Week 17/18: My last chemo?
08 Aug 2011
Picture: my final moments of chemotherapy at Kingston Hospital
I had my 6th and and last chemotherapy treatment today. I hope it will prove to be my last ever. It was an enormous sense of relief to say thank you and goodbye to the nurses. I'm sure they understood when I said I hoped I wouldn't be seeing them again.
You can see from the picture that 7 hours in the unit leaves you feeling pretty tired but I was looked after with kindness, good humour and efficiency. Thank you to the William Rous Unit: www.royalmarsden.nhs.uk/consultants-teams-wards/treatment-areas/other/sir-william-rous-unit
I will now have a further CT scan in a few weeks time and then a review with the consultant in mid-September. He told me today I would only have to have further chemo - or possibly be entered for a clinical trial of a new drug - if the cancer flares up again. So an awful lot depends on the results of the next scan. But I do actually feel better and the cough is also reduced. So I am feeling quite positive about it.
I'm sure the cancer hasn't yet gone altogether but I feel it has, at the very least, stabilised. I just have to get through the next week as the chemo effects kick-in. Although I was also warned that it will take a couple of months for all the chemo drugs to work their way out of my system.
My white cell blood count was up quite sharply from the last cycle which suggest something (the homoeopathy, herbal remedies, treatments) is working really well to counter the effects of the chemo drugs. Until this time it had been steadily declining, but fortunately always remaining above the level that would have required a blood transplant.
I think the exercise I've been taking may also have helped - several bike rides last week and even a swim in the (briskly chilly but invigorating) sea at Budleigh Salterton. Also plenty of great walks in the fields and woodlands around the Blackdown Hills and a wonderful garden visit to the glorious gem that is Cothay Manor, near Wellington, Somerset.
I heartily agree with the Macmillan cancer Support research out today, which recommends exercise during cancer treatment. None of the doctors have ever raised it as a suggestion but I found it just feels right, providing I don't exhaust myself. See the BBC News report on the story here: www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-14417084
This 'month in the country' is really working. I've also signed up for my first woodworking lesson. I'll let you know how it goes. we start with 'how to sharpen your tools' which seems a good place to begin. I visited the workshop last week and was enthused, not least because it is virtually in the hamlet of Dommett, Somerset which is where my ancestors come from and where my great-grandfather was living when he learnt his trade as a boot & shoe-maker. His son (my grandfather) was a cabinet-maker so I can only hope some of their craftsmen's skills are in my genes. The master furniture-maker, Tom Kealy, also seemed like a really great teacher. www.tomkealy.com/
A few days ago, I received a healing session from our good and generous friend Chris, which I greatly appreciated. It was a unique and novel experience for me and there was some powerful effects. He clearly has amazing empathy and healing skills.
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David Price - 08 Aug 2011
Bravo!
Mike:
You've handled chemo incredibly well, and have been an inspiration to many. I don't believe you fight cancer - you just provide the battleground for the medic to fight it.
But you could not have prepared the ground any better, nor could you have done more to ensure a positive outcome.
Bravo, my friend!
Mike: thanks David - you were an inspiration for me.
Stephen Heppell - 08 Aug 2011
woodwork
Fascinating post as ever - and all positive news. Interested in the woodwork of course (having a wooden boat). I'd always described time in my workshop here as therapeutic, hadn't really thought that it might actually be! It is a complex mix of smell, texture, craft, engineering... but with the grain making every single piece of wood unique. Wonderfully distracting - enjoy!
Mike: Thanks Stephen - yes I love the smell of a woodworking workshop.
Linda Brouwer - 08 Aug 2011
All the best!
Hi Mike,
I have been reading your blogs, thanks for sharing your experiences. It helps me help to support relatives and friends going through a similar situation.
I wish you all the best! Hope to see you in Richmond Park riding your bicycle!
Mike: Thanks, Linda. Hope all is well.
Allison Allen - 09 Aug 2011
Final Chemo
Hoorah! Well done Mike - I can't think of anything more healing than working with wood. Make it beautiful to celebrate your journey!
sylvie flais - 09 Aug 2011
sport
I totally agree with you for the exercise! I almost think that chemo units should make it part of the treatment and provide places to encourage people exercising as it might be difficult to gather the courage when you are on your own. I hope this last cycle will go smoothly and unleash your creativity with the wood work. All the best
Marie - 10 Aug 2011
fresh air and exercise
Mike - thinking of you and willing you to get well. Nothing better for your physical and mental well-being than getting outside and doing what exercise you are able to.
Hope that I will see you later in the year in London.
Take care.
M
Kathy - 11 Aug 2011
Cheering you on
Your blog is so positive and uplifting in the face of downright depressing national news. Congrats on coming through the chemo and taking up a new interest Hope it's all good news from now on.
Kelly Dickson - 12 Aug 2011
Good for you!
So glad to hear that you've been able to keep up with the excerise, Mike. Wishing you the best from Villiers Park.
Andy Bryan - 16 Aug 2011
amazing
Mike, I have only just heard about your ghastly situation and think what you're doing here is amazing and so positive. No. 10, Park Farm wishes you luck and love.
Andy x
John Izbicki - 16 Aug 2011
Mike's final chemo
It all sounds GREAT, Mike. I wish you the very best of luck with your CT Scan and review. You are a fantastic fighter and survivor. Keep up with the exercise as well. My wife, June, is constantly telling me that I don't do enough exercise. Maybe I shall now take the proverbial leaf out of your example and do some!
Kevin - 18 Aug 2011
Understanding Cancer
Hello Mike
I have recently found out that an old friend of mine has cancer and is now terminal, I came across your blog while researching, and to have a better understanding of the disease. You are very inspiring in the way that you are dealing with this and for sharing your experience with the world and I am truly grateful.
While doing my research on cancer I came across Tahitian Noni Juice and some interesting studies done on it regrading decreasing cancer symptoms and much more.
Noni (Morinda Citrifolia) is a fruit with extraordinary healing properties that most North Americans have never heard of. It's been successfully used for over 2,000 years in Polynesia, China, India and elsewhere. Noni migrated with the inhabitants to the South Pacific islands, Tahiti, Hawaii, Malaysia - and wherever there is pollution-free volcanic soil. Like Aloe Vera, Kelp, Papaya, PycnogenolTM; and other botanicals, the extract of the Noni plant has been demonstrated to improve a wide variety of health conditions.
For use in the United States, the Noni fruit is prepared primarily as a food supplement in juice form. Although the plant is very bitter and has an adverse odor, the noni juice supplement is very palatable in taste and smell because of the addition of natural fruit and berry juices.....
Research indicates that Noni stimulates the immune system, regulating cell function and cellular regeneration of damaged cells. The fact that Noni seems to operate on the very basic and critical cellular level may explain why it's useful for a wide variety of conditions. Dr. Richard Dicks, a clinician from New Jersey, says, "We're beginning to realize that we must get back to basics with our bodies. What it boils down to is, either burn nutrients or burn your body. Noni saves our bodies by giving us the nutrients we need."
I have posted videos and information on my facebook page if you or anyone is interested:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.463401402981.254453.762112981#!/pages/Tahitian-Noni-Bioactive-Health-Beverages/142696212473356?sk=wall
Once again thank you Mike and best luck.
Kevin