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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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 »Helping cancer patients through the dark patches
More and more people are surviving cancer, but as I mentioned in my last blog ‘You are not alone: life after cancer’ that can just mean another chapter opening – and in this ‘Cancer-Talk’ I want to shine the spotlight on my local Holistic Centre and how it has helped get me through some dark […]
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 »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 […]
Read the rest of this entry »Getting prepared in mind & body for your cancer op!
When I left you last time, I was preparing to go into James Cook University Hospital for my bowel cancer operation following radiotherapy and chemo treatment. Now, I am out the other side – having been allowed home after only three nights for good behaviour! Quite a feat as I ended up having open surgery, […]
Read the rest of this entry »What’s radiotherapy and chemo like?
I hope this series of ‘Cancer-talk’ blogs is as helpful to non-cancer patients as it is to those going through treatment, particularly anyone following in my footsteps and undergoing radiotherapy or chemotherapy prior to an operation. When I left off in my last blog, I said how deflated I felt; not in having being told […]
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