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Week Eight - PET Scan Part One

Sooo this week it’s 4:33am on Saturday morning and guess what? I’m awake! 


After five or six days of sweet, normal sleep I appear to be back on the ‘on steroids? Well you can absolutely RELY on waking up between 3 and 4am’ train. Honestly, I could put the mortgage on it. 


Joy. 


Mind you, it turns out it is a semi-decent time to write my blog. Though I don’t plan to post this until Sunday evening. For why I hear you ask? Well, Monday is the next big milestone in this journey - my post-round four PET scan. 


D-Day v2, part one if you will. 


D-Day v1 was diagnosis day. Which was a ball, as I’m sure you can imagine. But on that day nearly two months ago, the first real stage gate was put in the calendar - the PET scan. You’ll remember the photo of my first PET scan. The oh shit, have you seen what’s going on in my chest and neck PET scan. That was the moment the penny dropped when this became something serious, something to worry about. 



Well on that day, when the follow up scan was first dropped on us, the post-round four scan was held up as the first target to aim for. The consultant told me a quite frankly ridiculous 75% of patients are actually cured of the disease by this point. 


Jesus, imagine that. 


Mind you, that’s the thing - I haven’t allowed myself to imagine that. Surely, my luck isn’t that good. In fact, my luck has proven to be down right shitty to get this bloody thing in the first place! 


As has been the case since the get-go, this is a day-by-day thing and I can take nothing for granted. But, there are some glimmers of hope to hold on to before I head across to the worst hospital car park in the East Midlands (Nottingham City Hospital) on Monday afternoon. 


First off, my legs are wildly better. I’ve only just given in to the increasingly cold weather and put away the shorts (and put trackies on, I’m not a freak) because I just loved how many people pointed out my legs and how much better they looked. I’ve not itched since round one of treatment which is an incredible thing to say considering I was itchier than an eight year old in the midst of a school-wide nits outbreak. 


Secondly, and this is one that I need to be careful about. I can’t feel any lumps in my neck. Now, of course, that may be me feeling what I want to feel. But I genuinely can’t. That doesn’t mean it’s cured, they might just be smaller - but, pre-treatment I could both see and feel them. I used to be scared of looking in the mirror because I could see them when I was brushing my teeth for example. Not a good place to be. But now I can brush my teeth like it’s the best thing on earth and I see no lumps or bumps. It helps that one was chopped off to leave me with my bitchin', action man scar but… I still can’t see anything else. 


And finally, after round four on Wednesday just gone, I’m pleased to say I’m feeling pretty good! I know this means absolutely nothing but it’s a tick in the box for the theory that my level of fitness going in to this shitshow and my body’s ability to ride the storm out and get used to what is being thrown at it is sort of ringing true. 


But with that all said, I’d really appreciate you keeping your fingers crossed or even having a word with the big man over the next week or so before I get my results on Tuesday 7th December. No matter what happens, be it the good news, we can lessen the strength of the chemo, or the less good, we’re gonna dial up this MF sort of news, I’ve still got to finish the journey. That means eight more rounds, 107 more days. Probably about 50 more rise and shines, it’s 3am! 


In the meantime, I wanted to say thank you SO much for the support I’ve had on my JustGiving page so far - £801.94! Simply astonishing. And so very humbling. I haven’t even done anything yet! So thank you. 


Also, thank you for being so nice about my buzzcut hairdo! I was pretty apprehensive about cutting my hair, fearful I’d look like a bowling ball. Perhaps I do, but you’ve so far been kind enough not to tell me I do - so keep that up! The hair loss has continued but certainly slowed. It might be that it comes in waves - I noticed it more the Monday/Tuesday the week after treatment last time so maybe that’s in the post for next week. 



Either way, I’m enjoying wearing (and buying!) woolly hats! 


So big week or so ahead. I plan to post this on Sunday night and follow up with the results on Tuesday next week. To say it is BIG would be an understatement. But I need to stay sane and not drive myself mad with what ifs this week. I’ve managed it this far. 


Quick PSA before I finish up - I’m gonna be as radioactive as a deer in Chernobyl on Monday night so steer clear!


Hey, maybe that’s the start of a poem? 

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