Monday 18th January 2016

A Whole Year On

I have just realised that it is six weeks since I added anything to this diary. I have had a busy time (lots of socialising and meals out – great fun), not to mention Christmas, all interspersed with periods of pretty severe fatigue (not surprisingly), and it’s been a time of mental and emotional adjustment after being given my cancer all-clear. I am now feeling a lot better and more integrated with myself in my new role as a cancer survivor, and still struggling with the absence of my creative mojo although it has returned in small measure. I have been busy tidying my studio and trying to restore it from being a dumping ground. I am very behind with all my office work but did manage to make a start on last month’s accounts today.

I went back to the Ricky Grant Unit on 8th January for my port to be flushed. There is still no sign of an appointment to have it removed, and if it is not in use, it has to be flushed every six weeks. I took the opportunity to make some cakes for the chemo-ites who were in on that date, and also a dozen cards that I’d made for the unit to sell. All the staff said how well I looked.

After lunch I went to the Lodge (cancer info and drop-in centre) for the monthly relaxation session and met up with the other two members of the Allerton Three (the three of us who met and became friends recovering from our bowel cancer surgery on Allerton Ward). We had a lovely get-together and a good laugh (as usual!) and have planned a girls’ lunch out in early February.

Cancer Diagnosis Anniversary and a Colonoscopy for my Hubby

Tomorrow is the first anniversary of the colonoscopy when my cancer was diagnosed. It feels very strange that it is exactly a year on. Stranger still is the fact that tomorrow, a year on to the very day, my hubby is having a colonoscopy to investigate his altered bowel habit. We are both hoping and praying that he is not about to embark on a similar journey to mine. Tonight he has successfully accomplished phase 1 of his preparation. Whereas I had Picolax which incapacitated me with severe diarrhoea continuously for the whole day before my investigation, he is having Moviprep (sounds like getting ready to go to the cinema!) which is taken in two sessions. Each one consists of two sachets which have to be dissolved in a litre of water and drunk in four 250 ml glasses over approximately 2 hours, together with 500 ml water. The diarrhoea is confined to a period of about 2 hours, and my hubby started about 20 min after drinking his final glass. He has done very well so far and I have tried to keep him going after his final meal, a low-fibre lunch consisting of chicken and mashed potato, by plying him with clear chicken soup, white grape juice and herbal teas! I am trying to vary his fluid intake to make it more interesting, in the absence of any solid food from 1 p.m. today (after lunch) until after the procedure.

Tomorrow it’s an early start for us both. I have to set my alarm to give him the first glass of his second dose of Moviprep at 6 a.m. He should be well past the second bout of diarrhoea before we set off for the colonoscopy at 2 p.m.

Stoma

Kermit, my stoma, is now 9 1/2 months old! How time flies. Everything continues to go well. Tonight, for the first time ever, I noticed a small stain on my underwear and immediately thought I might be experiencing a leak, but found instead, to my surprise, that there was a tiny hole in the seam of the bag. This has never happened before – I have heard of people having faulty bags but Coloplast’s track record has been very good indeed for me in this regard. I immediately changed it, and was quite glad in the end, because Tuesday is my normal bag-changing day (along with Friday) and tomorrow, with my hubby’s colonoscopy, I’ve got enough to contend with, without having to worry about Kermit! I was also very glad that it appeared today, one of my twice-weekly fast days on the 5:2 diet, when Kermit is a lot less active because I’ve eaten considerably less, and also it was during the middle of the day when he is very inactive anyway. I would not have been happy with a major explosion of a full bag!!

Rectal Stump

After the recent procedure under general anaesthetic to clean this out, it has been a lot better. Over the past few days, however, I’ve been getting bloody mucous discharge again, but so far am able to get rid of most of it by anal stimulation and wiping with toilet paper. Mr. Pullan, my surgeon, did say I may need it clearing out again in the future, but so far I don’t think it warrants that. I am monitoring it for now. [Subsequently: this did not last for long and I have had no problems since.]

Peripheral Neuropathy

I have been informed that three months after finishing chemo, the persistent variety of PN is likely either to start clearing up, or to remain the same, or get worse. Tonight my hands are definitely worse, with some weakness and pain and altered sensation in my thumbs. My feet remain as bad as ever, as does the Lhermitte’s and the urinary retention. I am monitoring it carefully and if things get worse I can contact Dr. Lo for an earlier appointment than my scheduled one six months after the last one, and a neurologist’s intervention may be required – not that much can be done, a far as I am aware.

Tuesday 19th January 2016

My Hubby’s Colonoscopy

The anniversary of my final colonoscopy and my cancer diagnosis, today was my hubby’s colonoscopy. All went well, and we both went into a small room with the nurse once he had recovered and had his cup of tea. We were reassured that his problem is not too serious – he has a patch of diverticular disease on the left-hand side which has been causing his symptoms, and the nurse said this was a sign of an “ageing bowel” (poor chap!). She said that if he took Immodium (loperamide) each day this should reduce the symptoms. It was normal to experience some pain. Contrary to the thinking in the past, there is now no suggestion that he should alter his diet in any way, as there is no evidence to suggest that seeds and nuts would get jammed in the small pits caused by the disease; the only suggestion was that he should eat plenty of fibre and drink plenty of fluids to keep things moving – but this is good advice to anyone, to maintain a healthy diet.

The first question I asked the nurse was whether there was any connection between diverticular disease and cancer – i.e. is there an increased risk of developing cancer because he has it? She reassured me that there was no connection; it is not like ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s. What a relief. One bag person in the family is enough – however, if he had had to have a stoma, there was only one name he could have chosen – Miss Piggy! We are happy to report that Miss Piggy remains in the realms of our imagination and Kermit will have to continue as a solo act.

I am writing this on 8th March – I haven’t updated this diary for some time so thought I’d better catch up a  bit! Since his diagnosis, my hubby has done pretty well and his symptoms, while still present, are reduced. He found a single loperamide capsule each day was too much, so the GP has put him on Fibogel, which is a powder you dissolve in water and drink, which he says tastes like that powdered orange juice we used to have years ago! He also has some loperamide tablets that can be cut in half if he needs those.

Comments from my old blog

Wheelchair
18 January 2016 at 08:58

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