It's probably my fault for being just too British and hesitant to kick up a fuss, but I often end up being wheeled down to scans etc in a chair, despite my continuing ability and desire to walk using my own two legs. The problem is, once a porter has made the effort to locate first a … Continue reading Day +2: Chauffeur-driven service
Day +1: Post-transplant-party wanderings
When I mentioned to the doctor this morning that I had been a bit slow in getting out of bed this morning, she said it was no surprise, as the empty bottle of bubbly (elderflower pressé), huge balloon behind my bed, party hats stuck to the wall and party streamers scattered across the room showed we'd … Continue reading Day +1: Post-transplant-party wanderings
Day 0: Transplant party time
There are many important days in one's life, but some stick in the memory more clearly than others. I have a feeling today will be one of them, as I received the donor cells I need to build my immune system and give myself the best chance possible to keep those nasty lymphoblasts away. So, … Continue reading Day 0: Transplant party time
Time flies when you’re having… a transplant
Somehow we've reached Day -2 in my treatment plan, so my stem cell transplant is taking place very soon indeed. I've got through five days of Fludarabine without much to complain about – and was even allowed out to continue my and Mariacristina's efforts to eat as much good food as possible in the shortest … Continue reading Time flies when you’re having… a transplant
Chemo kicks off: VIDEO EXCLUSIVE
My first ever vblog! And yes, next time (if we do it again) we'll do it in Landscape rather than Portrait... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyomb9E1qNg
Prevention vs cure, with Angelina Jolie
While playing the house-husband the other day I heard on the kitchen radio (it was probably Heart or Magic, which I blame entirely on my wife) that Angelina Jolie is planning to follow up the preventive double masectomy she underwent last year with further surgery to reduce her chances of developing ovarian cancer. It turns … Continue reading Prevention vs cure, with Angelina Jolie
Not long to go now…
All good things must come to an end, and my neutrophil-powered 'holiday' from treatment is no exception – although it has been extended from its original planned duration. Following the exciting news of my complete remission, the doctors had targeted this sort of date for my re-admission into St George's to begin pre-transplant induction therapy, … Continue reading Not long to go now…
Bring on the transplant!
Sixteen years ago, Mariacristina was happily tied up in a serious relationship with an Italian boy (and to give an impression of what a serious relationship means in Italy, you should know that Italians use the same word – fidanzato/a – for boy/girlfriend and for fiancé(e)), I was a shy English teenager living in Naples … Continue reading Bring on the transplant!
Chicken legs and fizzing fingers
I turned to Mariacristina. "You know, cuore," I said. She raised an eyebrow, perhaps aware of the imminent musical plagiarism to which she was about to be subjected. "I would walk 500 miles..." I began. "Not with those chicken legs, you wouldn't," she replied. It was a fair point. One of the consequences of the … Continue reading Chicken legs and fizzing fingers
A sting in the tail… or two
Headlines first: I've finished this phase; I'm home again after a couple of inpatient stays (in different hospitals); I'm no longer neutropaenic; and my care has gone back to St George's, where I'll need another bone marrow biopsy to confirm how successfully the MARALL trial cleared out the leukaemic cells. After my last post, you … Continue reading A sting in the tail… or two