20. Cancer Diaries - Planning phase

Hey folks, I'm back and thought I would share what's been happening with me since my last fabulous update. 

First up, having been told of my cancer free status, the next day I took myself off to a conference and came away with some socks swag and a dose of Covid. It was my first time with Covid, I've been so lucky to avoid it until now. After a weekend of 40 degrees temperature I managed to shake it off quickly and get back on form again. 

If you've been reading along then you will have remembered that at the end of November I had a drain removed that was collecting lymphatic fluid following from my second surgery. Well, my body hadn't quite figured out what to do with this fluid, that would normally reside in my lymph nodes, now removed. My body kept generating the fluid and then parking it in it's usual spot under my armpit, but it had nowhere to go, so instead just pooled in situ. I ended up with a lump on my side which was uncomfortable and I felt like I had been thumped. The way to mitigate was to have it drained. Thankfully I didn't need to have another bottle attached to me, instead a trip to the Ultrasound department for a small procedure. 

I was injected with a local anesthetic on my side which I didn't feel going in as I'm still a bit numb around my wound area. The team proceeded to push the fluid out of me, while guided by the ultrasound to see where it was pooling inside. I had a large glass of wine removed (250ml). 

Blow me (as my mother would say), I was back a week later for another go, as another lump of fluid had gathered again. This time a small glass of wine (125ml) was removed. That's half a bottle of wine taken out so far and we're planning another session before Christmas. I'm suspecting it might only be a taster glass of wine (75ml) this time round, the amount is decreasing, thankfully. 

Funny thing, my left side is experiencing some strange sensations post operations as the procedures have affected my nerves temporarily. My tricep feels like I have grazed it and its a bit tender. My left side is numb in places. When I spray deodorant on, I have to carefully watch where I'm spraying as I can't feel anything in my armpit area. Also, when I take a sip of cold water, I can feel it trickle down my throat but also it feels like the water is going down the left side of me via my armpit. All very odd. These sensations should hopefully calm down over time. 

Meanwhile, no rest for the wicked and the next phase of treatment has kicked off, the radiotherapy stage. It started with a call with the Radiotherapy Oncologist, another member to my extensive medical team. This meeting had to be held virtually due to my Covid status, but it just shows how the medical world embraced technology during the pandemic to keep patient interactions going and are still happy to be flexible in their approach.

The next part was the planning stage which, had to be done in-person. Radiotherapy is a precise treatment. It is targeted towards certain zones on the body that require attention. For that to happen correctly then specific measurements need to be taken and plotted into the equipment. 

I spent an hour of my time lying on the bed of a CT scanner with a Radiographer, either side of me, using a ruler to take measurements of how high I was lying on the bed, the space between of my elbows as I laid into their required position and other stats and code that they chirped away amongst themselves. 

I was also scanned to capture more measurements and while I was in the scanner I was asked to practice my breathing. The radiotherapy will be targeted on my left side (where my cancer was). This also happens to be the same place where my heart is located. To avoid any risk to my heart it is best to deliver the radiotherapy when the chest wall is as far away from the heart as possible. This is managed through holding one's breath. 

I know what you're thinking, how am I going to manage this? Its a reasonable question, but believe me, I don't actually talk every second of the day. It is something that does require concentration and its more a mental exercise than physical one. A body can survive without a breath for quite some seconds, we don't usually practice it. For me, I need to practice holding my breath for about 30-40 seconds at a time. 

The breath hold raises the chest wall and this will be monitored by a little machine that is placed on my ribs. The radiotherapy machine is connected to this somehow and will only deliver the treatment once the breath is held.

The position and the measurements that were taken the other day are all tailored to me and these will be taken forward and used for each radiotherapy session. As I was walking out of the facility the Radiographer mentioned to me that I need to try to keep the same measurements from now onwards so that I'm all ready for the radiotherapy treatment to start in early January. This means don't diet (really?) and try not to put on weight. What could possibly go wrong, it's not like we're heading into a season of festive over eating or drinking, oh wait?

The other option is to have another planning session. Well, as we do like to say in project terms, it's best to measure twice and cut once. That may have to be the case for me. Let's face it, it's been one hell of a year. I'm going to celebrate Christmas and nothing is going to stop me. Cheers!