It’s that time again for scans and results that will provide the shape of my summer. The CT scan is quick and painless and a much easier experience than the MRI. My experience of MRIs have been mixed but are always accompanied by the cacophony of noises and the pain for me of lying still for sometimes around an hour. It’s a grim form of torture dressed up as being an important investigation so any thing less than that is a relief.
But the real trauma is waiting for the result. Knowing that these results define the next stage of the year or in this instance, the summer. So it was with some anxiety I sat in the waiting room. Generally Andrew and I have the ‘what are you expecting’ discussion. Trying our best to be honest with ourselves and each other.
This week I really didn’t know how it would go. And the news was good. The liver cancer is stabilised and my haemoglobin which had been as low as 75 at one point is now up to 130! I am winning at the numbers now! And so I’ve time off active treatment this next two months.
I nearly shot out the door straight away as if the Professor might change his mind if I hung around. But I stayed and got good advice to come back earlier if I feel less well. So hopefully a warm summer awaits with some fun concerts and trips in Scotland too and for now I’m free of medication that makes me queasy.
Any one who has had these cancer drugs know their impact tends to linger. Like a bad friend who just won’t take the hint to leave you alone.
Now I’m a Celt, I get freckles and burn if I’m too long in the sun I burn. I’ve learned how to build up a healthy glow without getting burnt. But not now. My skin last week felt like I had been burned. A chemo legacy. So sun screen and the endless search for the sun hat that doesn’t make me feel like I’m Worzil Gummich’s strange Aunty!
We’ve now had an exceptional few days in the southern Highlands with friends and family. It truly reminded us how good life can be. Our daughter and granddaughter both achieved climbing Ben Nevis this summer too. I’m in awe of this achievement. And see the remarkable capture of the Ben on a rare day without cloud. Roll on a happy summer days for you all and especially a shout out for those like me who are able to enjoy it without the slog of cancer treatment.
See below we visited Loch Tay just the place for a wild swim I hear! #visitscotland
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