It’s a weird world we find ourselves in right now. Even more so and scary when having to undergo a pretty involved operation and now continuing with chemotherapy. So just to bring people up to speed with that — the operation I had earlier in the year was to remove the primary tumour. Further scans are good. Chest CT came back with no change prior to the op. The downside is that there are no base line scans to go on, so the only scans are since Sept ’19, up until last month. The scans get repeated, and the next will be due in around 6 months.

I’ve now started chemo treatment and already had one lot at the Leicester Royal Infirmary, and where I’ll be back at the beginning of May. They’ve been great so far and Ward 41 rocks.

With Covid-19 going round, undertaking chemo isn’t necessarily ideal, as it tears down your immune system. I’m pumping myself with vitamins and drinking plenty of fluid as that’s recommended to keep everything going. They’ve told me to carry on eating as much as I can and I can even have the odd beer.

In other news, physio is actually continuing on my knee and leg where I had the op earlier, so this is a two pronged approach. I’m currently mobilising with crutches fine and have 20 degrees of movement in my knee joint with a new swanky leg brace. I’m doing 4-5 sets of physio exercises a day to build up muscle and tendon strength in my leg.

Honestly, the start of this year wasn’t great, but when Corona came along as selfish as it sounds, I’m in the same boat with everyone else now. I’ve not really gone out away from home apart from hospital since the beginning of the year. I’m beyond the crazy stage, and have come to adapt. With me being able to mobilise better I am now able to at least get into the garden a bit. Getting transported to the hospital is the most outdoor action I’ve got in recent weeks and you soon get over how much you take for granted just being able to go outside. It’s been a challenge but hopefully by the time lockdown gets lifted, my physio will be coming on and I’ll at least be able to sit in a car. 6 cycles of chemo in theory takes me to around November 2020, if they decide to go that far. They may stop at 4 depending on how well I handle it.

One thing I have taken out of this whole journey is how damn lucky I am compared to some people, and that there is and will always be someone worse off. I’ll probably try and keep some of these posts shorter but wanted to clear things up. Cancer is a funny topic, with many people not wanting to openly speak about it or experiences but I think it’s worth bring people up to date.

One thing I would say is in any circumstances such as this, is that please do go and see your GP as soon as something doesn’t look or feel right. Don’t take painkillers for prolonged periods of time to supress pain as the pain shouldn’t be there to begin with. I went after a month of persistent pain in my leg, and I’m so glad I did. I’d urge you to do the same!