Yesterday I had a meeting with the consultant oncologist who will be supervising my radiotherapy and I have signed the treatment form so that it can begin in the near future.
If everything goes according to plan, I should start treatment in about four weeks. This will involve me having CT scan at Guy's Hospital in central London so that they can identify and tattoo the target areas for the x-ray beams, and this will be be followed by thirty-seven daily sessions of radiotherapy at Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup.
The consultant has told me that there may be a number of inconvenient and/or unpleasant short- and long-term side effects but given the choice it made sense to undergo the treatment.
The treatment will only last a short time each day, but travelling to and from the hospital and any side effects may well impinge of my daily life. I will endeavour to continue blogging as regularly as I can once my treatment starts, but I suspect that I may well blog somewhat less than I usually do.
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Best wishes Bob
ReplyDeleteMaudlin Jack Tar,
DeleteCheers!
All the best,
Bob
Bob, I do hope your treatment goes well. Don't worry about blogging, PW &c. - your health and well being are much more important! Best wishes, Arthur
ReplyDeleteArthur1815 (Arthur),
DeleteCheers! I’m told that any side effects will begin to kick in about two weeks into my treatment, and I’ll just have to take things easy and take life as it comes. I hope that I’ll be well enough to do some wargaming and blogging but if I’m not, I won’t.
All the best,
Bob
Good luck with everything Bob. Even unpleasant side effects are better than the alternative. On the positive side, tattoos are quite trendy now…😉
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Geoff
Elliesdad,
DeleteCheers! You are right about unpleasant side effects being better than the alternative. It’s what convinced me to sign on the dotted line and have the treatment.
Unfortunately my tattoos will be hidden from view … but at least I can say that I have some and can hold my head up when walking around the local area.
All the best,
Bob
Hope everything goes okay with you and your treatment , keep us posted when you can , Cheers Tony
ReplyDeleteThe Good Soldier Svjek (Tony),
DeleteCheers! I’ll certainly try to let my regular blog readers know how things are going.
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob,
ReplyDeleteAt last a 'Starting Time' - hopefully everything goes smoothly for you and the daily trips to and from Hospital is bearable - lots of good wishes to you Bob- stay well.Regards. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteIt’s great news … and all I need now is an actual start date. This should be sent to me within a fortnight.
Luckily the hospital is less than thirty minutes drive from my home, so once I start my treatment it shouldn’t dominate my life … I hope!
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob
ReplyDeleteHopefully the awful waiting time will be over, then take it one day at a time. Its a daunting prospect to have such a long period of treatment, but I would also have agreed as you have. Good luck with the treatment and I am sure that all of your blogger friends are wishing you well.
best regards
Paul and Jan
Thistlebarrow (Paul and Jan),
DeleteThanks for your kind comments.
The last few months of uncertainty have been rather draining, and now that it looks as if a start date is in the offing, Sue and I are feeling much more positive.
Eight weeks of treatment seems like a lot but I’m sure that once I get into the rhythm of going to the hospital every weekday, I think that the time will fly by.
Signing up for the treatment was a no-brainer. If it’s successful, then it should ensure that the cancer will not spread. If it doesn’t work, I’m no worse off. As to the side effects … well, if I am affected than they are will be a small price to pay to get better.
All the best,
Bob
Best wishes for your upcoming treatment, hope all goes well for you.
ReplyDeleteDonnie McGibbon,
DeleteCheers! The sooner I start, the sooner I’ll be better!
All the best,
Bob
Best wishes, Bob. Hope all goes as well as possible, with optimal results, and the side effects are minimal 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼.
ReplyDeleteMartin S.,
DeleteCheers! Thanks very much for your kind thoughts.
All the best,
Bob
Best wishes, Bob! Did you ever think you would get tattoos?
ReplyDeleteMy best friend has been undergoing chemotherapy for a long while now. Next month she will be evaluated to see where things stand and what the options are at that point. I can only hope for good news, for her and for you!
Fitz-Badger,
DeleteThey tattooed part of my colon in 2020 to help the surgeon to locate the section where my cancerous polyp was located. When the polyp was removed - along with a piece of my colon - I ‘lost’ my tattoo … and I got a stoma in exchange!
I was lucky: full-blown chemotherapy was not an option that the doctors considered as a treatment for my prostate cancer. However, one of the medications that I have to take daily is a chemotherapy drug that is designed to prevent the cancer cells from multiplying.
I hope that your friend’s treatment turns out to be successful.
All the best,
Bob
Hope it goes well for you - best wishes.
ReplyDeleteRob Young,
DeleteCheers! Many thanks for your kind words,
All the best,
Bob
Best of luck for a complete and speedy recovery. I hope the side effects aren't too debilitating.
ReplyDeleteMark Cordone,
DeleteCheers! To date I've been quite lucky when it comes to side effects from the other treatment that I have had and I'm hoping that this luck will hold.
All the best,
Bob
Best of luck to you, Bob
ReplyDeleteMr. Pavone,
DeleteCheers!
All the best, Thanks very much for your kind words.
Bob
Good to hear that you've finally been given a start date Bob. As you say, there really is no second option to consider. Fingers crossed it all goes well and that you don't suffer too many side effects, short or long term. Take it easy and wishing you and your family all the best!
ReplyDeleteSteve J.,
DeleteTo me, undergoing the treatment was a bit of a no-brainer ... but I understand that some people are more afraid of the side effects than the illness and actually opt not to go down the route I will be travelling.
Thanks for your kind words of support. They are much appreciated.
All the best,
Bob
Best wishes Bob, we'll be thinking of you even if you are a bit quieter on here. Hopefully you will be able to get into some sort of daily routine during those weeks, which should help a bit.
ReplyDeleteDavid in Suffolk,
DeleteCheers! Thank you very much for your kind words.
As you write in your comment, once I get into the routine of treatment I should find things easier.
All the best,
Bob
Best Wishes for treatments Bob, hope it all goes well and hope it isn’t too stressful. Quinn
ReplyDeleteGlory to Ruritania (Quinn),
DeleteCheers! I am hoping that once the treatment starts, any feelings of anxiety that I have will dissipate.
All the best,
Bob
Wishing you well and best wishes, Bob, to you and your family.
ReplyDeleteJohn Y,
DeleteMany thanks for your kind words. They are greatly appreciated.
All the best,
Bob
All the best with your treatment, look after yourself. Paul.
ReplyDeletePDL (Paul),
DeleteMany thanks for your kind words. With luck, my treatment should start by the end of August.
All the best,
Bob
Wishing you all the best Bob with the treatment programme and those 37 days will pass quickly then you can recover :)
ReplyDeleteRegards to Sue,
Lee.
‘Lee (Lee),
DeleteI hope that you are right. I suspect that once I get into the rhythm of going to the hospital everyday, it will become just another part of my daily routine.
All the best,
Bob
All the best with your treatment Bob!
ReplyDeleteDonjondo,
DeleteCheers! The sooner it starts, the sooner it will be over.
All the best,
Bob
Thinking of you Bob, like the other WD'ers and CoW'ers and Portable Wargamers with you every step of the way!
ReplyDeleteGeordie an Exiled FoG,
DeleteCheers! I finally feel as if I’m moving out of a state of limbo. Once the course of treatment starts, I will know just how long it will be before I can return to relative normality.
All the best,
Bob