Got a date for my new Portacath-Monday 20th october at 11 am - that's today! However , I got my new port in on Friday due to the forward thinking staff of the NHS . There were talks of a strike by radiographers , and it was set for today , so the charge nurse from interventional radiology was checking the lists and phoned to see if I would be able to come in sooner. I went for blood tests on Thursday to check my clotting screen was ok , and had the procedure done on Friday morning . The staff were incredible , as ever , so I am now in my own house waiting for the incision sites to heal up , and will start chemo next week - bring it on!!!
A bit of a sad day today , as the actress Lynda Bellingham has died following year long treatment for bowel cancer . Unfortunately ,when her disease was found , it had already spread to lungs and liver . I had a few conversations with her on Twitter , and she always seemed upbeat and positive . God bless her x

My little

Chloe

granddaughter is over four weeks old now - time flies ! She is the apple of our eyes and a real delight !

I should really keep this up to date , because so much happens that I forget about!
I had two doses of chemo , and everything was going well until the second week of my second  chemo. I noticed on the Wednesday  that the area over the portacath was quite pink looking.I had never noticed this before, and it didn't feel uncomfortable , so I just ignored it! The next day it looked a bit worse so I phoned up the Beatson helpline for advice. They advised me to go in to the hospital and to bring an overnight bag in case I was kept in.
I got expert attention from the moment I arrived , and was subjected to a lot of different blood tests , mainly to find out if there was an infection anywhere . I was started on IV Vancomycin and IV Gentamicin , which meant regular blood monitoring to check I was receiving the correct dose . I was kept in hospital for eight days , which I wasn't really happy about , as I wanted to get out and visit my new

Chloe Harper

granddaughter .
I always hear lots of complaints about hospital food , but I must say that the food was always tasty and warm ,and i even put on weight while I was in !!

Chicken and mushroom casserole ,with Brussels Sprouts and baby potatoes-Hospital food is good!

Roast pork,with potato croquettes and broccoli - lovely!

 After about a week , the doctor said that my portacath would have to be removed , because , by this time , there was a lot of pus oozing from the site . The prof who inserted the device came to see me on the Thursday afternoon and said he would remove it that day. He was true to his word and removed it on the Thursday evening .
I was getting quite impatient about being in hospital , despite the excellent care I received. I had tickets for Still Game at the Hydro and had been looking forward to it for so long . The doc had said that they would let me out for the evening if need be . As it was , I was discharged in the afternoon and was able to make the show , and it was hilarious !

We got a new wee arrival to our family on Friday 19th september 2014.A beautiful wee girl called Chloe Isabella Harper was born.A first grandchild for Bill and me.She was a couple of weeks early,but is perfect in every way.well done Paul and Claire!

Chloe Isabella Harper

Proud grandpa Bill

Proud gran Anne

proud parents

On Monday 1st September , I  had an appointment to get a portacath inserted.The procedure was done in the radiology department of Gartnavel hospital.The staff were incredible-a professor , registrar , nurses , medical students , and radiographers - all there for little old me.Our NHS is just wonderful - hope it can stay that way !
In the afternoon I went to see my oncologist and was prescribed my treatment , including my new wonder drug , for the Wednesday.
Went to Beatson on Wednesday and was hooked up to chemo , which lasted about six hours in total .

My new line

ready for take off

Just chilling!

No problems during the infusion . Paul had downloaded some comedies for me to watch - Max and Paddy , and Phoenix Nights - absolutely hilarious ! Peter Kay is a very funny man.
Went home with my chemo pump in place and had it removed on Friday. One of the side effects of this chemo is the problems with nerve damage to hands and feet , made worse by coldness.Thankfully , the sun has been shining constantly since I got my chemo , although I am sure that will not last !
Went to see Paul and Claire's new house on Saturday-they have moved to a place called Woodilee Village , which is in the grounds of an old hospital - beautiful area , and beautiful home !

Decided to get my hair cut as it was getting unruly , don't know if I will lose it again with this chemo , but at least I know what that is like .

before

After

All my life I had curly hair , and all my life I wanted straight hair-be careful what you wish for !

On 14th August,Bill and I travelled down to London to attend the Loncon.

We went first class on Virgin trains, and it was a very enjoyable journey! We stayed at the Hilton Hotel in Canary Wharf.Very nice hotel and close to the Docklands Light Railway.
The convention was held at the Excel centre,which was massive-just as well,as there were ten thousand folk attending!
It was a lot of fun, and there were a lot of interesting people there, especially Guy Consolmagno

Bill with Guy Consolmagno 

There were loads of folk in costume as well - each to their own !

A highlight for me was sitting on this throne!

We had a great time there and I even let Bill visit the local football ground!

We went toWestminster cathedral while we were down-beautiful place!Bill got a photo taken there , too.

You would never guess he was a fan of Father Ted!


We came back home on the 19th August after a great time!






On 25th August,Bill and I celebrated our thirtieth wedding anniversary-quite a feat in this day and age!We are not "party people", so went for a meal at our favourite Italian restaurant , Qua,in Merchant City in Glasgow.

 Here are a few snaps of the evening.

Claire,Anne,Bill,Paul

Paul,Claire,Bill,Paul,Alan

Monday 14th July -was at the Beatson today , to see my doctor . He told me that my submission for Avastin has been approved - looks like I am getting it after all ! I will commence chemo with the Avastin at the end of August . Got a ct scan and bloods to get sorted out before then , and the little matter of the Loncon in London -Look out London , I am coming to get you !

Don't get too excited now-another post so soon? Maybe I have been affected by the sun-yes ,we do get sunshine in Scotland occasionally . Last Wednesday , (9th July) , promised to be a glorious day,so I asked Alan , my nephew , if he fancied a day out somewhere , as we were both at a loose end . I suggested the open top bus tour of Glasgow , as it was the perfect day for it - he said this sounded good. We got the train to Queen Street and then went to the bus stop in George Square for the tour bus. It was quite busy with tourists , but we managed to get seats upstairs-Alan had never been on an open topped bus before , so it was a novelty for him !

Alan about to set off on bus tour

Being a Glaswegian , I feel I know quite a lot about the city , but there is always something new to learn . We both listened to the banter of the tour guide , although I must admit it was a bit embarrassing that he only spoke the one language - it is for tourists , after all! I have been on bus tours in other cities , and the tour guides were multi lingual . He came across as a bit smug as well , but the tour was good , especially as it was lovely and warm . The tour is "hop on hop off " , which means you can get off at any stop and resume your journey whenever you like . We decided to get off at the

Riverside museum

Riverside museum , beside the River Clyde . Very fancy building , which has replaced the Glasgow Transport museum . After spending two hours wandering about the museum , we went out the back door and straight on to the

Tall Ship . Alan absolutely loves this ship - he worked on it for a while , and I think he would love to work on it again !

Alan scrubbing the deck!

The River Clyde

The River Police on the Clyde
                                                              

Another exciting instalment ! I have been refused Avastin-all political , I am afraid. If I lived in England there would be no problem , but living in Scotland , things are different. Anyway, my oncologist said there is an appeals procedure and that we should go ahead with that , as he thinks the drug would benefit me. I have written a patient statement ( basically a begging letter ), and it is now in the hands of the gods , or the board , to be more accurate!

I met up with my workmates for a long overdue catch-up and lunch . I have said before that my workmates are the best , and I stand by that! We went to Zizzi's in Glasgow and had a terrific time , and a terrific meal !

Bill and I haven't had a holiday for about five years , and it is very expensive to get travel insurance when you suffer from a condition like cancer . I was quoted £1,500 for one week's holiday in Europe-no chance , sorry! I started venting my spleen on Twitter , and got a message from a company called Flexicover to contact them as they said they could help - they sure did ! I got a quote for Bill and me for £29 for the week - big difference- will definitely recommend them!
So , Bill and I went for a week to Dublin - not too far away as I am still on daily injections of Heparin  , after the blood clot , and don't want to do long haul flights.
Was amazing-had never been before . Stayed in The Doubletree by Hilton -well , we are worth it! Dublin was very busy , more geared up to younger folk , I would say , but was very enjoyable . There are a lot of landmarks as Dublin has a great history and some very famous sons and daughters. Got my photo taken with a statue of the late Phil Lynott .

 A highlight ( for Bill ) , was a tour of the Guinness factory , , or the Guinness Storehouse , as it is known . It is seven floors of all things Guinness !

Was very interesting and very busy ! We got a chance to attend a tasters masterclass , which means we can call ourselves

Guinness tasters - I can't stand the stuff , but Bill enjoyed it! He also found his new favourite pub!

Another highlight was a visit to Dublinia . Had never heard of this before , but it was very interesting , and lasted about two and a half hours . The city bus tours were great , with some of the drivers singing Irish songs along the way . There was so much to see , that I think we will go back soon !

A few days after we got back from Dublin , Claire and I went on a wee trip to Manchester ( Claire's treat-thank you ).

We stayed at the Hilton , courtesy of Paul H. ( thank you ). It was very grand , if a little high up .

Our room was on the fifteenth floor - the view was terrific though !



We went on the

Coronation Street tour - which was fun . I am a great fan of "The Street" and it was a real treat for me. Claire and I got a couple of photos together .....

 and you might be able to see her bump, as she is carrying my first grandchild - something lovely to look forward to in October x x x

While in Manchester , we caught up with Paul , who has made his home there and is enjoying his drive time show on RealRadioXS.

We also visited the Trafford Centre-never seen anything like it in my life - amazing place - you could spend all day there ! Claire enjoyed the shopping experience !

                                                  

There is a "tweet-up" next week (5th July) down at Southwark cathedral in London , with a lot of my bowel cancer friends going along. I dearly want to go , and just might! you never know! Watch this space x x x

1st May: Went to Beatson today for results of ct scan.While the cancer hasn't spread to any other organs,there was no improvement noted after six months of chemo.The upshot is,I will be starting more chemo next month.Doctor wants to give me a bit of time for bone marrow to recover,and I will then start on my new regime- 5FU,Oxaliplatin,and Avastin. Oh well,let's party !!

I cannot believe it has been five months since I last put fingers to keyboard-(does anyone put pen to paper nowadays?).I apologise if anyone has been hanging on my every word and waiting for updates,but nothing much has been happening,to be honest.
I seemed to be sailing through my second course of chemo,and had a great Christmas and New Year with all the family.
January was January-cold and windy! I started to develop pains in my back whenever I took deep breaths .Being a nurse you automatically self-diagnose."It is just muscular" , I thought,"but I will mention it before I get my next chemo".
My sister gave me a lift in on the morning of my next chemo and spoke to the nurses.They took my observations.Temperature was high,which meant no chemo for me!I was admitted to the assessment unit in the Beatson and was examined from head to foot!I went for chest x-ray,which showed an opacity in my left lung.There were also decreased sounds in my left lung,so I was diagnosed as having a chest infection.I had a venflon inserted-they did not want to use my PICC in case that was the focus of the infection.I was started on IV antibiotics,and moved to a ward.I got a room to myself,which was nice!
My consultant came to see me the following day-nobody had informed him that I had been admitted-my sister happened to mention it to him,as she works beside him! He listened to my chest and said he would like to send me for a special lung scan,as he felt there could be more than an infection in my lung.He said that pelvic disease increases the chance of pulmonary embolism.I had the scan the next day and,sure enough,it showed I had pulmonary embolism,pulmonary infarction,and a super infection.Apart from that I was ok!I was started on daily injections of Heparin,to help break up the clot and was to continue on IV antibiotics as my temperature was still misbehaving.
The following day,the junior doctor came and told me that my blood tests showed that there was something wrong with my liver.She was going to send me for an ultrasound to see what was going on.I went for ultrasound next day,and the result showed no cancer,but a condition called non-alcoholic fatty liver.The doc said that this was probably caused by all of the chemo I had had and it should resolve in time.
Well, my temperature misbehaved for nearly two weeks-I had every blood test  under the sun .Was started on stronger IV antibiotics,had a blood transfusion (God bless blood donors!),and was very well looked after in the ward.The food left a lot to be desired,but I survived!
I was eventually discharged after two weeks,with a supply of injections to be administered by myself every day.I was used to giving other people injections , but had never had to inject myself before.
I let Bill do it for the first few days,but thought I might as well have a go,as he had to work late some nights,and it had to be given at roughly the same time.I managed fine!
I had a couple of weeks off chemo because of the PTE , but started back on it in late February.My hair had really thinned out to the point it looked better if it was cut really short.I got a lovely wig from a shop in Glasgow,but only wore it a couple of times.
Had a lovely Easter with all the family (apart from Richard and Shelley,who are in new York!), and have now completed the course of chemo.I can't say it bothered me too much-had occasional stomach cramps,but was never sick or bedridden because of it.
I had a scan last week (April 15) and am just patiently waiting on the results.I am ready for whatever it shows , but I would really like to get a holiday booked!No doubt the travel insurance will be sky high!