Blog 141 Friday 23rd November 2012

I would like to rewind back to Blog 111 Wednesday 30th May 2012 I mentioned a very brave lady Melanie Swan-Horton I quoted  :

" A mother of two from Norfolk, took on a high protein diet and had a dramatic weight loss, size 16 to dress size 10 enduring hours in the gym and unfortunately putting her side effects down to her diet regime and gym. Mel has been diagnosed with Bowel Cancer the actual reason for her weight loss. Mel has had chemotherapy and bowel cancer operation but nothing more can be done the cancer has spread to liver and lungs...........................this very brave lady is terminal." 

I had the all time highest amount of "hits" on this blog as a result. I now need to bring the sad news......................Mel has lost her battle against cancer, her funeral is at 10.15 on November 26th 2012 at St Faiths in Norwich. Mel arranged the funeral in advance and requested family flowers only and asked for donations to www.big-c.co.uk

It appears that what kept Mel going in her last months, was her  `Bucket List' things that she wanted to do......... Mel did not complete her bucket list....... Mel's aim was to raise awareness. This should be an inspiration to us all there are many lives to be saved out there .................. Please bring Bowel Cancer awareness to everyone's attention in your network. ...................

Bowel Cancer Awareness

1. Around 34,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer in England every year and around 13,200 people die from the disease
2. Over 93% of bowel cancer patients diagnosed with the earliest stage of disease survive five years compared with less than 7% of those diagnosed with the advanced disease
3. An estimated 1,700 deaths from bowel cancer could be avoided each year if survival rates matched the best in Europe
4. Further info http://www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk/25th-anniversary/

 

Blog 140 Tuesday 13th November 2012

Superstitious? no not me. I was born on the 13th. I have flown longhaul to South Africa on Friday 13th and returned a month later on Friday the 13th. Unfortunately it was the 13th May last year that revealed the cancer had spread to my lungs, otherwise i love the 13th!!!
  
Wendy often says "I wish I could take away your pain " or "I wish I could share this burden and fight this battle with you"..............a previous story from the Sydney Telegraph takes me to a similar plight from Vashti Whitfield "I couldnt fight the battle for him" this concerns Andy Whitfield.

In 2009, Andy landed the lead role in the TV series Spartacus: Blood and Sand.  Andy was diagnosed with stage four non-Hodgkin lymphoma and lost the battle in 2011. I watched every episode of this series, which was  full of action and Andy was a brilliant actor. Vashti, lives in Sydney and has a very interesting blog http://www.maybemcqueen.com/category/blog/  We miss Australia and had it not been for the bowel cancer would still be there I'm sure. Today, marks the first total solar eclipse in Northern Queensland the last until 2028..........A time of change

 

Blog 139 Sunday 11 November 2012

Wendy's Blog

I made the Christmas Cake today, and while doing so I could not help comparing the making of it to life. As I weighed, chopped, boiled and stirred the ingredients, I compared it to different events in our lives. We have had a lot of horrible things happen over the last few years, but mixed in with the horrible has been the good times as well.

It is the same as the ingredients for the cake, a glace cherry on it's own is very sweet, raw egg can make you sick, brandy burns your throat, and flour is so dry. But mix them together and you get a cake. Now the end product can turn out very differently as well, you can burn it, the cake can flop, or it can be perfect. It is up to us to take those ingredients that life throws at us and turn it into something to be proud of, a life worth living.

John's cancer is an ingredient, a part of our lives and no matter which way it shapes us we will draw strength from it and survive!

Blog 138 Sunday 4th November 2012

Just a very quick blog I have not been offered any further Chemotherapy by my oncologist, it didn't work the first time so why should it work again?

I was upset at first, then relieved that I wouldn't be going through the winter months enduring the Oxaliplatin and its side effects. I am however on a strict surveillance regime of a CT scan every 3 months.As my oncologist explained the "Harder" drugs for cancer are for established cancers and mine although returning on two occasions is not established.......................touch wood.............or pray......................  

Blog 137 Saturday 3rd November 2012

I am getting ready for my Oncologist appointment today at 11.15am in Northampton. I would like to thank the person that left a message on the blog which concerns the experimentation of screening for Bowel Cancer by blood tests.   Quote...............................................,

'Test for Bowl Cancer' Daily telegraph Sat. Nov 3rd 2012. Australia.

Australian scientists believe they are on the brink of delivering an affordable blood test to identify bowl cancer. At the moment, screening relies on people returning stool sample kits they receive in the mail. But less than 40 per cent of eligible Australians participate in the free federal government program.

The new blood test has been developed by biotech company Clinical Genomics in collaboration with the CSIRO and Flinders University in Adelaide.
It could be commercially available by late 2013. The blood test is currently being trialled on 3000 patients, with results detecting 73 per cent of cancers'.....................unquote

 

The current method is bowel cancer screening  In the UK only 50% of the test kits are returned !!! Come on you guys if you get a kit use it and send it back..................It could just save your life and prevent your family going through Hell if you are later diagnosed. 

Wendy's Blog

Talking about putting family through Hell, the only "Hell" that I have gone through is watching the man you love going through pain, uncertainty and psychological trauma and there is nothing I can do but support, hold and comfort. The other hell is trying to support a 10 year old who has seen and had things explained to her that no 10 year old should see and hear. We had her in counselling for a few months to try and cope with everything she has had thrown at her this year and it is comforting to know that she has "good coping" skills.

However I am lucky in that I manage a district and therefore I am classed as a home worker. I manage my diary 90% of the time and so I can schedule in John's appointments, and be with him when I can hear and see that he is not coping. My work has been incredibly supportive and has supported me when I need it. I say lucky because if I was office based it would be so much more difficult to offer this support and maybe we wouldn't have coped as well as we have. On the flip side there are times when the stress of  doing my job and dealing with setbacks with the cancer does get to the stage where you just want to walk away and hide. However that is not an option and I cope because John is my husband and the love of my life and I will be there for him as his crutch as he is there for me. Family is the key to overcoming adversity in your life.