Here We Go

Its all kicked off. Got here for 9am and was the first on the bay but because this is my first cycle and my induction would take longest I had to wait till last to be sorted. Must admit they do look after you very well here, had the cook come up asking what I wanted for lunch from the selection but also offered me sandwiches & soup. The lunch meals can be a soup and main if you want both, not sure about the evening meal yet but the cook did get me some cereals for breakfast as I left too early this morning to have any at home.

The nurse looking after me has been very thorough so far explaining what I will be going through during my first cycle which drugs and saline should take about 6 hours. I'm in a small room with four beds all now taken. The guy next to me is on his second cycle and one guy opposite is on his third cycle but I'm not sure about the fourth guy yet. All this I have gathered through overhearing conversations they have had with the doctors & nurses as none of us have spoken to each other yet.

I know they have to go through all the side effects that might happen but some of them sound as though they can be painful, irritating or annoying and possibly more that one of these at a time. Two of the guys here have almost lost the hair on their heads and the guy next to me has very little hair. Have to remember my hat to keep my head warm if I loose what little hair I have. 


Had a few messages of support from family and friends which is very comforting and much appreciated. I think it also helps Sam to know there are others thinking of us as this will also have a great effect on her during the next nine weeks and probably longer. She says that she wants to be here with me as much as possible but it will be hard to be sat here for hours at a time just trying to pass the time.     

Third Time Lucky

Admission is back on for tomorrow (Tuesday) but in a different ward and I have to be there for 9am. At least it means that things get under way and I haven't got to be waiting around for the phone to ring with a new appointment. I've done the rounds of letting people know the change again and it means that all the prep done over the weekend hasn't gone to waste.

All Change - Again

After a weekend of trying to get odd things, around the house and for hospital sorted I have just had a call from the hospital admissions. The ward I was due to be admitted to tomorrow has been closed since the weekend due to the outbreak of a virus. They are, at the moment, unable to give me a new admission date. What an irritation as I have been gearing things around going in to hospital tomorrow. Ah well looks like I'll have to re-arrange things to carry on as normal until I get another date.

All Change

Had a phone call from the lady dealing with admissions at the hospital wondering if I could start my treatment on Tuesday and not Wednesday which is good news as it means that once the Saturday round of chemo is finished I should be able to go home and spend the rest of the weekend with Sam. This also means the Sunday of recovery should make it possible for me to go back to work on Monday. The sooner I start the quicker the cancer will be killed off and the quicker I can get back to normality and, fingers crossed, an easier 2010 than 2009 was.

Due at the dentist later this afternoon for the tooth that at the moment hasn't been causing me any pain at all to be removed. I think the pain once the anaesthetic has worn off will be worse than the pain the tooth has given me so far, but it is a precautionary measure in case it starts hurting during the chemo when, apparently, it can be a potentially big problem.

With my admission being moved forward by one day means this weekend will be a bit busier getting things ready as well Sam's decorating schedule and the general clearing out things I was hoping to get done before starting chemo.

Is there really anything wrong?

Last night before I left work I passed the time of day with one of the company directors. He told me that my line manager had informed him of my situation and I elaborated a little on the up-coming chemo but later realised that to the outside world I look the same fit & healthy person I was 6 months ago, perhaps a bit heavier due to the reduction in testosterone, well that's what I'm putting the festive period excessive eating and weight gain down to. 

I did realise this perception previously when talking to Sam just after my operation as I looked no different before going to hospital  as I did when I returned to work after my recovery period, with the exception of my trousers fitting a little different around the crotch. Although I will not do anything to try and hide the fact I have cancer as I don't consider it anything to be embarrassed about I have not been trumpeting it around, just keeping the family & friends who are close to me updated with progress and wearing my Livestrong bracelet with pride. This leads me to sometimes wonder what the guys I work with, who don't know my situation, are thinking when I'm in and out of the hospital as regularly as I have been. My situation might become much more apparent to them, if I suffer from the hair loss side effect, as I'm hoping not to be away from work for too long during each cycle. Saying that, I usually have my hair cut very short so it might not be too obvious that I have lost any at all.

Round Two

That's round two done - 4 lots of blood and what will most probably be a nice big bruise on the back of my hand. I must admit even though I rarely eat chocolate in work I am really craving a bar of Cadburys Dairy Milk at this moment in time. Question is do I brave the cold and run to the shop.


While I was at the hospital my cancer nurse, Su, came to see me and gave me a start date of next Wednesday for the first 5 day cycle of chemo which means I will be in hospital over the weekend. I've got to start thinking of what to pack as it is apparently very boring if you don't have anything to do with the chemo taking about eight hours to be administered through a drip. There is a rest period between each eight hour session where I can leave the hospital but at the moment I don't know how long this period is or what the chemo/rest cycles are. When I told Sam she almost immediately started thinking about scheduling visitors but she did say she wanted to be with me as much as possible. It's going to be hard on her especially at the weekends I'm in but we have started the preparation work to give the house a lick of paint so hopefully she will be spending some of her weekend time with a paintbrush in her hand.

The one thing I am glad about is that, according to the BBC weather, the snow will be all but gone by Wednesday so travelling for us and anybody else who wants to come and visit should be much easier now.

Round One

Just returned to work after having the chromium injected into me. Now got to let it swim around my blood system before having the 4 samples taken. Got to remember to take my lunch with me as these blood draws will be done from 12:30 to 14:00 and it's not worth returning to work after each draw as I would be able to sit down for about 5 minutes before having to leave.


Dropped an email to a friend of mine yesterday just letting him know what has happened to me and he came back with a couple of funny quips about morning scratching and bicycle shorts & saddles. Also emailed my sister, who's living in London, with an update on my progress and received a couple of nice pictures of my youngest nephew especially the one of him enjoying the snow.