Well they told me today that I would have to have radio therapy, which is a bit of a bummer.
I hadn't expected this as I had been told that this almost certainly wouldn't be necessary as surgery would almost certainly remove all of the melanoma. What happened was that 9 lymph nodes were removed from my neck and shoulder. Ouch I hear you cry.
Eight of these were intact. The ninth showed signs of "extra capular spread". That is it was burst. My surgeon, the brilliant Tamir Shoaib removed the muscle around the burst node but there is no way to be sure that all the cancerous cells have gone. They probably have but Radio therapy is used as a "belt and braces". I have to be fitted for a mask, which will be used to ensure that only the target area is hit by radiation. Then six weeks of radio therapy. Unfortunately I will not glow in the dark which would have been quite cool.
This is of course a bit of a set back, but I'm not worried. An individual as pig headed and stubborn as me simply will NOT be beat by cancer. So I fight on for another round, but I will get a knock out in the next round I'm sure (Cue theme from "Rocky", bit I'm running up nae B!££$% steps!)
On a lighter note my new hat is absolutely spiffing. So much so that i have taken to wearing it indoors and am morphing into Grandad from "Only Fools and Horses". Thomas seems resigned to being Rodney but I cannot get Elizabeth to respond to "Del Boy".
Hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year and that you join with me in sparing a few moments to think of the friends and familes of those killed in the awful incident in Arizona and indeed all other victims of crime, hatred and tyranny throughout the world
I'll see you on the other side
Harold
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Here is the text of an email reply I made to one viewer of this blog to clarify a few issues.
ReplyDeleteActually they think they probably did get all of it (the cancer) but they can't be 100% sure, due to the ruptured node. Radio is really a belt and braces. To be honest, if I was on my own, I might take my chances without it, but there is Elizabeth and Thomas to consider and as I said to my consultant, Tamir Shoaib, I have a duty to my wife and son, to stay alive.
Thomas is doing pretty well. He is a tremendous support to me and always urges me to stay positive. I worry that he is putting a brave face on things for my benefit.
I bought the hat because I'm now paranoid about exposing my head to sunlight, especially as I now have a fairly large bald patch there. It's a trilby very much in the 50s style as sported by members of the Vegas Rat Pack, particularly Frank Sinatra. I think it is cool as f!£$ and it rarely leaves my head. I will try to get a photo arranged and no doubt this will become my profile picture.
Hope you and the family are faring well. Give me some news!!! And are you ever going to have your own FB profile or are you always going ot pose as your wife? I do think FB is great. It has enabled me to keep in contact with relatives abroad and long lost friends.
Thanks very much fornyour kind words. They are very much appreciated and a great support to me. I am as you say "a fighter" not through any great courage but because I'm just pig headed, and I have adopted this slogan
"I am a cancer FIGHTER, not a cancer VICTIM"