Prep Day

To prepare for the colon procedure I had to follow a very strict regimen. I had to eat a limited 'low residue' diet and take some strong laxatives. The diet sheet included several things I don't normally eat, so had to go shopping specially for cornflakes and white bread. The laxative is taken twice, once in the morning and once mid afternoon, after which you don't eat until the morning of the procedure. By the end of the day it was apparent that I am resistant to laxatives! Not really good news. The procedure was fairly painless, but my colon wasn't clear enough for a full test. Saw some fascinating pictures of the inside of my colon! Results in a few weeks.

A surprise!

I had my appointment with the gastroenterologist this week and I was rather surprised by his possible diagnosis. I've been having bouts of diarrhea that left me feeling very weak and poorly, sometimes for several days. The consultant said that he thinks I am chronically constipated, probably brought on by the treatment - not what I associated with diarrhea! A very good diagnosis, though, as easily treatable! I have to go for an endoscopy at the end of August to check the bowel and I'm not really looking forwards to that!

The cancer talk at the university earlier this year reminded me to consider the environmental causes of cancer, so I've taken the decision to go vegetarian (kind of - I still eat fish and occasionally chicken) because red meat and processed meats are known to be associated with cancers. There has also been some research on the use of hair dyes and NHL that suggested there might be a connection, so after a bit of research, have used Henna to colour my hair back to dark brown. It's quite a change after all these years of being blond!

Spring at last...

It's now a year since I went to my GP with my swollen lymph, and here we are again with May blossom!

I had the 3rd maintenance last week and all seemed to go fairly well except for a bout of tiredness: my blood doesn't seem to get back to normal between treatments and the levels are quite low. In addition, my gut doesn't seem to have recovered yet from the chemotherapy and I've had a couple of episodes of feeling very unwell. Sometimes it's tricky to know if something is related to my NHL or the treatment or something new, so I've been to my GP. She doesn't want us to miss anything, so I've been referred to the gastro-consultant at the hospital and have an appointment at the end of July. Hopefully, it will have all settled down by then anyway.

Running going well, and I've taken up a new (very mad!) hobby and made some lovely new friends - see below for pictures! Must be something in the spring sunshine....

Blip

The 8 weeks since the last treatment seemed to go really quickly, even though I'd very nearly forgotten about being ill! Going for my blood test and treatment brought it all back though. When I met the doctor at the clinic I mentioned that I'd noticed what felt like a lump again in my groin and I was worried that the  lymph had swollen up again. He sent me for another scan to check. Fortunately, the appointment wasn't long -  just over a week - and I spoke to Ian today for the results. Although they don't know what I can feel (!) it is not a swollen lymph so no need to worry! A big relief all round.

When I was ill I really  missed being able to walk and cycle, so in January, as I started to get better, I took up running. Sue at work had recommended the Couch to 5K programme which is a series of structured podcasts that starts you off with 1 minute runs and gradually builds up to 30 minutes! I've followed the programme and have now finished week 8 and start tomorrow on week 9. I think I'm fitter now than I was before treatment! My hair, however, is still strange with bushy bits underneath and thin at the ends!

I went to a talk today at the university in the Science Centre by a visiting professor on Cancer - from cause to cure. It was a really interesting talk, covering the connections between environment, genes and age and how the different treatment works. The future for cancer is personalised drugs that take into account our own genetic makeup when planning the treatment. Hopefully, that will mean less toxic chemotherapy for patients.

Oh, yes, and I managed to finish my EdD assignment and passed! I start on the next module in May.

Maintenance

I had the first maintenance treatment 3 weeks ago and it all went well. Glad to say that there weren't any side effects at all! I'm feeling as well as I was before treatment - I've got back into piano playing and booked a few more lessons to get me back on track, I've taken up running and using the 'Couch to 5K' podcasts which are surprisingly good! I'll be back on my bike soon too! I had taken a break from my EdD course, but started that again last week and picked up my assignment that was abandoned part way through. My hair is re-growing but in a rather strange way - I wake up in the morning with it stuck up in all directions! Soon it will be its normal thick, straight self I'm sure.

It really is like childbirth - a few months later and all the pain and discomfort is forgotten!

Finally...

The last treatment was last week and the effects are just about worn off now. I was actually looking forwards to the last treatment and really looking forwards to it all being over. I had hoped that the after effects of this last round of treatment would be less severe than the others, but wishful thinking I guess! I've had similar aches and pains and my hair has had one last go at falling out, but finally feeling better this evening and preparing for work tomorrow.

Now that the chemotherapy treatment is over, I get 2 years of maintenance therapy. This is Rituximab injections every 2 (or 3) months which will keep the lymphoma in a dormant state. The Rituximab is the slowest to be injected, but has very few side effects so I should feel well. After the 2 years, I'm on my own! Hopefully the lymphoma will remain in remission for another 25 years... Even if it does return, they will only treat it if the swollen lymph are causing problems.

It's been a tough few months whilst having this treatment, but there are a few things that have been positive and I don't want to forget. The support from my friends and family has been really important to me and I really appreciate it. I'm lucky to have so many lovely people around me!

It's also much quicker to do my hair now and it's saved me a fortune in hairdressers!

Nearly there...

My review today confirmed that I will only be having 6 cycles of treatment, a big relief! However, my blood hasn't recovered sufficiently, so the final cycle of treatment is delayed until next week.