TWO big issues have haunted me since my treatment for bowel cancer in 2015 – insomnia and sudden urges to go for a poo at awkward moments! The good news is trouble sleeping since my surgery and all the radiotherapy & chemotherapy is easing – thanks to finding the right balance of pills, potions and […]
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Time to end the bowel cancer screening lottery
April is an important month for both me and those campaigning to lower the bowel cancer screening age. For it is bowel cancer awareness month and this year the charity Beating Bowel Cancer is asking supporters to write to MPs to end the UK bowel cancer lottery, which sees the bowel cancer screening age start […]
Read the rest of this entry »Moving from being cancer sufferer to survivor
It is now a year since my six months of post-operation chemotherapy finally drew to a close and I moved from fighting bowel cancer medically to dealing with the after-effects mentally. So many medical procedures took place during my first year fighting cancer – 2015 – that it came as both a shock and pleasant […]
Read the rest of this entry »You are not alone: life after cancer
Coping with life after cancer can be tougher than you’d think. But you no longer have to face it alone. For the medical world now realises that many people often struggle to cope with the emotional fallout of cancer, whether months or years after treatment has ended. It used to be assumed that the end […]
Read the rest of this entry »Handling the end of cancer treatment!
I never believed anyone might actually miss the routine that takes over your life during a year of cancer treatment. But strange as it might seem, there is something reassuring about the pattern of regular hospital visits, radiotherapy and daily doses of tablets and potions while you are preparing for your operation, and then, chemotherapy. […]
Read the rest of this entry »Road back to normality after chemo ‘house arrest’
Thanks to everyone for following my story about beating bowel cancer for the last year. In this blog, I want to share some tips about dealing with chemo side effects and trying to get back to some form of normality. Now, with radiotherapy, my operations and chemotherapy behind me, it is great to report that […]
Read the rest of this entry »A year in the life of fighting cancer
As the New Year kicks into gear, I can’t pretend not to breathe a sigh of relief that 2015 is over. For it has been 12 months of fighting bowel cancer; handling the side effects of chemotherapy and getting over not one, but two operations. Still, I’ve come through it more of less intact […]
Read the rest of this entry »My first bowel cancer anniversary !
As bonfire night falls, I’m reminded that exactly a year ago I was sitting down with a doctor at Middlesbrough’s One Life Centre to be told that I could have bowel cancer. It was a strange discussion! I had been referred by my own GP Dr Inder Basson for a colonoscopy after spotting signs of […]
Read the rest of this entry »Coping with chemotherapy
It is now two months since starting my second round of chemotherapy and I’d like to share thoughts about coping with the side effects through post-op recovery in the hope of helping others. I had some idea what to expect after being put on a five-week course of chemo alongside daily radiotherapy to shrink my […]
Read the rest of this entry »How cancer treatment is a bit like Snakes and Ladders!
It can feel like a game of Snakes and Ladders when you are undergoing cancer treatment. One moment you are rushing up the board, with MRI and CT scans and radiotherapy to attack the beast inside you. And then, with a poor throw the dice, you come crashing back down to earth with a delayed […]
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