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MODEL: DMITRY ALEXEEV BY STEVE LASMIN FIGHTING FIT! So can you believe it. We're back yet again after taking almost a year off from blogging which in all honesty was due to some niggling health problems last year. And by late Summer after a visit to my Doctor and my local Hospital I was diagnosed with bowel cancer, apparently the third most common cancer in the UK. And it seems that around 40,000 men and women are diagnosed with it each year although it seems to affect more men than woman. And whats worrying is that the diagnoses rates have been on the rise over the last 30 years. So in October last year when things seemed at their worst having been told that I had a fairly large malignant tumour in my large colon I was put onto a 5 week programe of daily radiotherapy and chemo tablets. This was soley for the purpose to shrink the tumour which it did and finally brought some relief, and by Dec/ Jan there was almost a sense of rejuvination and I was able to be more active and prepare for February of this year which is when I was admitted into Hospital for 5 days to have the tumour removed. Apparently it all went well but as I came out of the Recovery Room I was told that I looked like I'd just come out of a war zone with tubes, drips, and all sorts of feeds coming out of my battered body. This of course meant being almost tied down to my Ward bed for almost 2 days until all the attachments were removed. Then I was finally able to walk around the Ward to the suprise of the Nurses and Doctors. And thankfully I'm all still intact where as some unlucky patients have to face the prospect of having their large bowel removed and shut down. So I really feel for them. So after several weeks of recovering at home I was then put onto a liquid chemotherapy programe (2 hours sitting in a Chemo Day Ward with an infusion into the arm) starting in late April. That first session didn't go very well and I ended up in bed for almost a week with fatigue. In fact I asked to come off the chemo but I was talked back into it as it is basically a precaution in case any more cancer cells are loitering about. According to the Surgeon that tumour in me had been festering away down there for around five years. And this is often the case with all patients by the time they finally feel the need to go in for a check-up. And it would seem that the real killer is when people put off and delay that visit to the Doctor. It's well known that most men dread that first step that takes place at the Doctor's Surgery. Of course I'm talking about the finger and the rubber glove procedure carried out by the Doctor. Yet when I had this done the Doctor said he found no worrying signs of anything. But I later learnt, and this is very odd, that he wrote in my notes 'Suspected Colorectal Cancer.' And he sent me for a very quick appointment to my local Hospital for that dreaded procedure called a Colonoscopy (a long tube with a camera that travels around the entire length of your large bowel..after it's been cleared out the night before with a liquid laxative). Thankfully on the day the Colonoscopist observed my unease and nervousnes and probably injected a good strong sedative as I slept through the entire procedure. Fortunately the 2nd Chemo session in early May went much better. Probably due to the fact that I was a bit fitter and had been more physically active the week before. So now there's just 2 more sessions left then it's crunch time when all the CT Scans and MRI Scans take place around mid-July. Hopefully by then I can look forward to some kind of closure. We hope! Sadly we're hearing the news that in London a third of newly diagnosed cancer patients are forced to face the difficulty of cancer entirely on their own as friends and even family members that live outside of the capital suddenly become invisible, probably worried that they might get dragged into becoming some kind of carer and taking on all the responsibilities. So thankfully I've been able to rely on my partner who has almost put his somewhat active life on hold to keep an eye on me and to make sure I make it to all my Hospital appointments. He's a regular Florence Nightingale and constantly worries about me. And after the chemo sessions I cant go out to the shops for a few days as one of the main side effects is the tingling skin, especially on the fingers and face. Now I know what it means when I see people covered up with gloves and scarves in the middle of Summer. I cant imagine how horrible it must be to have chemo in the Winter, so my partner will go out and do the shopping after the first few days of chemo. Oh and you cant drink or touch anything thats cold. But my best and most active weeks are just two weeks after chemo but I dont expect to go online much just after the chemo. So there's just 2 more sessions to go. One in late May then the last one in mid-June. But I dont really intend to use this blog as some kind of online medical diary. That I've been doing in my own little book at home every day. So for now I've put up several new posts which I've slowly been posting up since last December. I dont think I ever planned to delete the Beauty Hunter as I didn't want to lose all the archives. But sadly Blogger's new picture editor wont allow the facility of posting up multiple blocks of small thumbnails, something I often do for big photo events. But I'm still trying to find some way round it. And if not then I'll just have to post less images, but just going down the page. Today I'm sending out some e-mail alerts to some of you regulars that enjoyed the Beauty Hunter first time round as well as some of the core bloggers out there who might like to know that we're back. WELCOME BACK! |
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