Update from my GP as discussed in my last post..........
On Friday I finally managed to get hold of my GP and get an update - except there was no update. He said his email hadn't been responded to as yet so he was unable to tell me anything more and that he'd ring me on 7th October when he came back from holiday.
Oh cool.......yes, great, I'll just 'wait' then shall I? FFS!
So, keeping my cool I said 'What about this bone pain? I can't get a proper nights sleep, it's bothering me to stand/sit/walk/lie down, what shall I do until 7th October, I think I do need a bone scan'........he replied that he knows that I do need one, that I do need answers about this ongoing pain in the bones BUT he needs the hospital to say that I need a bone scan so that he can organise one....Pah! Back to square one then.
He then said that instead of ringing me on the 7th, come in to see him on the 4th October instead.
Ummmm........Thanks, have a nice holiday then.....
Arrggghhhhhhhhhhhh!
Anyway, moving on - tomorrow I've got a CT scan for the question mark on the left lung issue. They are rescanning me to see if the 'too small to call' spots have grown/stayed the same or best case scenario completely disappeared. I'll then email them in 2 weeks and ask for the results because I'm not waiting until 28th November to find out the answer. (28th November is when they've moved my next monitoring appointment to)....
Today I've had a horrible migraine - woke up with it around 5.30am and took some painkillers then straight back to bed. Been in and out of bed all day and it's finally cleared off about 7pm this evening. Nice way to spend a Sunday :(
Yesterday I got up and my pain in the rib area was much much less than it has been so I started to wonder if maybe it IS a muscle related problem...then today when I woke up the pain was back with a vengeance so that little bit of relief didn't last long.
I know my GP said not to see an Osteopath but I'm thinking I might......just thinking about it at the moment..... because I feel I need to do something - something other than completely overdose myself on bloody painkillers all the time.
Catch up soon xx
About Me
- Carole
- I'm Carole, living in London, happily married and mum to two amazing boys.I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Rectal Cancer in April 2010. Surgery took place in November 2010 and I now have a permanent colostomy...Spinal mets were then diagnosed in October 2011...In January 2012 I was told of further spread to the hip area (multiple lesions)..My life expectancy is now 6-9 months. Walk alongside me on the last part of my experience with this..
Sunday, 18 September 2011
Sunday, 11 September 2011
GP appointment - Friday, 9th September 2011
As previously discussed in my last post I managed to get myself an appointment with the GP on Friday afternoon.
I explained that my list of issues was growing longer by the week and that I also still hadn't received the letter from the hospital team after my outpatients visit there in July. He had now received it and printed me off a copy.
So we sat and went through it together - not that there was much in it to actually go through!
I pointed out a number of things that I remain unhappy with (in this particular letter and with regard to my after-care)...first off it states in the letter 'completed Chemoradiation treatment in July 2010'......
........Chemo was stopped after just a few days and Radiotherapy was stopped after 18 sessions due to excessive burns and skin damage...NO mention of any of this and as far as I'm concerned that is important information for my GP to be made aware of.
Letter also goes on to say 'good response to neo-adjuvant RCT' which again was not what the surgeon told me back in September. He actually said 'minimal response - the Radiotherapy did not destroy the tumour and it is virtually the same size as pre-treatment'...
Then it mentions that Carole 'is concerned about her ongoing tiredness and weight loss'.......
No I'm not...I AM concerned about the overall fatigue I still experience at times but at no time did I say I was concerned about my weight and I've definitely NOT lost weight - I'm back to my pre-surgery weight which is where I've been all of my adult life.
The letter then gives two completely inaccurate dates for CT scan and MRI scan (both in August)...I informed the GP these were both wrong, did not take place and were never planned to take place.
I showed him my letter for my next CT scan (in September) then we discussed that my outpatient appointment had been moved to November - he was not happy with this decision and will be raising with the hospital team.
He was also concerned about the decision to rescan the pelvic area after Christmas, which will be 6 months after they noticed 'inflammation' in the original tumour site....again he is going to ask for clarification on that decision. He felt that if something had raised concern in that area a rescan should take place after 3 months - as is happening in the lung issue. I said I was definitely unsure that leaving it for 6 months was wise as if it was the worse case scenario, we are giving half a year for new growth to take place.
My letter ends with 'patient declined adjuvant chemotherapy due to significant toxicities with neo-adjuvant'...which is exactly what I'm pointing out to the GP - how could I have completed in July 2010 when in the same letter they point out the toxicity problems caused....
At no point in this letter have they mentioned the bone issues I've been experiencing, no mention of either the shoulder or rib area despite me raising it with the surgeon.
Also no mention of the rectal wound that still hasn't healed, no mention of my concerns that my breathing never did return to normal after my op, no blood test results reported to him.
The letter sent to my GP makes me sound like a completely healthy person who has complained of feeling tired and being skinny !!!
Oh wouldn't that be so bloody nice just to be 'tired' and 'thin'......
My GP is writing to them on Monday (email) and raising questions about my care plan and also asking about the bone issue - he is happy to send me for a bone scan but wants them to say it is advisable first (I don't know why - and to be frank, I don't much care, I just want to find out what is causing this ongoing pain).
I asked if I could go ahead and book a couple of osteopathic appointments whilst I'm waiting for him (GP) to get back to me - he said 'No, absolutely not - we need to wait and see what the scan shows first'...I asked him what his thoughts are and he said 'We have to consider all possibilities, including the notion of secondaries'.....My thoughts exactly - thank you GP :)
My GP is going to ring me Friday morning with an update of all issues raised and tell me what the plan is for a scan on the bones.
So in the meantime I'm taking over the counter painkillers at night, just to try to take the edge off it so I can get some sleep in. Update once I know more..
Going to do a separate post later on about other things going on in my life - unconnected to cancer things :)
I explained that my list of issues was growing longer by the week and that I also still hadn't received the letter from the hospital team after my outpatients visit there in July. He had now received it and printed me off a copy.
So we sat and went through it together - not that there was much in it to actually go through!
I pointed out a number of things that I remain unhappy with (in this particular letter and with regard to my after-care)...first off it states in the letter 'completed Chemoradiation treatment in July 2010'......
........Chemo was stopped after just a few days and Radiotherapy was stopped after 18 sessions due to excessive burns and skin damage...NO mention of any of this and as far as I'm concerned that is important information for my GP to be made aware of.
Letter also goes on to say 'good response to neo-adjuvant RCT' which again was not what the surgeon told me back in September. He actually said 'minimal response - the Radiotherapy did not destroy the tumour and it is virtually the same size as pre-treatment'...
Then it mentions that Carole 'is concerned about her ongoing tiredness and weight loss'.......
No I'm not...I AM concerned about the overall fatigue I still experience at times but at no time did I say I was concerned about my weight and I've definitely NOT lost weight - I'm back to my pre-surgery weight which is where I've been all of my adult life.
The letter then gives two completely inaccurate dates for CT scan and MRI scan (both in August)...I informed the GP these were both wrong, did not take place and were never planned to take place.
I showed him my letter for my next CT scan (in September) then we discussed that my outpatient appointment had been moved to November - he was not happy with this decision and will be raising with the hospital team.
He was also concerned about the decision to rescan the pelvic area after Christmas, which will be 6 months after they noticed 'inflammation' in the original tumour site....again he is going to ask for clarification on that decision. He felt that if something had raised concern in that area a rescan should take place after 3 months - as is happening in the lung issue. I said I was definitely unsure that leaving it for 6 months was wise as if it was the worse case scenario, we are giving half a year for new growth to take place.
My letter ends with 'patient declined adjuvant chemotherapy due to significant toxicities with neo-adjuvant'...which is exactly what I'm pointing out to the GP - how could I have completed in July 2010 when in the same letter they point out the toxicity problems caused....
At no point in this letter have they mentioned the bone issues I've been experiencing, no mention of either the shoulder or rib area despite me raising it with the surgeon.
Also no mention of the rectal wound that still hasn't healed, no mention of my concerns that my breathing never did return to normal after my op, no blood test results reported to him.
The letter sent to my GP makes me sound like a completely healthy person who has complained of feeling tired and being skinny !!!
Oh wouldn't that be so bloody nice just to be 'tired' and 'thin'......
My GP is writing to them on Monday (email) and raising questions about my care plan and also asking about the bone issue - he is happy to send me for a bone scan but wants them to say it is advisable first (I don't know why - and to be frank, I don't much care, I just want to find out what is causing this ongoing pain).
I asked if I could go ahead and book a couple of osteopathic appointments whilst I'm waiting for him (GP) to get back to me - he said 'No, absolutely not - we need to wait and see what the scan shows first'...I asked him what his thoughts are and he said 'We have to consider all possibilities, including the notion of secondaries'.....My thoughts exactly - thank you GP :)
My GP is going to ring me Friday morning with an update of all issues raised and tell me what the plan is for a scan on the bones.
So in the meantime I'm taking over the counter painkillers at night, just to try to take the edge off it so I can get some sleep in. Update once I know more..
Going to do a separate post later on about other things going on in my life - unconnected to cancer things :)
Friday, 9 September 2011
Sometimes you have to tell it like it is.........
Okay, been a while since I've done a really honest update on me....I've scratched the surface, ignored things over the summer and said 'Yes, I'm fine thanks' so now it's probably time for an honest update.
Over the past few months I've been waiting to 'improve' - before my surgery they said in three months I'd be back to fighting fit and wondering what all the fuss had been about :) If only.........
I'm now 10 months post surgery and my list of 'issues' seems to get longer each week/month.
Apart from the fact that the rectal wound still hasn't fully healed - and probably won't now - the ongoing ache in the original tumour area is a real question mark. I know they said 'inflammation in the area that could be due to treatment' but seriously, I'm 14 months post Radiotherapy now and 10 months post surgery why would there still be 'inflammation' there? Puzzles me for sure.
It's not a noticeable problem until I sit upright for long periods, like when I'm at work sitting in one position for a long time. It's a dull draining ache just around the tail-bone of my spine and previously I could ease it by walking around and stretching but now that's not so easy.
This is because the rib pain/back pain has increased and now walking, stretching, bending, sitting and (most of all) lying down, are all really painful - sigh........The shoulder issue is a nagging ache but as long as I move the arm slowly and do not overstretch it, it's not a huge problem as such - the back pain is more limiting now. Once I get into bed at night it's impossible to turn over without waking because the pain is intense - and getting mobile in the mornings is taking longer as each week passes. When I first get out of bed I'm like a 90 yr old woman shuffling around and struggling to do basic things, such as bend down to pick up the cat bowl so that he can be fed or going downstairs to let him out and each step on each stair sends jolts right through my whole spine - the only way I can describe it is like electric shocks going through the whole body as the foot takes the weight, the spine reacts....
So.......am going to try again tomorrow to get an appointment with my GP to see what can be sorted out.
Another thing that recently pissed me off was I told you all back in July that I'd been moved to 'closer monitoring' due to the currently 'too small to call lung spots'....because of them they moved my monitoring from 6 monthly moderate monitoring to 3 monthly close monitoring. Okay, that all 'sounds' good, yes?...
I was last seen mid June and scanned around the 3rd week of June so my next CT scan is booked for 3rd week in September - all good so far.........
My next consultation with them, to report the results of the scan and 'check me' was sent and is towards the end of October - Soooo, I get scanned then wait 6 weeks (!) for results on potentially serious issues with the lung - in fact, let's use proper English here rather than medical 'chat - potential serious issues with the lungs = possible tumours on a vein around the left lung area - ...
I wasn't particularly happy with the 6 week wait after the scan - but it gets worse, 2 weeks ago they then write and say my October appointment is now cancelled and my new appointment is end of November - so, I'm having a scan 19th September then (supposedly) waiting more than 2 months for the results and THIS is 'close monitoring' ? ...............I was due to be seen again in December anyway under moderate monitoring (ie: no issues on scans, bloods all good, everything seems clear so see you in 6 months = moderate monitoring)
Being seen in the last week of November does not say 'close monitoring' to me....
So guess what this means? .........Yes, I have to become an official nuisance all over again, I have to email my nice colorectal nurses and insist that my scan results are reported to me via email rather than waiting for 2+ months, I have to feel and behave like a nuisance again to get any answers - as if things just aren't hard enough some days :(
I read a report on-line the other night (you know how I like to 'know' things - lol)....the report was about a study they've been doing with MRI tests pre-surgery on rectal cancer. To cut it short, the idea was to see if MRI could reliably predict outcome and life expectancy depending on the effect that Chemoradiation had on the original rectal tumour.
Seems that my 50/50 chance of surviving for 5+ years has now been slashed to around a 27% chance of survival.........LOL, serves me right for wanting to know too much, eh :) ....Anyway, all that means is there is now something else I need to prove them wrong on :)
On another note, I read a different report which stated that over 50% of rectal cancer patients die within a year of diagnosis....Up yours! I'm still here......16 months post diagnosis and counting :-)))
Catch up soon
xx
Over the past few months I've been waiting to 'improve' - before my surgery they said in three months I'd be back to fighting fit and wondering what all the fuss had been about :) If only.........
I'm now 10 months post surgery and my list of 'issues' seems to get longer each week/month.
Apart from the fact that the rectal wound still hasn't fully healed - and probably won't now - the ongoing ache in the original tumour area is a real question mark. I know they said 'inflammation in the area that could be due to treatment' but seriously, I'm 14 months post Radiotherapy now and 10 months post surgery why would there still be 'inflammation' there? Puzzles me for sure.
It's not a noticeable problem until I sit upright for long periods, like when I'm at work sitting in one position for a long time. It's a dull draining ache just around the tail-bone of my spine and previously I could ease it by walking around and stretching but now that's not so easy.
This is because the rib pain/back pain has increased and now walking, stretching, bending, sitting and (most of all) lying down, are all really painful - sigh........The shoulder issue is a nagging ache but as long as I move the arm slowly and do not overstretch it, it's not a huge problem as such - the back pain is more limiting now. Once I get into bed at night it's impossible to turn over without waking because the pain is intense - and getting mobile in the mornings is taking longer as each week passes. When I first get out of bed I'm like a 90 yr old woman shuffling around and struggling to do basic things, such as bend down to pick up the cat bowl so that he can be fed or going downstairs to let him out and each step on each stair sends jolts right through my whole spine - the only way I can describe it is like electric shocks going through the whole body as the foot takes the weight, the spine reacts....
So.......am going to try again tomorrow to get an appointment with my GP to see what can be sorted out.
Another thing that recently pissed me off was I told you all back in July that I'd been moved to 'closer monitoring' due to the currently 'too small to call lung spots'....because of them they moved my monitoring from 6 monthly moderate monitoring to 3 monthly close monitoring. Okay, that all 'sounds' good, yes?...
I was last seen mid June and scanned around the 3rd week of June so my next CT scan is booked for 3rd week in September - all good so far.........
My next consultation with them, to report the results of the scan and 'check me' was sent and is towards the end of October - Soooo, I get scanned then wait 6 weeks (!) for results on potentially serious issues with the lung - in fact, let's use proper English here rather than medical 'chat - potential serious issues with the lungs = possible tumours on a vein around the left lung area - ...
I wasn't particularly happy with the 6 week wait after the scan - but it gets worse, 2 weeks ago they then write and say my October appointment is now cancelled and my new appointment is end of November - so, I'm having a scan 19th September then (supposedly) waiting more than 2 months for the results and THIS is 'close monitoring' ? ...............I was due to be seen again in December anyway under moderate monitoring (ie: no issues on scans, bloods all good, everything seems clear so see you in 6 months = moderate monitoring)
Being seen in the last week of November does not say 'close monitoring' to me....
So guess what this means? .........Yes, I have to become an official nuisance all over again, I have to email my nice colorectal nurses and insist that my scan results are reported to me via email rather than waiting for 2+ months, I have to feel and behave like a nuisance again to get any answers - as if things just aren't hard enough some days :(
I read a report on-line the other night (you know how I like to 'know' things - lol)....the report was about a study they've been doing with MRI tests pre-surgery on rectal cancer. To cut it short, the idea was to see if MRI could reliably predict outcome and life expectancy depending on the effect that Chemoradiation had on the original rectal tumour.
Seems that my 50/50 chance of surviving for 5+ years has now been slashed to around a 27% chance of survival.........LOL, serves me right for wanting to know too much, eh :) ....Anyway, all that means is there is now something else I need to prove them wrong on :)
On another note, I read a different report which stated that over 50% of rectal cancer patients die within a year of diagnosis....Up yours! I'm still here......16 months post diagnosis and counting :-)))
Catch up soon
xx
Thursday, 1 September 2011
Happy Birthday to my Youngest Son :)
Today was Dj's 12th birthday - we asked him what he'd like to do on his special day and his reply was 'just spend it with Nan & Grandad and keep it quiet' - so that was what we did.
He was pleased with his presents, mainly books and Xbox games from us - although Rab did get him his BB gun that he'd been virtually begging for. I was against the idea but it is only small plastic pellets and does look far less realistic than it appeared on-line.
He loves shooting things (not people - lol, just plastic bottles, tin cans, targets etc) and has a huge collection of Nerf guns, catapults, sling-shot, potato gun, cap gun....sigh.... so although I don't like the whole gun thing I was democratically outvoted on this one...Not to worry I generally do win, so occasionally it's right that I'm over-ruled and outvoted :) And he's happy.
Apart from that he received gift vouchers from Nan & Grandad, Sarah & Louise (thank you all) and also a set of books from Nan & Grandad...lovely T-shirt and hoody top from his brother & Leanne plus they've given him an IOU for a trip to Thorpe Park (Theme park with rollercoasters etc) as they are away at the moment...Jacqui got him a lovely set for his WWII collection which included a replica Identity Card and Rations book...My Mum's friend sent him cash...and he has other bits on their way at a later date.
So the answer to 'What did he get?' is, probably too much as usual - but he doesn't get (expensive) presents at times other than Christmas and Birthdays so I figure it's okay to 'spoil' him twice a year - plus a very large portion of his presents is made up of reading material and I think you simply CAN'T spend 'too much' on books. His love of reading is well worth the cost in my opinion.
He had a small cake and I found a 'sparkler' in the drawer that I knew he'd be happy to light whilst we sang Happy Birthday to him - he twirled it around and this is how it came out in the photograph....
On Saturday he's going to spend the day with his best mate, A...they are going to have an 'Xbox Halo day' apparently..(he's absolutely mad on anything 'Halo') then the following Saturday we are taking him and four of his friends out for pizza and maybe cinema afterwards.
I asked him tonight what was the best part of his birthday and he said 'I'm not going to lie, it was the presents' ........LOL!
So all in all, a good day :)
He was pleased with his presents, mainly books and Xbox games from us - although Rab did get him his BB gun that he'd been virtually begging for. I was against the idea but it is only small plastic pellets and does look far less realistic than it appeared on-line.
He loves shooting things (not people - lol, just plastic bottles, tin cans, targets etc) and has a huge collection of Nerf guns, catapults, sling-shot, potato gun, cap gun....sigh.... so although I don't like the whole gun thing I was democratically outvoted on this one...Not to worry I generally do win, so occasionally it's right that I'm over-ruled and outvoted :) And he's happy.
Apart from that he received gift vouchers from Nan & Grandad, Sarah & Louise (thank you all) and also a set of books from Nan & Grandad...lovely T-shirt and hoody top from his brother & Leanne plus they've given him an IOU for a trip to Thorpe Park (Theme park with rollercoasters etc) as they are away at the moment...Jacqui got him a lovely set for his WWII collection which included a replica Identity Card and Rations book...My Mum's friend sent him cash...and he has other bits on their way at a later date.
So the answer to 'What did he get?' is, probably too much as usual - but he doesn't get (expensive) presents at times other than Christmas and Birthdays so I figure it's okay to 'spoil' him twice a year - plus a very large portion of his presents is made up of reading material and I think you simply CAN'T spend 'too much' on books. His love of reading is well worth the cost in my opinion.
He had a small cake and I found a 'sparkler' in the drawer that I knew he'd be happy to light whilst we sang Happy Birthday to him - he twirled it around and this is how it came out in the photograph....
I asked him tonight what was the best part of his birthday and he said 'I'm not going to lie, it was the presents' ........LOL!
So all in all, a good day :)
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
Summer's almost over :(
Well, I've been off work since the 3rd week in July for the summer holidays - and it's been great.
Late nights and late mornings, no stress - no shouts of:
'Where IS your blazer?'....
'WHY didn't you do your bag last night?'....
'What do you mean you don't know where xyx is?'....
'You said you had NO homework yesterday when I asked'....
Just nice relaxed late mornings and catching up with programmes we'd Sky+'d to watch at a later date....Dj has the same sense of humour as me so I tend to set the Sky box to record comedy stuff that Rab doesn't like, then we watch it together whilst Rab's at work.
Today we sat around for a few hours watching 'Mock the Week' (political satire programme) which we both really like - it's doing laid back things like this that make the summer break so relaxing for me.
The time has flown past though, it feels like only last week or so that I was saying 'See you in September then' - and now I'll be back at work this Thursday.
So, I've relaxed and successfully ignored 'c' as much as possible...
I've ignored the nagging pain in my shoulder and the agonising one in my back under my ribs as much as possible...
I've ignored the fact that I can be in bed for 10+ hours and still feel tired when I get up (mind you, it doesn't help that I'm awake so often during the night with the stupid pain in the rib area and shoulder every time I turn over)...
I've refused to acknowledge the dull ache in the area of the original tumour....(well, I've acknowledged it in my head, got up and moved around to ease it off but not given it any public acknowledgement or excessive publicity).....
I'm successfully ignoring the fact that my breathing never did return to normal after the op..this is apparently 'not unusual' but feels pretty unusual to me :)
I've put to the back of my mind (mostly) that my next scan in September (think it's the 19th) is pretty crucial in answering the question about the lung area 'too small to call' spots...
I've done okay really, all things considered...and for that I'm glad that 'c' didn't dominate the whole summer break the way it managed to do last year.
Tomorrow is Dj's birthday - I will do a separate post on that one.....he's so excited and optimistic about what he may (or may not - lol) be getting in the way of presents. It's nice to see because as you get older you forget about that 'excited, optimistic' feeling that you get as a kid. Let's hope it's a happy memorable day for him.
Today he said 'You've had cancer since I've been in double figures'....he's right, he was 10 when I was diagnosed and now he'll be 12...I just hope that his lasting memories of me will not be 'my mum had cancer all through my childhood'....
So tomorrow's about making some memories that involve good stuff :-)
Catch up soon x
Wednesday, 24 August 2011
Thanks Cancer :)
I 'met' Shents last year on a Cancer forum (Cancer Chat - which is connected to Cancer Research UK) and we developed a cyber friendship via this forum which then developed into much more. We are both part of a gang of five who got together in the cyber world and built good friendships, communicating via the forum and email..... The five are Shents, Tony, Rose, David and me....sadly David and Rose are no longer with us and our plans of getting all of us together didn't materialise :(
On Saturday Shents and I finally got around to getting together in London for the day - along with her two totally gorgeous children (a 10 yr old and 7 yr old) plus Dj and we all spent the day getting to know each other and exploring London (in the pissing rain - lol) !
Those of you who know me well will know that I'm not good at meeting new people - but this didn't seem to apply to Shents as I already felt we knew each other pretty well. I had this idea of what she'd be like (in real life rather than cyber life) and it was spot on - she is the most lovely lady, warm, funny, kind and I just know that we'll be friends for life now.
The children all got on really well, Dj and the 10 yr old spent the day chatting non stop about 'things' (when I asked what they'd talked about this was the answer 'things, just everything really') .
Her 7 yr old daughter is a gem, the kind of little girl anyone would be proud to call theirs - she's beautiful, bright, funny and confident. The 10 yr old is also a blogger and I've followed his blog for a while now so felt I 'knew' him already - he's a totally lovely lad, handsome, amusing, intelligent, mischievous and again a total credit to his mum (and dad of course) :)
We spent the morning in the Princess Diana memorial park in Kensington Gardens then moved on to Knightsbridge to get some lunch.
Then the weather decided to let us down and the skies opened up on us for a few hours :( None of us had rain jackets or umbrellas because the weather reports had said 'dry, sunny and warm all day' for London ........mental note: do NOT trust the BBC weather reports in future......
Anyway, after sheltering in the doorway of M&S food store for a while we jumped into a black cab and headed for Trafalgar Square to take refuge in an art gallery. Our cab driver seemed to forget we were actually in the cab for a while and this had us all in fits of giggles when he suddenly snapped out of his trance and realised we were all there....
After the Art gallery we headed out into the Square and managed to take some quick photo's - despite the rain we had some fun there....
Then we decided to head off for a coffee and cakes where we all managed to dry off for a while. After that we hit the shops where bits and pieces were purchased to remind the children of their trip to London that day.
Before we knew it, it was time for their train back to Suffolk (where they were spending some time before going back up North later in the week).....the day flew past and it felt like as soon as they'd arrived it was time to say goodbye again. Lots of hugs, promises to meet up again really soon (hopefully next time in Matlock with another one of our cyber buddies) and then headed back home - tired but happy.
Dj said 'I had a really nice day today' and that simple sentence sums it up perfectly. I really enjoyed meeting them all and it was a really nice day :)
Thank you Shents for your lovely company, lots of laughter and fun, and for making it possible for us to finally get together - and thank you cancer for bringing us together. Without you entering my life I would never have met Shents and for that I take my hat off to you...
Shents has a blog about her journey with Breast cancer called 'Keep yer hair on' (in my blog list on the left)....she rightly points out that despite it being a dreadful period she would never have found the people who've walked this journey with her, had it not been for cancer...
It's not often we have the opportunity to say 'Thank you Cancer' but for me, this is the perfect reason.
So today, no 'F&*k you' cancer statements...... just a simple 'Thank you' will suffice :)
Friday, 19 August 2011
The Churchill Experience.......
On Wednesday I finally managed to prise Dj away from his PC ...(he's currently engrossed in an on-line game that he's been playing since the holidays started)...
Rab had a day off work so we decided to take my Mum, Dad and Dj to the Churchill War Experience Exhibition in Central London.
I knew Dj would enjoy this as WWII is one of his 'things' (things he finds interesting to the point of obsession) ...here are some pictures taken whilst we were there.
I hadn't realised that looting was a problem during WWII - people who took shelter in the underground shelters often returned to find their possessions had been stolen by looters! I actually think that's a lot worse than the looting that's taken place recently. During a war you'd expect people to be pulling together not robbing each other :(
Mum and Dj in the dressing up section - they have a variety of hats and uniforms that kids can try on
Dad and Dj....
Model of Churchill at his desk during the war years....
Evacuee's during WWII
After we'd finished in the exhibition we walked along by the River Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge and had a coffee...in the background here is HMS Belfast which is permanently moored on the Thames now...
As we walked under one of the bridges along the river front this sign below was on a door - Dj started to laugh and said 'When I was younger I used to think that sign meant that if you were in this area you could get stabbed'...
LOL! I do wonder about this boy sometimes y'know :-)
So we all went out, it didn't rain this time, forgot about 'c' and just got on with things for another day of our holiday.
Coming back home on the underground a lady got on the train, she was in her early 30's, with a walking stick and she had no hair plus was very thin and looked completely tired (chemo'd) out ...Dj looked across at me and just for a split second I saw a fleeting look of sadness cross his face.
He smiled at the lady and she smiled back and then we got off the the train - he immediately said 'Can I have a hug?' and that's when you know that even when you're trying really hard (all of us) to just ignore it, it's still there in my head, in his head, in all our heads.....damn cancer...
One month today until the next scan................sigh..................but in the meantime I'm still on holiday :)
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