Thursday, March 10, 2011

Bad News

The outcome of the review meeting with the Oncologist yesterday was that the chemotherapy has not been effective and there is no point in continuing with the 4th dose (particularly since it makes me feel so ill for so long).  The breathlessness and persistent cough are all cancer symptoms that should have been alleviated by the chemo but weren't.  I'm pretty relieved about not having to go through any more chemo I must say, but also pretty pissed off that so much time has been wasted on it.  All that can be done now is palliative care (including steroids) and possible alternative therapies (acupuncture, meditation etc). 

My life expectancy will probably only be around 2 - 4 months (June/Julyish) and there is no way of predicting how quickly I will deteriorate.  So, its a bit of a blow (to put it mildly) and I just hope I'll have time to finish the book and say goodbye to people before I go into a hospice, although I will have a go at some alternative therapies.

We’re still coming to terms with it here and have an appointment with the Macmillan nurse tomorrow.  When I’m ready to talk more about it I’ll let people know. Sorry this is so stark.

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