readings and getting to Betty's tearoom." Each to their own.

And so I leave you with a photo of Naomi and I taken last summer ... a reminder that we, as a family, have been saved from horribly bleak circumstances in the past (see A Decade Of Naomi, posted on 21.6.07).