Tuesday 31 July 2012

Amazing what you can find on the interweb thingy

It's amazing what you can find on the internet when you have so much time to spare.

http://www.newsbiscuit.com/2012/07/30/councils-powerless-to-prevent-surge-in-table-morris-dancing-321/


Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange

For a good cause

I just noticed that I can sign up for google adsense here.  That means this blog could make money.  So I propose to sign up (probably not tonight) and then donate any money it makes to the Churchill Oncology Ward.  That will of course mean the blog gets adverts on it, some of which will make money by being there, others may require you to click on them to make money.  I will also be relying on my readers to attract more people to increase traffic and click through.  What do you think?  Make a comment.

Summary for the technologically chellenged

I write interesting and amusing stuff here, provide the odd link and keep you entertained
You read it and tell your friends about it
Google pop annoying little ads up on it that realate to the content and the people who read it (YOU)
You see the ads and sometimes click on them
Google pay money to me
I give the money to the Oncology ward

The more people who come along and read the ads, the more money we make.  So get commenting and tell your freinds (or if you dislike it that much, tell your enemies)  Oh and if you work for the NHS, the sueing for loss of income was just a joke.

Blogging live from here

Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange

Well itspretty boring

Watched some olympics on Iplayer, run round eBay and eBuyer dreaming on what to spend a lottery win on but couldn't take the drip out to the shop to get a ticket.  So if I don't win the euromillions I am going to sue the NHS for loss of earnings.

On a more serious note, I have spent most of today being 'flushed out' with potassium and saline.  The bag of pottasium runs out at 21:00ish and then it is more chemicals.  Hopefully I will be home by this time tomorrow.
Well I managed 6 hours sleep in between drip changes and medication, which I am informed by one of the nurses, is good for a chemo patient.  Managed to convince the breakfast staff that I could have a banana with my cornflakes, hard work, but worth it. 

The chemo is bearable, strange taste in my mouth, the anti nausea drugs seem to be working and I don't feel too bad.  Lets hope it stays like that.  Been weighed, put on  2 kilos overnight, they tell me its the amount of fluid they are pumping in to me.

Monday 30 July 2012

First Impressions

The Churchill Hospital is a fabulous place.  I have been here a few times now and its bright airy atmosphere makes it a pleasant place to be ill.  The Oncology Ward staff are bright a friendly.  The task of explaining the somewhat depressing side affects of the Chemo drugs fell to Becky and Ali.  It cant be easy to tell someone they are going to feel pretty awful, have constipation, diarrhoea, skin rashes, weird tastes and generally feel like shit.  But they did it well.   They also did a great job of filling me full of Chemo drugs.  In fact if they hadnt told me Ali was being trained I wouldn't have known.

The side effects haven't started yet.  So I am filling in some time by starting this blog.  Side effects permitting I will keep it up to date.

By Way of Introduction

Towards the end of May 2012 I spent a Saturday working as a rally driving instructor, as I often do.  At the end of the day I had a small graze on the left hand side of my groin where a seat belt had been rubbing.  Closer inspection revealed a lump in my groin.  I thought I had twisted or pulled a muscle and it would go away.  10 days or so later it hadn't gone away, so I went to see my GP.  She seemed confident it was probably a hernia and booked me an ultrasound scan.  The scan revealed it wasn't a hernia.

On the 11th June I went to an appointment at a clinic in the John Radcliffe hospital where a lovely young doctor arranged for a pathologist to take a biopsy which lead to a diagnosis of lymphoma.  I was devastated.  The NHS spang into action and I was pre-op'ed on the 13thJune and the tumour was removed on 15th June.  The tumour removal revealed it was not lymphoma, but Sarcome and ther tuma was in my peritonial tube.  After a couple more appointments with carious consultants I was introduced to Prof. Hassan who was to be in charge of my chemo therapy.

He revealed that I am, as I suspected, one in a million.  Sarcoma is very rare in men of my age and much more common in 19 year old men.   A chemotherapy strategy has been put together and it starts today.