N3il's Blog

Update 2nd round of treatment 

I am now glowing after treatment, just like the ReadyBrek kid! and you can see with your own eyes my natural glow!

Wednesday 20th, I was in the Nuclear Medicine department in Guys Hospital for a pre-infusion test, just to check I was ok to go ahead with the next round of treatment. Fortunately, everything was ok. I also met up with Mike again my treatment twin! he is the guy who has the same type of tumour as me and so we are going through this together, which is very helpful for both of us. We chatted and went out for lunch after the tests to compare our individual experiences so far, which are pretty similar. He’s also a very friendly guy.

Thursday 21st, I was back early to start my treatment, which started with an infusion of a cocktail of drugs to protect my kidneys and stomach from the negative effects the radiation can have on my body. Followed by the second dose of Lutathera nuclear medicine. Which was also followed by another couple of hours on a drip giving a further cocktail of steroid drugs. Fortunately, again my body didn’t have any negative effects from the drugs, and by 4 pm I was able to come back home for the night. I had a good night’s sleep and have continued to feel well.

Friday 22nd, I was back up at 10 am for a 2D scan, which the doctor said was positive, stable and hadn’t changed in size. These results meant I didn’t need a further full 3D MRI scan. So it was a quick trip on quiet Friday morning trains. 

So now 24 hours later, I’ve still had no notable side effects and I’m still feeling well. Overall good news! I will be on Steroids and a few other drugs for the next 4 days. Last time I did notice my energy levels dropped after finishing these extra drugs, so I might still feel these effects again. I will need to semi-isolate for the next 2 weeks, but actually, the restrictions aren’t as bad as we first thought, it’s more about me keeping a safe 2-metre distance from others, the radiation can’t transmit through the air particles in the room. So all being well I am up for video chats, distance visitors or walks and talks over the woods! 

I was due to work next week, but that’s now not happening, so this will give me time to get over the treatment. I also popped out this afternoon to pick up my car which at the VW garage again, but that’s a full story for another day. 

Thanks again for all your messages, prayers, and support through this journey.

Check out the latest news on my blog site at n3il.co.uk.

Second Round of Treatment

It’s been 10 weeks since my 1st round of treatment in July and this week I heard that my 2nd round of treatment starts this Thursday 21 September 2023. So this is a brief update on my progress since July. 

After isolating for the 2 weeks, I did relax in the second week, but this wasn’t as bad as we imagined, as I wasn’t infectious, and it was mainly to protect others from the radiation from my body. 

Fortunately, I didn’t really feel unwell, but I did notice my energy levels were lower, this did improve over the following weeks. I also didn’t really experience any notable sick effects of the treatment and I have been feeling pretty well and pretty normal since.

We weren’t sure initially how my body would cope with the treatment so we had planned 2 weeks camping in late July, we did have a good time with friends but did cut short the second week due to the constant rain. Because of the bad summer weather, we decided we needed to go somewhere dry and hot, so we booked a last-minute trip to Malta at the end of August and we had a love warm, sunny time away exploring Malta. We’ve also been out canoeing on the nice days and overall the summer has been fun and relaxed.

Work-wise, I started back to work a week after the treatment and have worked all of my non-holiday weeks.

I will update you all again after I’ve had the next round of treatment and thanks again for all your messages, prayers, and support through this journey.

Check out the latest news on my blog site at n3il.co.uk.