Leveling Up For The Boss Fight - My cancer journey

Hello everyone! The past week has been fairly quiet.  I'm still making low progress in getting back to "normal".  I'm starting to feel more "me" and less cancer patient.  So much, that I posted a selfie on instagram when I felt the best I have for probably for the whole year. This time next week, I will have seen my oncologist, and I'm hopeful she will be pleased with the progress.  There's still a way to go.  I'm stretching myself in terms of activities, as I need to know my limits.  I'm back to walking laps in the garden.  I'm also doing some cooking with my other half.  However, I do find it quite draining, both mentally as well as physically.  I'm under no illusions that my body is still recovering from the severe battering it had. I'm being careful, and will have to be more so when my other half is at work.  However, each week I'm making better progress on the previous week.  I keep looking back at what I was like during ...

Hello everyone.  I hope you're all doing ok.  This blog is going to be a little different, where there will be two posts.  This one is the usual weekly summary blog.  I'll then post another with the FAQ's on.  I'll put the link at the bottom of this post, so you can go straight to it.  However you can find it by just visiting the homepage  https://cancerbossfight.blogspot.com/ .  So the last 7 days I have slowly been improving.  The urine infection has finally gone!  The problem when you have cancer treatment that includes chemo, fighting infection is difficult, so this one took longer than your average human!  However, my toilet habits are still the phrase "when I've got to go, I've got to go!", although the frequency isn't as much as it was, and my stools are finally less Niagara Falls (Yes, I've purposely made those descriptions blog reader friendly, not in my standard tone!). My energy levels are improving, although after each a...

Hello, and welcome to my personal frequently asked questions about my life with cancer.  Disclaimer - I am not a medical professional, and you should in no way treat the below as a substitute for professional advice.  If you're unsure about anything that effects you, please see a medical professional. The below is FAQ's about my cervical cancer experience so far.  For those that haven't read my blog, or have recently discovered it, most of what I write below, has been mentioned in my blog posts.  I've documented this as a FAQ for those that may have missed some posts, or just want a refresher of how I've managed my cancer treatment.  Everybody is different, and treatment may vary from person to person, however, some people may find my experience useful for their own journey, or supporting others with a cancer diagnosis. Pre-diagnosis When did you know something was wrong? It wasn't more of something was wrong, but something didn't feel right.  I started get...

Hello! I'm not sure this will be a long blog, but to be fair it's not about how much I write, it's documenting my cancer journey.  If anyone reads it, it's a bonus.  If anyone finds it helpful (apart from myself), even better!  On that note, what have I been up to over the last 7 days? I've spend a little more time in the garden, sitting, taking photos or throwing the dog's Kong tennis ball for her. I also got to see both my parents for the first time in months.  We socially distanced in the garden, and had a catch up. I also had the energy to bake some scones, with some preparation work done by the other half.  I was exhausted afterwards, but it was very rewarding.  I need to know where my limit is, so I know how much to work on.  Also, eating cake is a good way to put weight on.  I know, breaking news!  Sorry Cornish friends, I'm in Devon, so it's clotted cream, then jam.  When I'm allowed to visit you, I promise to do jam...

Friday 3rd July was my last treatment, and it was a weird occasion.  It was my last brachytherapy treatment, and I looking forward to having the last spinal block!  All the team were as friendly as usual, and one of the team was a fan of F1, in particular Daniel Ricciardo.  It was nice seeing her, and having a chat about the upcoming season. A perk of the spinal block, is that I get to take my phone in with me so I can listen to podcasts or music.  When you're stuck on your back for several hours, listening to audio books or music is best.  Friday I chose to put on Radio 5 Live so I could listen to Free Practice live!  The coverage wasn't great, as an example, they'd react to something and a little while later remember to tell us what they reacted to. Anyway, I had a different anesthetist, who knew of the challenges with me.  He was ever so nice, talked through everything he was doing, was super quick with the injections, and was the best spi...

Can you believe we're now in the month of July?  I certainly can't.  I know this year has been a weird one, so far it's felt like this year as been slow, but also flown past.  That sentence makes no sense, but that's how it's felt.  For me, a lot has already happened this year, but at the same time with my treatment, it has also felt slow, especially when I've had days where I've just needed to sleep, or haven't felt well. This past week, all I've had is my brachytherapy treatment. My body is very slowly, starting to recover day by day.  I'm not needing to nap as much, and my appetite continues to slowly improve.  However, I do get tired very quickly, and need to sit down a lot.  My brain is becoming more active, and finding it a bit easier to concentrate.  I know that sounds like a weird thing to say, but I hadn't really noticed it until recently.  My progress is paused for the days I have my treatment due to having nil by mouth, and then ...