Update after 3rd round of treatment 

Again another brief health update. I had my 3rd round of treatment last Thursday 23rd November and so only just glowing a little bit with a new dose of radiation! Everything has gone well and currently on a 5-day course of 5 different drugs to help with the effects of the radiation. Also checking my sugar levels and blood pressure every day!

3 days in and I’m still feeling well, with very few noticeable side effects from the treatment, in fact, I’ve been working throughout this week working around all my appointments. A special thanks to my clients this week who have been very flexible to enable me to work around these appointments.

I had a further scan on Friday and the results of this 3rd scan were to measure the effects of the first 2 treatments my consultant was happy with the results and said that everything is still looking stable. I will continue to have fortnightly blood tests to check my red blood cell count, as the radiation does affect my red cell levels.

I’m again in isolation for 14 days, but the good news is I will be out of isolation in time for the festive season of carols, parties, and family gatherings. All good news! I also put in my diary the 4th and last round of treatment, which will now be on 22nd February next year. I also have another full week of work booked for this coming week, so this will keep me occupied and out of trouble. 

I feel very fortunate that I’ve been able to get this new nuclear treatment and that it is working well. Thanks again for all your messages, prayers, and support, and my faith has only been strengthened throughout this journey.

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

Pictures: From my recent visit to Guy’s hospital.

Update 3rd round of treatment 

This is just a brief health update. It’s been just over 7 weeks since my 2nd treatment on 21st September. Again I have been feeling well, with very few noticeable side effects from the treatment, in fact, I have been able to work throughout. My energy levels did drop after about 4 weeks which is down to the radiation affecting my red blood cell count, but this did improve over the following weeks. 

The Friday CT scan looked stable, but I will not fully know the full effects of the treatments till after the last treatment in the new year.

My current client has been very flexible in enabling me to work around these appointments. I will update you all again later in the week. Thanks again for all your messages, prayers, and support through this journey.

The 3rd round of treatment was due to start on 7 December, but this week I had a call to say they had a cancellation and could fit me for my infusion this Thursday 23 November, I have a blood text on Wednesday and a CT scan on Friday. This is all great news as I will now be out of isolation in time for the festive season of carols, parties, and family gatherings. All good news!

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

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.

Pictures: From our recent visit to Bettys York, that’s me looking forward to a Bettys Gooey Rascal Sundae.

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.

Pictures: From my recent visit Nuclear Treatment

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.

Pictures: From our recent trip to Malta

A week on after treatment
It’s been just over a week since my nuclear medicine treatment started at Guy’s hospital and here is a brief update on how my week has gone.

Just to clarify one fact for all my friends, my skin didn’t actually go green, but I couldn’t resist the blue with pink-dots look! Also, I’m sorry to say that no superpowers have developed with the radiation infusion. and I thought all Hollywood films were all true!

Now back to the real life!
This blog will now go quiet for a while until I start my next round of treatment or unless there is any further news to share with you all.

After being monitored overnight in the hospital, I had a further 2 scans and I was then released from the hospital. Overnight I really hadn’t felt much different from the previous 24 hrs, but I can feel something is going on within my body but without any pain or discomfort. It’s now been a week since I came home and I’ve fortunately been sleeping and eating well, which I’ve put down to not constantly worrying and mulling over in my head the outcome of the treatment.

I was put on a whole selection of drugs for a couple of days and by Wednesday I was off these and half expecting the side effects to start to kick in. But apart from my stomach feeling a bit unsettled, the rest of my body has been feeling good, well, and pretty normal.

Going forward, I will now need blood tests every 2 weeks to monitor my red blood cell count. If in 6 weeks my red blood cells are back to normal, then I could possibly start the next round of treatment after only 8 weeks which could be as early as Thursday 31 August, otherwise, my treatment will be a 12-week break so around 28 September.

I’ve now had a quiet week at home, keeping myself busy and trying to get out most days with a covid walk sometimes with friends. The isolation restrictions haven’t been as bad as we thought, it’s mainly following some simple rules, like keeping a 2m distance from others, keeping bathrooms and bedrooms separate, and limiting my time with others. 

This blog will now go quiet for a while until I start my next round of treatment or unless there is any further news to share with you all. Thanks again for all your prayers and support.

Keep up to date with the latest on my blog page at n3il.co.uk.

Pictures: Refreshed from my recent Nuclear Treatment