Blog 115 Friday 30th June 2012

My MRI scan was quite eventful, whilst waiting and dressed only in the open backed, blue hospital, gown, an unfortunate sedated soul was wheeled through from the hospital A&E on a hospital bed,  and immediately wheeled into the MRI suite, an entourage of doctors followed, this unfortunate soul took my place which I gladly gave up, there is always others worst off than yourself..................

I was therefore quite late going in for my MRI scan compared to my original appointment time.  I always get quite claustraphobic whilst being drawn into the machine and always try and think of other things .........this time a song by Pink Floyd, popped into my head, "Welcome to the Machine" 

The MRI was a lot louder than I remembered,  headphones on and with my panic button in hand it was soon over. My MRI took approximately 30 minutes, and the wait for the results begins...  

Blog 114 Monday 25th June 2012

I have my MRI Scan appointment today at 13.30 GMT. This MRI scan is for my Head and has been ordered by my GP due to my suffering from Tinnitus since the Chemotherapy drug, " Oxaliplatin" was administered back in September last year. I was eventually taken off the drug in December 2011 due to this condition . My hearing has been tested as "Normal" and the MRI is a further test to see if there is anything present that may be causing this condition.

 The NHS has come through with a priority appointment as expected. Suddenly all the fears of "What if" come flooding back. My previous MRI scan revealed my bowel cancer had travelled to my lungs, so forgive me for being a bit pessimistic on my appointment today. I joined a very good web site some while ago, where you can discuss any form of fear or pessimism as a sufferer or carer  http://www.journeythroughcancer.com/ please check it out its full of good advice or somewhere to connect with others going through the same or similar journeys. An extract from this weeks message. on the journey through cancer web site

"We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear"
                                Martin Luther King Jr,
Rick, the author of this site and a Colorectal Cancer Surgeon, tells of a case this week "of a woman diagnosed with cancer 3 years ago but never came to see the oncologist due to fear. Truth of the matter is, she was curable then, but now is not. Trouble is, this isn’t the first time I’ve seen this and probably won’t be the last.  I’ve heard that just hearing the “c” word can create such paralytic fear."
                       
“I have a highly developed sense of denial”

                                      Gwinneth Paltrow

 At a recent survivorship celebration a gentleman shared that after 6 year of survivorship, a counseling session brought out the revelation that his radiation treatment markings (tattoos) were an all too constant reminder of his cancer and its treatment. Conventional wisdom would tell us that this is a classic coping mechanism, denial, getting in the way of somebody actually addressing the issue. Others may offer that you’ll deal with your issue when you are ready to deal with it, so denial gives you the space and time needed until you are ready to cope.

 Have you noticed a time, even many years after the event when denial actually protected you until you were ready to deal with a painful memory?  

My message is always the same, Bowel Cancer is curable if caught early enough. Bowel Cancer claims thousands of lives needlessly every year. Visit the Bowel Cancer UK website  for some great information.

Blog 113 Wednesday 13th June 2012

I had an appointment at The Corby Diagnostic Centre yesterday. I was seeing the Ear Nose and Throat consultant  regarding the Tinnitus I have previously blogged. I became involved with Tinnitus after the fourth chemotherapy session when Tinnitus suddenly effected me,  I reported this to my Oncologist and he took me  off the Chemo drug Oxaliplatin straight away. It is apparently a very rare side effect of the drug (I've had a few very rare side effects during chemo) I had to go through all the audio tests first before seeing the consultant. After the tests my hearing was reported as "Normal" so why do I continuously tell Wendy to "Turn the TV up"?....................pardon

Having had a thorough examination of my ears, the next stage is to see if anything is causing the problem internally. I was previously warned by the GP that referred me, that I would have an MRI Scan on my head, given the problems I have had with bowel cancer.

The ENT Consultant concluded that I need an MRI scan and this should be through in the next few weeks. Apparently I was treated as a priority case by the consultant that reviewed my referral letter, so hopefully this will continue and I will not have to wait too long for the MRI scan.   

Blog 112 Monday 4th June 2012

 Bowel Cancer UK volunteer week 1 - 7 June It was a very nice surprise this week, to get a "Thank you" card, and volunteer certificate, not to mention a decadent bar of chocolate, through the post.

It reminded me of the reason that I originally became a volunteer for Bowel Cancer UK. I wanted to tell everyone of my journey through Bowel Cancer then realised that having reached over 40 countries through my blog, my exposure via the Corby Evening Telegraph and Northampton Radio that I could possibly make a difference.

Now I am hoping that I may be able to raise awareness and make people think about the symptoms they may be experiencing in order to prevent to them, what happened to me. I am very lucky, that after all those years, a misdiagnosis, on-going  symptoms  and two major operations that I have been given the all clear. I caught Bowel Cancer early enough to make the difference. I now understand Bowel Cancer and so should you