Hey Dougie. 

Great to hear you received positive news from the appointments yesterday - The fact you've managed to gain some weight is really encouraging (especially considering you'll also have lost some weight as well due to losing all that water retention)

Really excellent news.

Hopefully today's appointments will be as encouraging. 

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Glad to here that you are continuing to feel well Dougie, and that you are putting on some weight. That`s a good sign. 

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Thanks for the posts guy's.

This update will be short, and may be the last one for today, as I am very, very tired, after the last 2 days busy schedule.

I have now sorted out all the old problems with Macmillan, and they are now very much on my side, and representing my interests. I went on to a meeting with their doctor, a great guy, who was as pleased with my recent performance, as the consultant team were yesterday.

The minor hiccup of the day was blood sugar count. Although I am slightly diabetic under normal circumstances, my blood sugar levels were elevated today. Normally I am in the range of 5 to 9, but when tested today, it was 22. The reason may have been that I drank a hot chocolate whilst waiting, but more than that, having taken steroid medication, this also will raise the level considerably. After due consideration, with the level reducing, he agreed that it was probably just an artificial spike, and let me come home.

So all in all, a continuation of yesterdays great news, all I need now is to gain some strength for the next chemo onslaught on Thursday.

That's all for now. 

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All good stuff Dougie.  Keep the diet balanced and eat regularly to keep your blood sugar on an even keel.  Keep up the good news and get plenty of rest.

You can have a rest from my nagging for a week now!    I'm at the airport hotel and just settling for the night.  Take care of yourself and stay strong.   X

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Have a lovely holiday Caz! X
Dougie, you seem to be having a good run and it's excellent your chances are improving even if it is slight. Just goes to show the power of positivity. We are all here sending you our positivity for you too. Together we will beat this awful disease eh, you and all your friends. Good luck on finding the vitamin D though there's not much sunshine to be had but I'm sure the fresh air will help. Sleep well xx

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great to read your more positive news on the weight gain, Dougie...I really hope you'll be in the best possible position to face the next round of chemo full on!

Good morning all, thanks for the posts of encouragement.

There is not too much to say this morning as nothing has changed very much. I have had a goodish sleep, for me anyway, and am feeling somewhat more rested now. It's nice to have a day off from hospital visits, and just do my own thing. Bodily functions continue to remain positive, which is always good news, when there have been so many problems in that area. One thing I forgot to mention yesterday, is on the function of the steroids. I don't pretend to understand their full functionality, but in my case, they are prescribed to aid my appetite. They will be reduced by one tablet per day, on a weekly basis, over the next four weeks, so that at the end of the four weeks, they should no longer be necessary, if my appetite remains.

I am always glad to reduce any input from medicine, I know they help at times, but I would prefer to be pill free, and that is what I am aiming for, the only chemical I want in my body really is the chemotherapy concoction, which is important, and hopefully will soon to be seen doing its job.

It's a bit of a gloomy old day here right now, but I am remaining positive, and hope to get a bit done around the house. As things are fairly quiet for me, I don't expect to be posting as much, which will give you all a break, but I will update on any developments as usual.

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Good morning Dougie. Nice to know you had a good rest.. Pill taking is a  bind for anything. 4 in the morning then another TWO at in the evening. Every day is the same amount. The important one for me is the one I take for heart rate as it is slow. BP is taken regular twice a week. Would be nice to be free from all of it. . At least the sun is out here..    

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Good morning Art, yes we would all be better off without some of the drugs used these days, and some of them are totally unnecessary. At it's peak, I was taking 28 pills a day, I am now down to 9, which is directly related to my present treatment, and this will reduce further over the coming weeks. All other pre cancer medication has been stopped, without any noticeable affect. Enjoy the sun

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Had an appointment at Christie`s this morning for the blood test I have every 4 to 6 weeks. Last time i went Haemoglobin level was 81, this morning it was 74, which is bad news. If it`s still low next time I go I will have to have a blood transfusion.

The Darbopoetin I inject every fortnight has been increased from 400mcg to 500mcg. It`s meant to make the bone marrow produce more red cells but it doesn`t seem to be working at the moment.

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Glad to see you're still squaring up with both gloves on Dougie. Good news at the moment too. 

 

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The body does play tricks on us now and again Eric, I hope that this is just an isolated case, and things return to normal for you. It's not a field I know much about, but good luck.

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Thanks Bertie, it's the only way I know these days.

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Thanks Dougie, and good luck to you of course.

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All still good for me, chemo later today, will update tonight.

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Hope it has gone well..... 

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Good evening all, home at last, and even though I don't feel to bad, I think I will leave the update until a bit later on. This will give me a chance to un-frazzle my brain, and I do need to try to be concise when giving the latest information, I hope that you will bear with me. I am also in danger of falling asleep half way through, which would annoy me greatly, so with the news that things are not too bad, I will leave it there for now.

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Home at last.

It's always good to be home Dougie.Good stuff.

A little tune perhaps?  since you're a music fan.

Pink Floyd - ... home, home again... - YouTube

Thanks for the tune Tony, it's been a while since I heard that.

Well now, wow, the day as it wore on, turned into an adult portion. It's very hard to believe that the extra percentage carries that much of a punch, but that is the fact of the matter. It's hard to be positive all the time, especially when  trying to guess the unexpected, although there are vast similarities between the two types of chemotherapy used so far, but the impact of yesterdays treatment was huge, both mentally and physically. The mental impact is probably the harder to deal with, but i hope I have now come through the worst of it. the physical impact takes a lot longer to deal with, and really speaking, this has been the case since day one of the chemo, way back in January.

One of the side affects of the treatment is the damage to the nerve endings, there are many others, which I prefer not to discuss at this stage. Some simple things like tying shoes, undoing buttons, and the like,  are very difficult to maintain. I easily drop things like drinks, knife and fork etc., which is very silly, but annoying. Even typing this post is difficult, because I can't really feel the end of my fingers, but, if I give in to the simple things, I would have no chance with the harder aspects.

Thankfully, some of the other aspects, like daily bodily functions, have remained unaffected so far, but this could change rapidly, and would be a small disaster for me, so we will see what happens later in the day. Macmillan support is in full force right now, and are going to visit me today to make sure I can function on my own, and they are active in trying to get support from Social Services on a financial basis. this would take some of the burden off the huge expenditure I have been enduring over recent months, just to try and maintain some sort of semblance of a "normal" life.

Will update again once Macmillan have visited me. Please bear with me, whilst I try to get over the next few difficult days. Thanks.

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Glad to Macmillan is now sorting thing out. We shall be with you in your difficult days so post on...... 

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Sounds serious Bradders. Please keep us updated with developments next week. Hopefully those hemoglobin levels will start to come up without you needing a transfusion.  

All the best. 

 

Hi Dougie, sounds like the higher dose of chemo has really knocked you for six. Hope your OK in the next day or two. Keep us posted.

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Good evening all.

Today has been a very difficult day to deal with, both on a mental and physical level. To be fair, most of the mental anguish has been in dealing with the physical side, which have been quite severe. I am not sure with this new chemo how long this will last, but it would be nice if it went ASAP.

So back into the down side of my life, as compared with the relative easiness of the last couple of weeks or so. Macmillan came and went, but I was not able to give them the attention they deserved, but they are working away in the backgrounds on my behalf, to try to sort out a better quality of life for me.

Not much more to say now really, as I am having trouble putting into words what I want to say, so will leave it there.

Hope to update with better news tomorrow.

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Hi Gavin P, 

No developments next week as the wife and I are off to North Wales for a weeks holiday. I`ve had levels as low as 74 in the past (I was diagnosed with Myelofibrosis at the end of 2013). When my red cell levels go that low they give me a blood transfusion, and I`ve had 3 of those at Christie`s.

PS - My next appointment at Christie`s  is in early October so I won`t know what my blood levels are till then, although the consultant told me to go straight back to the hospital if I start to get any symptoms. 

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Those few weeks gave you the strength to survive, Dougie.

You're taking a hit at the moment and I'm/we're not surprised.

Now go to your corner, splash of water to the face,  towel down, get a bit of grease on the cuts and get back into the fcuking ring.

We are with you.

You are our Boxer.

Knock 'im out. Or we'll get Caz after you when she gets back from the hols.

Bugsy Malone - So You Wanna Be A Boxer Song By Gazza11123 ...