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Thinking of you and yours mate!
Yes, best wishes for your next round. Take care buddy!
J
Best wishes & positive vibes for the next course.
Good luck!
F cancer!
John,
Like a number of folks, I also think about your progress and hope and wish it works out positively. So far so good - which is great 🙂
A few years back I was waiting for the results of a number of tests one of which would indicate whether I had Multiple Myeloma. To be honest the anxiety of waiting screwed my head up totally. The results were negative, but it took some time for the medical induced anxiety to go (actually, I don't know if it has....waiting on some blood test results at the moment...). However, your posts in themselves have helped me be in a much better place than I would have been, so thanks!
Take care and I sincerely hope that apart from the slight downs during treatment, it will be a big up at the end of the treatment. Best wishes.
Good news thanks for sharing, love it all and especially this
The family are all keeping well and the soontobe wife and daughter are coping remarkably well and are a constant source of support and joy. It sounds corny but times like these really do help refocus whats important to you and those around you.
Hi John, hope everything is going well. Let us know how you are pal. God bless you and yours. Paul.
Thanks for the nudge Paul.
So I completed my fourth and final round of treatment last Monday. There was a slight delay in starting as I have been getting infections of some description due to my immunity system essentially turned off. As mentioned I completed the fourth round last Monday and was out on Tuesday but was re-admitted this Tuesday with high temperatures and am still in ARI. They have never been able to pinpoint a cause of the infections however the PICC line I have fitted is being taken out tomorrow as a possible/likely cause.
On the up side it now appears as if my bloods are now stabilising and my body is able to start creating white blood cells once again due to the bone marrow stimulation injections I've been on for a fortnight. That will greatly help me fight off any bugs whilst rebuilding my strength.
This fourth round was bloody tough going afterward mainly due to exhaustion however I'm coming out the other side now and am starting to feel better daily. I hope with a combination of the PICC line removal and neutrophils/white blood cells improvement these seemingly random temperature 'episodes' are a thing of the past.
I have a final/end of cycle scan next Tuesday and review with my consultant the following week. So long as the results are as we expect it then a case of debating the merits of a PET scan.
It's only 6 short weeks to our wedding which will be a relatively small intimate affair so looking forward to that then in true STW style off camping for our 'honeymoon' but with my sister brother in law and 3 nephews!
As always finally a big thanks goes out to Kirstin for helping me through this over the past 4 months, visiting me in hospital daily and bringing me in lunch and fruit so I'm not stuck on hospital food. She really has been my rock and nobody else knows what we've been through except the two of us.
That's all for now folks and remember to give those you love a kiss tonight.
John.
Awesome. Fingers crossed and congratulations.
Wow. Yeah, as above....fingers crossed for you.
May you have an amazing wedding and honeymoon!
All the best to you and your family....
John glad to hear your looking up.
Really hope you guys have a wonderful wedding and honeymoon.
It's gonna rock. Sounds like she's there 100% for you.
Show this shit who's the boss !
Thanks for the update John and fingers crossed for the results. I hope you have a lovely wedding and honeymoon. Take care
Yes fingers crossed and have a brilliant wedding
Fingers all crossed for you here. Enjoy your wedding!
With you every step of the way John, keep looking forward, there's a brighter dawn just around the corner.
Cracking news 😀
Great news and enjoy the big day!
Have fun getting married and good luck with the other thing.
Nice one, John. Stay positive.
Evening all.
It's about time I updated this so here it is!
I was just scrolling up to see when I last updated this and remember the moment well which now feels like a lifetime ago...
Once the PICC line was removed and my neutrophils normalised the temperature spikes have stopped so not entirely sure which was the cause/solution either way it means I've now been hospital free for a fortnight!
The end of treatment scan was done and we met with the consultant to discuss the results. The summary was very positive with the current status of my 'condition' was I am in 'complete remission'. This is obviously the best outcome we could have dreamt of so to say it's a huge relief would be an understatement. We have check up appointments every 8 weeks for the next two years as the relapse rate is highest early on. He did also mention that typically those who have such a dramatic response to the treatment early on are typically those who do not relapse at all so fingers crossed.
My strength and stamina is improving on a daily basis with a combination of food and gentle excercise. This is being hampered a little with the neuropathy (numbness/prickly sensation) I have in my feet but this is slowly improving. My stomach is still a little tender so am conscious of that and am a little neurotic of any innocuous aches or pains but suppose that's normal.
The next big hurdle to overcome is our wedding in 3 weeks so Kirstin is busy sorting all of that so looking forward to seeing lots of family and friends. This is going to be more of a party/celebration so am hoping for lots of laughter, drinking, chatting and generally have a nice time with those who are closest to us. We are not doing gifts so have setup a donate page to 'friends of anchor' who do amazing work and am thankful for the care I have received over the last 4 months.
Cerys finishes nursery on Thursday so am looking forward to having a few weeks of fun and normal things that we usually take for granted but should not. We are off camping early next week as a trial before our longer trip in 3 weeks for our 'honeymoon'. Just today we were walking on the beach front here is balmy Aberdeen and both Kirstin and I agreed that today just felt like a normal day and we were on holiday rather than at the (positive) end of an emotional four month rollercoaster.
That in itself is a huge step in the right direction compared to where we've been...
I have found this thread very cathartic so thanks to the 'powers that be' and may even upgrade to a P.
The final big discussion in our house is what do I do about my lack of eyebrows as it does look strange in photos, do I go for fake, pencil or HD brows? The lack of hair isn't such an issue as I've been a grade zero for the last 10 years or so!
Thanks all
John
Ps. The fellow Aberdonians I will honour the BBQ promise and will message you after the wedding.
Cracking news.
As for the eyebrows make yourself a stick on set.
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Glad to hear this 🙂
John, your post has made my day and also made me look at my family and truly enjoy taking the faithful hound for her last walk before bed whilst sniffing the air and enjoying the sky, breeze in the leaves, etc, etc.
Pollen must be bad today too
😉
Great news. Truly.
Go HD 8)
Super news, best wishes for the big day.
Great news. The wedding and honeymoon will be amazing 😀
Woohoo!
Great news, good luck for the wedding and future 😀
John, this brought back some memories I can tell you. What an inspiration, I'm so happy for you and yours. Have an amazing wedding.
This is good news, says Badnewz.
Been reading your thread and this news is great to read. We wish you all the health and happiness
Ian
Fantastic news, all the very best for the wedding and I hope you have an outstanding time on your honeymoon.
Eyebrows - I am told there are temporary tattoo ones that you can get that look fairly realistic. Well that was the route my cousin went down when he burnt his off with a lab experiment that went a little more boom than expected.
Great news to hear.
Brilliant news mate.
Such great news, big thumbs up.
Great news juan 😀
Awesome
Great news!
Hi John, great news for you and your family. Bright things ahead. I will pray for your continued recovery. God bless you and yours.
Hope you're doing OK, John. Have a blessed weekend.
Thanks for the nudge Paul.
Glad to report all is nice and boring here so after the turmoil of the last 6 months I can confirm boring is excellent!
In myself I feel well, pretty fit and strong once again. This is such a relief going from the extremities endured during the first part of the year. I would say I am roughly back at 90% ability of where I was pre lymphoma so making good headway and full expect to regain the last 10% before Christmas.
My stomach is definitely more sensitive than it used to be so this will take getting used to. After chatting with my consultant this is no doubt due to the scarring due to the chemo but things ought to settle down in time. The best way I can explain it is after hurting yourself or breaking a limb you become 'aware' you broke that leg or whatever so it's the same for me with my stomach.
Anyway, Kirstin and I got married almost 3 weeks ago which was a fabulous day. All our family and close friends made the celebration and even the Aberdeen weather played ball. It was a relaxed and friendly affair and everyone seemed to have fun. With the kind donations from family and friends and my employer fund matching I'm hoping to have raised around 10k for the friends of anchor charity which is great.
We had our brief honeymoon camping on Anglesey for a few days which was fun. The weather held mostly ok even long enough for me to get sunburnt (chemo plays havoc with your skin) but that's a lesson learnt. After spending a week back in Wales we traveled back up to Aberdeen for Cerys to start school. She's been there on half days for 2 weeks now so I'm enjoying being able to walk her there in the mornings and collect her at lunchtime. Kirstin has also returned to work so she is slowly settling back to normality. I too return to work next Monday so am looking forward and dreading that in equal measures. I'm thankful however that my employer has left me be and will offer whatever support I require on my return.
I/we did have a minor wobble last week where I thought my stomach had began to grow again (atypical for Burkitt's) so I contacted the haematology department in ARI and had blood tests and a consultation that day and followed with a CAT scan the following day. Everything appears to be ok so this will be the new 'normal' for a while I guess. I first became paranoid because I noticed Kirstin looking at my stomach which then in turn made me paranoid which affected my eating etc.. in actual fact I think the main reason was now we are married I don't bother holding it in so much!
It all still feels a little weird and since my hair has all returned the only external marks are from the PICC lines. The neuropathy in my feet has improved greatly and only the tips of my toes feel fuzzy. All in all its like it happened to someone else or was a TV program I watched rather than something far more serious that we've come through which is a huge relief.
This whole saga has definitely changed my perspective on life and work life balance but it scarily easy to fall back into bad habits which I'm trying to avoid.
Anyway, that's it from me and hope you are all well.
Cheers.
John
It's only just dawned on me that you are not the French bloke from Southampton, who of course was simply juan, without a menage-a-un reference. But nonetheless, I am as happy for you as I was for him when the last few updates were posted. Bonne chance!
Glad to hear that you are doing well and that the wedding was awesome.
Thumbs up! Nice one...
So much good stuff in the OP's most recent post. I approach the cancer threads with some trepidation these days, only really diving in when i feel up to it but I'm so glad I caught up with this one again. Really happy for you and you're right about not needing to hold your stomach in anymore, she's stuck with you now, let it all hang out fella.
8) Nice to hear some good news.
Back in the office and its like I've never been away! Almost makes me appreciate the upcoming 'discussion' with IT on passwords, updates etc
Very happy for you. I'll pray that you get back up to your full strength pal. Happy to hear the wedding any honeymoon went well, hope Cerys settles into school and that your return to work goes as smoothly as can be expected. You seem to have a very supportive network all round which is a great blessing. God bless you and yours.
I keep missing these posts somehow.
Good news all round then. Well, apart from the discussion on IT passwords. 8)
Terrific stuff!
Glad to see you made it into the cancer survivors club. Nice thing about it is it's seems to get bigger all the time.
The worry every time something feels different it could be something way more serious that it is, stays for a long time.
Even though for me it's been over 20 years clear, I'd say that knowledge somewhere in the very back of your mind that your whole world can go to shit in an instant is with me every day. But I have always felt that that is the posative of the whole thing, I've always felt I really do appreciate everything more than those around me.
When I hear friends complaining about taking their kids to this club and that every night or having to do some meaning less task with "their other half", I just don't get it, I seem to have been left with the ability to appreciate nearly every minute of every day.
Although.... I have been told I some times lack a bit of empathy at times...
This is great news. So happy for you
Ace.
When I hear friends complaining about taking their kids to this club and that every night or having to do some meaning less task with "their other half", I just don't get it, I seem to have been left with the ability to appreciate nearly every minute of every day.
The human condition seems to be predilected to not knowing what we have till it’s too late, or we’re ‘lucky’ enough to only get a fleeting glance on that world and gain the insight in time to use it.
But I’d agree you do lack a bit of empathy. 8)
Brilliant stuf!
Awesome news! 😀