Kicking Cancer's Butt because it's got a hold of mine

As we hit the new month of October we as a family will mark 6mths of living with stage3 Bowel Cancer. It also happens to be the month of my eldest daughter Kirsty and my own birthdays 🎂  Up 1st will be Kirstys on the 13th then my own on the 25th I will turn 53 years old & no prizes for guessing what I'd like for my birthday!  It's been a difficult time since chemotherapy was halted, I have been sick on almost a weekly basis, not being able to hold food down. Medication is helping to correct this. September was in part a good month we managed a trip to Turkey 🇹🇷 just Deb & I it was so good to get time together and to relax.  Since coming home it's given me time to think about what the surgeon and stoma nurse said about the operation itself and the procedures they want to do. I have been looking at double stomas and how people cope, I've looked indepth into the quality of life with them, how people manage, how they fit the stoma around their new life, the huge ...

To spend any time with the ones you love is always going to be special to get to spend some of that time on a holiday you never thought possible was just amazing.  Here are just a few snaps from our speacial time together.  Whilst being away you get time to press that reset button, to forget cancer for a while and to just enjoy the company of the woman i have loved for over 30 years. Time really is  precious. We had a great week in Turkey relaxed and watched the world go by from the beach. On the wednesday before coming home I started to get physically sick, this would last until I got home to Wales. Only in the morning at first but once home it started to worsen, the team at Velindre hospital were amazing and quickly adapted my medication. Things have now thankfully settled down somewhat. Its now 2.10am on Wednesday 7th September 2022 and im sat in my chair  writing this blog worried about whats going to happen in the later hours of this morning, you see I get the r...

Anniversary Breakfast  Although I have had no chemotherapy treatment for 4 weeks now I feel relatively OK, a little tired at times but I'm ok. We had cause to celebrate these past few days more about that later.  I want you to try understand something first, seeing the same four walls minute by minute, hour after hour, day after day, week after week and month to month is proving very difficult for me when I'm at my lowest I don't see past the bedroom. It's seriously starting to get this ever positive person down, this is not a healthypositionto be in I needed to try do something. Going to Maggies the cancer charity at Velindre helps and i saw a gentleman who has his stoma and is managing well, We went to visit Debs cousin Sally and Glen the other day and her uncle Richard and auntie Sue later the same day Been a while since we saw them all so pleased we did. When I got home I was so shattered. Sleeping is an issue I can't get a full night's sleep I'm not run...

Here we go again  Yesterday I had my blood tests ahead of chemotherapy treatment Friday..................... or that's what I thought, after the tests I had my consultation with my care team at Velindre hospital who told me that due to the continued complications I am experiencing with chemotherapy (mainly that I've had 2 near death experiences with it) they have again now decided to once again call a halt to the treatment, so no chemotherapy for me Friday.  What now? I already had my CT & MRI scans booked for the end of August, the team now have brought them forward to the 17th August 8.45am they want to see what the 5 days of intense radiotherapy and the 2 bouts of chemotherapy has done to the Tumours, these scans take place just 2days before Deb and I 29th Wedding anniversary. My they say in sickness and in health what this lady has had to see me go through these past few months would put a strain on any marriage but not ours. We go from strength to strength.  The ...

Finished my 2nd round of chemotherapy I say finish because during the treatment half way through to be precise my body started reacting to the poison being sent throughout my body and my throat went into spasms causing the team to call a halt. I was taken to the ICU for observation then sent home around 8pm. For the next 9 days I was very poorly hardly ate and felt so sick and so very weak. My wife and children taking care of me every step of the way. Even young Anton has started to step up and help his Baboo when I need him to he makes me jam on toast or is that toast swimming in jam. I had a lovely visit from 2 of my running group runners Lucy and Jack they brought me a care package and although I wasn't able to see them I can't thank them enough it really cheered me up. Exactly a week after treatment I was in a lot of pain so I myself called the treatment line who called me in for observation, Deb drove me to Velindre hospital where they took bloods and stool samples I laid ...

July 2022 8 days after my final radiotherapy treatment the side effects started to take hold of my body. It started to hurt to poo and I was  severely suffering from constipation, when I did go it felt so sore and I found it incredibly difficult to walk.  I was due to start chemotherapy on friday the 8th however on the Wednesday 6th I had an appointment to see my team at Velindre hospital, Professor Richard Adams examined me and explained my bowel was suffering from inflammation caused by the radiotherapy there was also a tare in my backside passage caused by the constipation I was given a change of medication and I had some tablets that I had to insert in my bottom a very uncomfortable thing to do I can confirm. For 2 weeks I suffered really painful experiences going a poo, to pass wind also made me scream out involuntarily. I started to leak blood through the night so Deb purchased me mens protection underwear, this felt weird felt like a bloody nappy but its done the job th...

June has been a busy month but now it is coming to an end its time I reflected, June was a month where daily injections into my stomach stopped and I now take blood thinning tablets instead, A month where my Picc line came out and a month where I had intensive Radiotherapy treatment.  It was also the month where we sadly had to say goodbye to Dame Deborah James although this incredible inspirational lady has passed away at the young age of  just 40, I for one are so grateful for the work she did in raising awareness of Bowel Cancer, I have listened to her podcasts and followed her last few months journey on social media. Her work has inspired me to use my cancer to help others I want to share my story the good the bad and the dam right ugly to help others I want others not to be embarrassed about talking our toilet habits or our poo for that matter.  So I had my last radiotherapy on Wednesday 22nd June and a week later how am I feel...