I know many people have had wonderful care from MacMillan, but in the two cases of cancer I've been really close to - my father-in-law and my brother - MacMillan were useless and gave the impression they didn't really care. They certainly weren't 'there' when we needed them.

This might be worth a go, Dougie, as it reportedly lowers blood pressure, increases stamina and can help detoxify the liver and body in general.

http://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/beetroot-juice-benefits#healthy-weight6

Hi guy's, just arrived home from the hospital, and feel very tired right now, but will update today's action a little later.

I did find out though that Macmillan are already on my case, it's called The Older People Assessment Unit, the same people who removed the catheter, and gave other advice to me a couple of weeks back. Will expand on this a bit later.

Thanks for the posts, and advice from SEMerc, interesting.

Right, I must start off with a sot of apology to Macmillan, for the work they have put in on behalf. Perhaps I am going senile, but I did not realise who they were, as there is no reference in the Elderly Assessment Unit. Further to this, I have seen the palliative care doctor they provide, and I have an appointment with him next Tuesday. He has been most helpful to me, particularly with the anti sickness treatment. Home visits are purely at a local level, and I of course am not local to Guy's, but my name had been added to the list at local level, and they will contact me soon.

The chemotherapy today went forward without a hitch. There were one or two little extra's from the norm, and I managed to find out that I am still only receiving 75% of the full dose, because of doubts whether I am strong enough to withstand the full onslaught. A reassessment will take place over the coming days as to whether the full dose would be available to me. Mind you, 75% still feels pretty strong Because of the amount of fluids pumped into me in the last few hours, my appetite has waned slightly, and I did not eat as much tonight as I have of late, still nice though, chicken curry.

Toiletries still good, but the next few hours will be important in that respect, so a bigger dose of Senna is called for to keep things moving. Hopefully this will not interfere with my planned trip out later.

Just going back to Macmillan, for Mattys benefit, I had tried on several occasions to contact them individually over the recent past, but as I say, they come in different guises, and different names, so I was confused. It does not take much at my age, particularly with a partly frazzled brain to boot. The local contact is by the Dimbleby Organisation, and I will judge them on their performance.

The suggestion and link by David seems to be of interest. I know of some of the properties of beetroot, blood pressure etc., but this one is new to me. There are other vegetables, and fruits, which have good cancer fighting agents within, lemons for one, tumeric, which is awful to take, but could be useful, and I am doing a lot of research along these lines, so thank you for any suggestions.

Remaining upbeat and positive, long may it remain. Might update again later if anything changes, but for now, it's bye bye, and thanks.

Evening Dougie. Ha! Your parting line could have come from a Two Ronnies script. 

I'm glad you have got Macmillan on board and I know you'd said it was a one of their doctors who prescribed the anti sickness meds. They tend to operate in hospices locally but their services are everywhere, so it's not hard to get confused.  If they haven't already spoken to you about attendance allowance, I'm sure the local team will sort that for you when they get in touch. You are entitled to it and it opens doors to other benefits, which will go a long way towards your travel costs. 

Chicken curry again eh?  I had chips, egg and peas.  It's ages since I had chips and I really enjoyed them. On the subject of food and health benefits. Curry has turmeric in it, so although it doesn't taste good on its own, you're getting a bit in your chicken curry.

Have you got a smoothie maker?  They are ideal for getting the special health benefit food down you that you might not otherwise eat and on a regular basis.  I have a fruit smoothie every day and add things like beetroot, olive oil and root ginger, which is also a cancer fighting food similar to turmeric.  I cut beetroot into small pieces, freeze them and add them to the smoothie straight from the freezer.  Recipes and tips if you want them.  

Also, broccoli is reputed to help fight cancer and as I lost my father in law to prostate cancer, I make sure hubby and Daniel get it two or three times a week.  Always with Sunday roasts and sometimes in stir fries, omelettes, pasta sauce or home made soup.  I sometimes add a bit of raw broccoli to my smoothies too, which would be a good thing for you, as you tend to eat your main meals out  

Now I'm feeling hungry but it's almost my bedtime.  

So, it's goodnight from him and goodnight from me.  X

Evening Carol, thank you for the suggestions, I will look into them. My problem is that for most of my life, I have had the sort of jobs that entailed eating out, hence I have never been too adventurous when coming to preparing food. I did buy a blender some while back, with the intention of trying something different, but it is still in its box. I will do as you and others suggest, and open up a new field in cuisine.

The Two Ronnies I always enjoyed, there were some real classics of comedy there, and I do still watch some from them on YouTube.

I hope you manage to have some food before bed. 

No more food before bed Dougie but a nice mug of hot chocolate did the trick. I'm not really hungry as dinner was late. It's just that talking about food sets off that 'Pavlov's dogs' reaction in me. 

You don't need any culinary skills to make smoothies. Just a smoothie maker and a few ingredients, fresh or frozen and some natural yogurt in you fridge. My favourite:  a fresh kiwi fruit, a fresh banana, a slice of fresh root ginger, frozen pineapple chunks, frozen blueberries and a chunk of frozen beetroot.  Two tablespoons of olive oil, a dessert spoon of honey and top up with natural yogurt.

Zap it in your smoothie maker for about 20 seconds and drink.  I sometimes add other fruit and veg that's in the fridge and needs eating.  I especially like to add avocado if I can get them frozen from Tesco.  

Night!  X

Just to get you started on an adventure. Get that blender out of the box and set up.

Down the chippers, a cheese burger and chips, rush home before it gets cold, then pop it in the blender with a drop of milk and Ha'way the Lads..

 Sounds too easy Tony, but I am not too sure about the content. Runny burger and chips is not really my style, but thanks for the idea. I will make the effort to try other recipes however, as some sound really nice, and would do me the world of good, hopefully. I am not quite a Geordie, I was born and bred in Sunderland, so red and white through and through.

Still feeling good right now, so no nasty's from the chemo, and I am hoping for a good nights rest, to face the new day.

Speak tomorrow, nite nite.

G'night.

Morning Dougie!  I don't like the sound of Tony's liquidised burger and chips much either!  But it made me smile.  

Have a good day!  

Hey Dougie,

Great to hear things are progressing relatively smoothly with the new treatment plan. If you can achieve a response at 75% strength that would be good because you've still got more to play with should you need it (assuming your strong enough to take it) so there are still options for you from here.

Great to hear your still managing to eat and keep down food. Have you put on any weight in the past week or two?

Re. the shock you had when you received a copy of the letter for the GP... I always think patients should be able to "opt out" of receiving these letters. I'm not sure "the NHS" really understands just how "brutal" it can be for patients to see their treatment/prognosis/condition laid out in black and white in such a clinical fashion.

Thanks for the post Gavin. Blood tests before the chemo yesterday showed real abnormalities, so I appear to be handling the reduced dosage in a reasonable fashion, and I take that as a bit of a plus. As you say, still a bit to play with 25%, which can be introduced during further cycles over the coming weeks, and judging by the comments from the doctors will be necessary to combat the growth of the tumours.

If my condition, say as of today was maintained, ie. no further degradation, I could learn to live with that. My quality of life is not too bad right now, I am able to enjoy eating once again, the constant nausea and sickness has been reduced substantially, I am able to get out and enjoy some of my passions, all I need is a little more strength to combat the tiredness, and enable me to do the little jobs around the house necessary to maintain a decent living standard. This, I would hope would come from continued improved eating ability.

I did not get weighed on this visit, so don't know about weight, but it's always the first point of call when seeing the consultant team which will be on Monday.

I have mixed feelings about NHS letters. Apart from all the medical jargon which goes over my head, there was nothing new there that I had not been told about, but as Caz said in an earlier post, there is something about seeing it in black and white which can be very disturbing, and I guess you always have the option of not reading it I suppose. We as human beings, always quest for knowledge, so the temptation to read is quite high, even if the result is upsetting.

Today, although my appetite is not great, which is often the case immediately after the chemo, I feel little different from yesterday, so I am not going to complain. My rib, which has been a real PITA(work it out for yourselves...lol) seems slowly to becoming easier to live with, a bonus there, and I am able to get my shoes on more easily than of late, so the drain back from water retention is continuing. The sun is out, it's not too hot, and the world seems to be a better place, for me anyway.

Thanks all for your continued support of this thread, the page views are amazing. I hope to be able to continue with positivity for a long time to come.

You're a tough one Dougie.
A winner for sure.

I am not so sure about tough, Tony, I do break down from time to time, as you have seen,  but I think it's more of changing values as you get older. A simpler and more relaxing lifestyle takes over from the rush and bustle of youth, and new interests become important.

Folks like you, give me all the encouragement I need, thanks.

Hi Dougie. How are things today . For the feeling sick you might like to try ginger tea. Just great a half spoonful into pot and let it steep for a while. Or slice it into tea strainer and pour on the hot water and let it steep that way.. 

Hi Art, see above post for todays update. Ginger has been recommended quite widely, so I will be adding it to my next shopping list, thanks.

Glad to hear your spirits are still good and that you are handling the latest dose of chemo OK, Dougie 

Evening Dougie.  It's great that you're holding your own and keeping up the equilibrium.  

With regard to seeing things in black and white, while it does come as a shock initially, I think the reality of it is what we need to help us fight. We can only fight what we know about and I've said before 'know your enemy'. I don't know who said that but it was somebody famous and it's true.  So I would certainly want to read the truth but I can understand some might not want to.

My mum's cancer was untreatable and she never wanted further tests to see how it had progressed. In her case, I agreed because there was nothing anyone could do and no way of fighting it, so she had to accept it.  She decided to live with it but in a very positive way and she lived a year longer than expected.  If she had been able to have treatment to fight it, her approach would have been very different. 

Dougie you said you didn't know how to fight your cancer but I think your positive attitude and determination gives you a good advantage.  State of mind is so important.  There are other things you can do and you've already identified diet as a good aid.  I am a great believer in eating the right things and having a well balanced diet.  Of course a bit of what you fancy also does you good.  If your mind and body are in good shape, you're ready for battle.  X

Good morning all.

Not too much to say at the moment, but it has been a good day. Toiletries good, ate a fair bit, smoked haddock cooked in milk with a portion of mash, lovely, and also managed another toasted bacon and tomato sandwich at Blackheath tonight. Good company there tonight, and saw quite a few people I had not seen in a while.

Probably a years first  for me, on driving to Blackheath, I was playing my music, as usual. The USB stick in the HI-FI I recorded some while back, it contains 1000's of tracks, covering music from the 60's to the 20 teens, and on came a track by Bob Dylan, "Is My Love In Vain", which I sang my heart out to, more or less word perfect. I have not heard this track for years. The singing bit is the years first I think, so is this a sign of improvement, I think so, at least in mind anyway, not too sure about the singing though.

Fighting cancer, as Caz says, is largely about positivity, but you know, increasingly these days I find myself having moments of contemplation, only for a few seconds at a time, when I imagine a battle going on in my body, and I concentrate on a area of cell clusters momentarily, and think, Got you you b'stard. All part of the battle, maybe, but I hope it does some good.

All in all, life is good again, long may it continue.

Morning Dougie. Sounds like you did have a good day. Singing too!  If music be the food of love, play on (Shakespeare).  And if it gives you a love for life, then play it long and play it loud! (Me).  I'm getting handy with these quotes!  

Contemplation isn't a bad thing at all. It's funny you should say you concentrate on a cluster of cells and imagine the battle. Many years ago I saw a documentary where children, in Asia I think, were taught to do exactly that, to fight illness and injury. They were taught to imagine sending an army of good healing antibody cells to fight the baddies.  I do it and I always used to tell my kids to do it.  I suppose it's a kind of mind over matter theory but it's a positive one and I'm all for anything positive.

Have a good day and I'll catch up with you later.   X

Good morning Caz.

Your second paragraph set me thinking about the technique I had adopted, and it all makes sense to me now, this was the way my generation, and certainly all generations before me, fought illness. It is not something I had concocted by myself, it was taught to me by my parents, which I had totally forgotten about. Pre-dating Penicillin, which I believe started to be used during the second world war, and all the antibiotics regularly used today, drugs were crude and somewhat limited in their scope, so the only way to cure illness, was more often that not, the power of the mind, or at least to ignore the illness, and carry on regardless. A little history lesson there folks, but maybe something that should be used more widely, as todays independence on medical drugs, is probably doing us more harm than good, on a long term basis. Is the technique of self cure, as in the olden days the answer, comments from all who read this please.

Well now, after all the deep thinking, Saturday has started off sunny and warm here. I did not get too much sleep, maybe eaten too much, but I still feel good, and looking forward to a weekend of footy, and test match cricket. Sport has been a huge part of my life, I played most whilst I was able which kept me extremely fit, Rugby, Football, Cricket, Table tennis, and Motor racing, well into my 30's, and the fitness probably has helped me get this far. For the younger members reading this, get out and partake in sport at whatever level you are comfortable with, don't be a couch potato, and put down those damn phones.

You know, it's more or less impossible to walk down the high street, without bumping into folk glued to their phones, and I am afraid that now I don't try to walk around them, I will bump into them on purpose, just to make a point. Grumpy old b'stard? Probably

I have already had four text messages confirming next weeks hospital appointment this morning, and it's going to be a tough one, all at Guy's. The Consultant team and dietician on Monday, Tuesday sees me with Macmillan care team in the AM, with a further meeting with their palliative care doctor, in the early PM, then all things being equal, cycle 3 of the chemotherapy on Thursday, so a very tiring, but hopefully fruitful week to come.

That's it for now, sorry about the lectures, well I am not really, it's up to you what you do, but at least give yourselves a chance, please.

I am glad you are doing well Dotty, all power to you to keep it up, and I am sure that in the end you will feel so much better.

Today has been a funny day for me, I have not felt as good, probably the chemo, but I also found myself being very short tempered, not a usual trait for me. My appetite has not been as good either, I had trouble with my main meal, and also with a snack I had a little while ago.

I did some shopping earlier and found some little goodies to try. One was called Turmeric Zinger, a much better way than using the powder at this stage to get this ingredient into the body, and the other was Ginger Zinger, both organic. These were in Waitrose, and I have to say were not at all all bad. Will get some more although a bit on the expensive side, but that's Waitrose for you. I also bought apple and ginger juice combined, as well as a beetroot juice, I want to try these things before perhaps making my own.

Referring back to my earlier post, discussing mindset as a weapon, I am also of the idea that dreams are very important. Recently I have had a lot, some very positive, but some very negative. I am sure that this is another way the body fights, so I am hoping for more of the positive variety.

I am very tired now, so will leave it there. 

EDIT. Although still very tired, I am not sleeping for more than about an hour in total at a time, so have added to and edited this post, to fill in some of the detail. Toiletries still ok, so that is good, it's always a difficult time from constipation, immediately following the chemo. I am also feeling a bit more settled in my mood, but maybe that's because there is nobody around to initiate changes in that respect. Body core temperature is a bit too low, so will have to keep an eye on that. Keeping an accurate check on temperature is important at this stage of the cycle.

If I am still unable to sleep before normal awaking hours, I may go out early for some general retail therapy, I need lots of things, like cloths that fit better, some new equipment, and some general window shopping, something I have not done for a long time now, it all helps, and is better than staring at the same four walls all day long.

Enjoy your Sunday.

Morning Dougie.

You really are gathering some powerful weapons for your fight - nutrition, exercise and a positive attitude, with the latter being the most important as the other two depend on it.  It isn't easy to stay positive when you're not feeling so good but you have the advantage of knowing what to expect and you know the chemo sessions have their side effects.  You also know that you have better days and that's what you have to keep in your sights.

Thank you for the history lesson.  I know Fleming discovered penicillin in the 1920's but didn't realise it wasn't used until WW1. It's interesting that the mind over matter thing came up too.  We have become too dependant on prescribed drugs and have forgotten our basic instincts.  I personally steer well clear of medication and prefer natural remedies, although I've been fortunate to enjoy good health so far and I'm a stickler for eating well. 

Dotty, it sounds like you've really got into the swing of your new regime and it's encouraging that you're feeling the benefits.  All credit to you. 

Have a good day Dougie!   X