Thanks guy's, I really need your support right now.

We are all with you, Dougie.

I`d also like to echo other people`s comments Dougie , I am really sorry you seem to have received devastating news.

I can't add any more to what has been said in here, just hope you do have the strength to cope with it all as well as keeping as comfortable as possible.

Thank you all, so very, very much. The kindness you have shown is unbelievable. 

As I have two appointments at Guy's tomorrow. there will be no further updates, from me, until tomorrow evening.

This is a PM I got from Dougie. So sorry to be posting this. I know you all share with me the desire to support Dougie and will want to give him encouragement and confidence to post in here. As well as giving your support to continue his fight.  I know that goes without saying!

Whilst the news is devastating and will take a lot of getting used to, it isn't all negative. Being positive and realistic will take a lot of strength, but you must remember that where there's life, there's hope. I want to say a lot more but I think you need a little time to come to terms yourself. Your thinking will become clearer over the next couple of days.

I am going to copy this to the forum, so your friends there know what you're going through, as I know they'll want to give all the moral support you deserve.

As per the post By Caz --- Not the news anybody would like to have Dougie. Stay with life and enjoy the days. My first wife had similar conditions and was given the option of Chemo. Went to hospital to have the line put in but was too weak. Stayed in hospital but passed away after a couple of weeks. She did have cancer all over but passed with thrombosis which was a blessing in the end. Some 12 years now since that happened and now happily marries again.... Be brave Dougie think  of the good ting in the life you have led. We shall be here for you.. 

The important thing here is to concentrate on the positives.  A 30% chance is better than none at all.  The fact that there is alternative treatment is also positive.  Nobody knows the possible outcome but it wouldn't be offered if there was no chance of it working. So that is certainly reason for giving hope. Life is full of chances that we have to take.  Life itself is a chance.

My mum in law chose to have a heart operation with only a 10% chance of surviving it.  That was a few years ago and she's still with us.  It was a long and difficult recovery but she said she had to recover, so that the surgeons work and effort wasn't wasted.  She gambled her life against the odds and won.  Where there's life, there's hope!  

Hear hear! 

Odds are funny things sometimes. We hear of seemingly 'miraculous' survival against them from all over. What helps is strength and fight and you have that in spades Dougie, shown by your decision to fight this awful disease alongside the doctors fighting for you, too.

Odds are there to be beaten my friend  You better have enough space on your mantelpiece for the Christmas cards 

Best wishes for your treatment Dougie. Hope it works 

Sorry not to have posted before but this is a raw subject for me as I have recently lost someone close to me with the same condition as you, though they had allowed it to spread too far before seeking treatment. 

I concur with this entirely.

I've been reading this thread frequently and am rooting for you. Fingers crossed for some good news.

Ah Dougie really sorry the news wasn't better yesterday.

Can't add much more to what everyone has already said other than to say I'm trying to send as many good vibes as I can muster to you and will be keeping you in my thoughts.

Hopefully you'll respond to the new Chemo better than expected and shortly you'll have some good news for a change.

Fingers crossed for you my friend.

To those of you who find it hard to talk about cancer - I fully understand and I know Dougie does because he felt exactly the same before this thread started.  I lost my mum to cancer in June but I found talking helped me, so I persuaded Dougie to talk openly on here.  I know it's hard to begin with but talking gets easier once you start and is a release that we need.  It doesn't make the situation better but it makes it less isolating and more understandable.  We need to understand cancer to be able to fight it.

I know Dougie would encourage you all to talk about it.  It might help him to feel less alone if experiences are shared and it might help those of you grieving for loved ones too.  It is helping me, although I know we're not all the same.  I know what it's like to watch someone you love fighting this disease.  It's indescribable.  But I really can't imagine what it's like to be the one with cancer.  I hope I never do but if it happens, I'll take strength from Dougie's determination.

I can't imagine how Dougie must be feeling right now.  I know words won't make him better but they'll give a little comfort and to know that people care and understand means an awful lot.  I also know that Dougie would be pleased if his thread is helping others.

I applaud Dougies courage to talk about it. I can't imagine what hes going through either.

I had two cancer, scares myself in 2011 )penile and lung) and it was scary, even had lung surgery to potentiall remove the whole lung thankfully they found nothing (whatever had been on all those scans had gone).

I had a lesion in my mouth in 2013 (Leukoplakia - A large white patch - Formed on the side of my tongue)

I had to go through biopsy (which came back as moderate dysplasia, which means pre-cancerous) followed by laser ablation to remove the lesion.

Was a very scary time between the referral, biopsy and diagnosis...

I can't imagine what Dougie is going through because my little "scare" was worrying enough for me but it was nothing like the ordeal Dougie is facing.

I can't praise Dougie enough for his courage and stoicism in talking openly about all of this while going through it all himself as the same time..

Ah, Dougie, you deserve a break, mate. You're in all our thoughts and I'm sure, like me, everyone here sends their heartfelt best wishes to you. Be strong, fella.

After a long and arduous day, with a few glimmers of hope, I had been holding up quite well, but on reading all the very kind, wonderful posts, I have just cracked up.

Thankyou all, and I will try to get back later once I am a little bit more composed.

OK, after some raw emotion and forty winks, I now feel able to at least attempt an update of today's proceedings.

Let me start by thanking Caz for sharing the PM I sent to her late last night. I guess in my own little way it was what I wanted Carol to do, the contents of which were very difficult to write, but as I explained in the text, I needed for her to know what was at stake. Thank you Carol.

On to today, well my old friend the catheter was removed around 11am. and the somewhat worrying period began as to whether I would be able to pass water on my own. I was encouraged to drink lots to fill the bladder, but the need to empty the bladder remained absent. On a lighter note, I enquired as the whether my equipment would return to default, or could there be some involuntary leakage, where upon I was provided with a nappy. I was worried about this because the time was fast approaching when I needed to walk from the older part of the hospital, into the new Cancer Wing. Anyway, I offered up the nappy, pulled up my undies, and started the journey to meet the Macmillans doctor. Well, the best laid plans and all that, half way across the main, somewhat crowded auditorium, the nappy developed it's own mind, and decided to part company. I did manage to stop it appearing out of the bottom of my trousers, and then remove it in the toilet, without embarrassment. Probably a little too much information I know, but there is usually a humorous side to most things.

The meeting with the Macmillans doctor was very business like, and perhaps went some way towards trying to address the nausea problem, time will tell. He put me on steroids, and doubled up on the anti sickness pill, which I will take tonight, and see how things go tomorrow. The rest of the palliative care team will come on line over the next few days.

Back to the clinic now, still no requirement to pass water, but I was introduced to a self fitting catheter. A brilliant bit of kit, which will stop any further incidents as in 10 days or so ago. It's a one off fitting, so would relieve any discomfort in case of a problem, and also provide a huge amount of peace of mind.

Eventually, I was able to empty my bladder, which was measured, and a scan of my bladder showed that only around 100ml of fluid remained, apparently this is quite normal. A further emptying, followed by another scan, proved that all was normal, so they let me come home.

Not as bad a day as I was expecting, so am happy about that. The battle starts afresh as of now. I am now aware of the enemy, and between the chemo and myself, the idea has not changed, that of telling the cancer where to go. I recognise that this will not be easy, but I will give one hell of a go. Not only do I want to see next Xmas, but also many more beyond that. The future starts here.

 Again, thank you all very much for the wonderful posts, you guy's really know how to support those in trouble.

Ha'way the lads