Friday 25th - the big day out!!! (I do promise after this the posts will be shorter) Off I go to get my bloods, and height & weight checked (which is ironic as I normally get my weight checked at the gym on a Friday morning anyway) and its still all a bit surreal. Then I go to collect my tyre - I laughed at how the mundane things in life still continue. When I get home, I make the first call for help and ring a friend thats a volunteer with ARC House. I had rung ARC House before when mum was diagnosed but mum didnt want to go there & at that time I felt I didnt need their support. ARC House is a volunteer organisation that help the patients,the family & the friends of those with cancer and are meant to be amazing. After speaking with Catherine and telling her what was happening I already felt a slight weight off my shoulders -roll on next week when myself & Ruth are going to be calling. So before we head into see Mr Bird (oncologist and no his first name is not Big) , myself and dad have lunch, I feel its nearly like the last supper and unfortunately tears are once again flowing but I know we can get through this! 1.45pm Ruth, Dad and I head into the clinic, expecting to be waiting for ages (after all we had just been through all of this with mum) but theres no one there - odd but true. Mr Bird, brings us in introduces himself and from the moment he started speaking to us, we all loved him. He was open, honest told us how it was, patient with our questions and so good with dad. He was telling us about counselling & I mentioned I had been onto ARC house but that dad wasnt quite ready for there. So Mr Bird, is organising to get in contact with Marymount and advise them dad needs help sooner rather than later (they say normally wait 6 months for grieving) hence loving him for being so good with dad. The prognosis is good but the treatment is shite for the next 12 months. Before I even start treatment I have to meet the radation man, another surgeon, the liaison nurse, get a PET Scan done and probably another MRI. Then treatment should begin of radiation mon-Friday while also taking oral chemo tablets the days I have radiation and this will probably occur for 6/8 weeks. He was telling me I will be sick and that I will probably put on weight - this I was not happy with, after all I spent all last year at the gym, getting up at 6am for personal training to loose the bloody weight :) but Ive done it once Ill do it again. And while Im on treatment he did say If Im able to go to the gym & do what I can and to jeep playing tennis. Two weeks prior to being diagnosed I had signed up for the Cork City Marathon in June 2014, this was in honour of mum and to help raise funds for Marymount, the hospice & palliative care team that looked after mum so well from the day she was diagnosed and I also wanted to do it before I was 40. I told Mr Bird this and he said stick with it, I may be able to but realistically it will be 2015 !!!! We were in with Mr Bird about an hour & not once were we feeling rushed. I was exhausted from information overload and my poor ole diary is like a cancer info book. The back of the diary has all of mums info from previous consultations and now the front has my info. When we walked out I was talking to his secretary and noticed there still werent others waiting to come WTF, but as I have to make another appointment for 3 weeks after starting treatment, it turns out Mr Bird doesnt do clinics on a Friday,its Tuesdays and Thursdays only!!!!! This man wanted to meet me before he went on holidays so I wouldnt have to be meeting random strangers .... Thank u thank u thank u and it also meant I knew sooner rather than later what the course of action is. So yes I have treatment before Christmas, then once tumour has shrunk I will have surgery, then more chemo & maybe more surgery again after that - yell be bored stupid of hearing all about my bum :)) The journey home was good, after all its not what mum had and it is treatable, I have to keep remembering that!! That afternoon I have an appointment to get the ole hair done, (Ruth wondered was there any point as I may loose it ha ha ha but sure its the jazz weekend gotta make an effort) as soon as I walk in I ask for to be put in a corner as the tears are still easily flowing. Mark my amazing hairdresser barely gets the words out to sympathise about mum when Im telling him my news!!! Anyway hair is done, Im looking fab but still have cancer!!
Posted on: Sun, 27 Oct 2013 12:06:25 +0000
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