Treatment starts

Well here we are at the end of the first day of the rest of our lives - treatment has started.  Chemo tablet early this morning followed by radiation. Tolerated extremely well as you can see.  Hopefully it will continue in this positive way.

We had a 10 minute walk to the station, hopped on a train for a couple of stops, then a 15 minute walk to the hospital - it's a good plan to keep up fitness levels and strength and we will keep doing it for as long as we can.

We caught up with our good friends, Mike and Pam yesterday.  Had lunch at the Kirribilli Club and are looking forward to many more outings with more of our friends.

I spoke with Vision Australia today and have an appointment in a couple of weeks to discuss various aids to help Alan with reading and his beloved computer - the main things that are frustrating at the moment.  They are confident that they will be able to help.

Back in Sydney

To all our followers an apology for not posting anything for the last few days. we didn't really have anything to report until today when we had our appointment with the medical oncologist.  He was very nice and went through the regime we will face starting on Wednesday 20th.  6 weeks of both Radiation and Chemotherapy together - radiation 5 days and the chemo, which is in tablet form, every day.  

A multitude of other pills for nausea, constipation, antibiotics etc. etc. have to be taken - he'll be rattling!  The good new is that although the steroids have heightened his appetite for lollies and sweet things, he hasn't actually put on any weight (yet) probably because of all the walking we are doing.  We will continue to do this everyday as long as he is able.

Ålan is in good spirits but gets frustrated at times because of the loss of vision, however, we will be working with Vision Australia to make sure we explore every avenue to try and improve whatever sight he has.

Meanwhile, we are still enjoying the city life and the plethora of restaurants it has to offer. (As most of our friends know, we really enjoy good food and wine).  We have always tried to do a lot of things together over the years - golfing, fishing, decorating and walking and now he is starting to take an interest in the actual cooking of food and not just the eating so will continue to do things together, they'll just be different!  Hope I can cope with him in the kitchen!!  Jill says she'll buy him some talking scales for Fathers Day (lol)

Once again, thank you for caring. Love from us both. X

Hi from Doon Doon!

Well - here we are back home for a few days. Alan made it through the flight with flying colours and lots of help from jelly snakes!

We had a great time in Kirribilli with Jill and Alistair and are looking forward albeit, with a bit of trepidation, to going back there.  It was good fun to be "citified" although we ate far too much and drank copious amounts of excellent coffee.  We will have to keep the exercise up so it's a thermos to Crams Farm and a walk around the circuit before we can drink it.

We have lots to do and little time to get through it, so if we don't get round to seeing all our friends, please don't be offended.  We are very grateful for your thoughts but as you will appreciate, Alan gets quite tired and can only tolerate short visits.

I'll try to update the blog in between jobs!  Thank you for following our progress.

Much love, Helen

Oncology

Today we went for a mask fitting!  A bit ironic as we have loads of masks and wigs at home! As all our friends know.

Alan needs to keep his head perfectly still while having radiation so has to wear a mask - he felt a bit of discomfort but said it wasn't too bad.

We fly home tomorrow for a few days, just to pick up a few more clothes and sort a few things out, then back to Sydney for the treatment.  He is still in good spirits and eating like a horse (could be something to do with the steroids!) We've had a really good week here since he came out of hospital - hard to believe he's only been out for 1 week today.  Hope to catch up with a few people in the next few days - will keep you posted.

Radio Oncologist Appointment Update

Helen says..

"More waiting! We had our visit with the radiation oncologist and radiation treatment will start in about two weeks. We are waiting to have another scan and an appointment with the chemo specialist hopefully early next week.

All being well, we shall be home for about one week after that, then back to Sydney for the treatment which lasts six weeks. We can then come home and will continue to have chemotherapy at John Flynn.

Alan is in good spirits and keeping up his fitness level by walking every day, has the odd glass of wine and loads of lollies!"

Recovery..Day 5

Helen says.. "What a great day it turned out to be today. The doctor said Alan was so fit that he could go home tomorrow (Monday). All that walking up and down to the shed must have been good for him! Can't believe its only one week today since we arrived in Sydney, although its seems like an eternity.

To all our friends who are following the blog we send a big thank you for caring so much. In the next couple of days we hope he will have a big rest - hospitals are not the best places for sleeping. Then we wait once again for this coming Thursday for our visit with the oncologist and the next step.

Watch this space and bless you all. x"

Recovery..Day 3 & 4

My apologies for not posting for a few days, and thanks to Anne Coveney for reminding me the importance of these updates to those afar. Alan has visibly improved over the last few days. He is semi-mobile and can walk around with assistance. His energy levels peak and trough throughout the day, and he can seem a little vague at times. When you consider it was only four days ago he was receiving major brain surgery, these symptoms seem insignificant. Helen continues her undaunted bedside vigil (until the nursing staff kick her out).

It looks like Alan could be leaving hospital on Tuesday, which is great news. Alan and Helen will be staying in Sydney for possibly another week. Alan has an appointment with his Oncologist on Thursday.