Arif Khan's Blog

GP App + Treatment 6

I saw my GP today briefly - just needed some medical certificates regarding time off. A formality. The best part was i left home at 10:36 and made it in time for 10:40 - that was good!

The treatment was fine - i have to confirm my DOB each time - so the sooner it gets to my birthday the more comments i get. Today it went:

Nurse: Can you confirm your date of birth Arif?

Me: 1st of the 2nd 1982

<long pause by nurse>

Nurse: That is... tomo...

Arif: Friday

Nurse: Ah yes, Friday.. any plans?

Arif: Coming here!

<Everyone gets a good laugh and lightens the mood a bit - Arif thinks about how its not actually that funny (!)>

A beautiful sunny day today though - wish it was just a bit warmer and that sticking on the remaining parts of the car body kit was something quick - as it is i cant start it as i need the car everyday these days during the week.

Treatment 5 + Meeting

The treatment went fine today - i got given some aqueous cream and given some advice about how to avoid the area where the radiotherapy is being targetted getting sore. The lady giving the advice was West Indian and her saying certain words cracked me up - for instance Deoderant, De-odar-rennnt! Classic!

Following the 5 minute radiotherapy i had a meeting with Dr Philips who is the oncologist in charge of me for the radiotherapy - well i had to wait.. an HOUR for that appointment! Quite ironic after my previous comments about how i've never had to wait etc. The appointment was a quick check up and all was fine.

I do feel more sleepy these days. This is the first full week of radiotherapy so how i'll feel on Friday (my birthday!) will be interesting.

Treatment 4

Treatment went fine again today. This time i actually had to wait for 5 minutes and did see one other patient in the waiting room! That was only on his way out though as he collected his wife. Once again after a 2:30 appointment i was back home by 2:45.

I spent a good ammount of time sorting out sickness related admin today. I also logged in to work, deleted a few thousand automated email messages, then sent out an update to various managers and team leaders - as well as a more personal one to some friends at work. Actually i should login and look for replies!

I need to get medical certificates from my GP and i have booked an appointment for that - its on Wednesday morning.

Treatment 5 will be followed with a brief chat with the oncologist at parkside in charge of my radiotherapy. He'll probably ask about side effects etc - rather than feeling more 'tired' i've felt i've sleep for longer when i do sleep. So many factors involved there though.

I've bought a new heater to help maintain my room's temperature - living in a converted garage has its disadvantages! This old-filled heater has a 24 hour clock, timer facility, climate control and a remote control! It works well. I slept better last night.

Chemotherapy - 6 weeks on

I've noticed changes since i've come off Chemotherapy - below is a brief summary:

1. Skin Discoloration - fingers and toes were very dark - these are now back to normal
2. Stomach - better appetite, no nausea, sense of taste back to normal
3. Energy Levels - i never felt very tired on chemo but now i feel more full of energy for longer periods
4. Hair - Hair has stopped falling out and started to return quite quickly. I'm still waiting on eyebrows + lashes although they are coming slowly
5. Mood - im more positive - this is due to 1001 factors but being off the chemo drugs and their associated side effects is definately part of it.
6. Waist Line - Eating out is having an effect now! Chemo lead to times when i ate very little, so it balanced out then - need to watch this one!
7. Mouth - no soreness of the mouth

There are somethings i'll have forever - i have a scar from where the biospy was done + subsequent infection - veins on the arms are still a bit darker than normal too.

One side effect is pins and needles in the hands and feet due to nerve damage - ive been told by Dr Philips this takes the longest to heal and often gets worse before it gets better. I get pins and needles in my feet and hands a lot easier than i used to. Its quite mild and doesnt affect things like typing - which would be quite important given what my job is!

Radio - Treatment 3

Again the session went very well - i was seen early again. As i walked out of the clinic i viewed the time and it was 2:03 and that was after a 2pm appointment.

This time i did feel something! I had a lot of static on me at the time - it could have been related to that - it was nothing too dramatic.

One thing ive noticed is that i sleep a bit more these days - i'm not tired in terms of energy levels, just a bit more sleepy - but this could just be routine related. Hearing from others having similar treatments sleepiness does happen a fair bit.

Other than that no real issues - ive been noticing other things returning to normal too the longer it goes since finishing chemo - i'll put those in another post.

Fiat Car Wash Video

Car Wash Video - Featuring Flash AutoDry Technology

Radio - Treatment 2

I can get used to this - seriously. Again i was about 10 mins early today - went down to the radiotherapy waiting area - no one else in the waiting area. Have you ever been to a doctors / hospital, had to wait, and there been no one else waiting? Within 5 mins i was called in, despite it being 5 minutes early.

Again, i had the full attention of the team of nurses / doctors who got me lined up exactly and positioned just right. I had to confirm my date of birth - to which one of the nurses said how it was my bday soon - and i said how id be coming to the clinic that day too.

Again i didnt feel anything during it and it was very quick. After that i just got dressed and back in the car and a nice drive up the A3. Sun was shining and this inspired me to wash the car when i got home!

I've felt some slight chest discomfort just later today but that is probably more indegestion than anything else i think!

Radio - Treatment 1

Today was the first session. I was told that initially they were going to do some planning and take more photos, but then they also planned to give the first dose also.

The Parkside Oncology Clinic is great - its a private clinic so i guess its the benefits of that. I was early for my appointment yet was just seen earlier - never had that at a doctors / hospital before really. It was not busy at all - free carpark just outside for patients - i had three nurses focusing on my treatment solely, where as with other places / treatments its 3/4 people per nurse.

The experience itself was different - having a large machine very close to you moving around your body is a bit strange, but i was more interested in how everything lined up correctly. The radiation dose was just a few seconds to the front then it swings round and same is applied to the back.

After the appointment i was given a 'See you tomorrow' send off which is not something i'm used to hearing at all in hospitals - thats the big difference with the radio vs chemo from a practical sense - its going to the same place everyday for a few weeks.

Overall a very easy and stress / pain / hassle free experience. Only medical advice i was given was that the skin on the area being treated may become dry / inflamed and to apply an aqueous cream to the area from now.

22nd Jan - Post-Chemo Radiotherapy Meeting

I met with Dr Philps today and we went through how the chemo had been. He examined me and we talked about the PET / CT result i got yesterday. He said not to worry about the throat thing at all and that the PET / CT scan shows up any sort of inflamation. He said the main issue was the armpit and that being clear is great news - so that is good! I'm taking his word for this though. Also he said that for it to be clear totally in the right armpit - yet there to be something in the throat would be 'fanciful' - so that helped reassure me too.

Next stage was a CT scan + adding some permenant marks to show the point for radiotherapy. The CT guy came in and said that could be done today too. Following that he downloaded the PET scan from the Royal Marsden and passed it on to the consultant. All this means that the first session of radiotherapy can start tomorrow! Quick work indeed. The first one will be a full 'dress rehersal' with everything being done except the actual radiation beind administered.

Dr Philips was very happy with how id got through the chemo and said as the area being radiated is very small and as id coped well with the chemo he expected very few side effects at all for this.

Right, so i can now work out an end date for this treatment. 18 sessions i think is the plan. Mon - Fri. So starting tomorrow looks like Friday February 15th will be the last one- around then.

Clean PET/CT Scan...almost..

I got the results of my PET/CT scan today. The first thing Dr A asked me was what day i had the scan and if i had a sore throat that day. I knew that was not a good sign!

He went on to say that there was some trace of something possibly around the neck / throat area. He said its inconclusive and can't say what it is - he thought perhaps i had a sore throat that day or something. He said the only thing to do is just keep an eye on it. He examined and area and couldnt feel anything and i too had been checking the other lymph node regions anyway just out of habit - couldnt feel anything in the neck.

So that was the slight worry - the GOOD news is that the right armpit (axilla) area was completely clear on the PET/CT scan - so that is great news.

The plan is to carry on with the treatment as originally scheduled - the next phase being radiotherpay. I am meeting with the radiotherapist tomorrow. He's an expert so i'll ask him for some more info about this PET/CT scan result. Dr A described it as 'some non-specific uptake' in the neck area and whilst dictating a letter to the radiotherapist i heard him say something about brown fat. All medical jargon.

So how do i feel? I'm not sure how to feel. Relief about the armpit - but obvious lingering doubts at the back of my mind. Before leaving i was asked to have a blood test. Next PET / CT scan is scheduled for 4 months time from the end of radiotherapy anyway so I guess that will also be a key one now.

I think radiotherapy will begin within a week or so now and once that starts it will be about 4 weeks before i'm done with it. After that i can start working on returning to work and getting things back to how they were before ... in some ways at least.

Consultant Meeting Date

I just got off the phone to my consultant who said to schedule a meeting on Monday afternoon with him - he said that by then they'd have the scan results. I need to call up the outpatients reception tomorrow and confirm a time etc.

Its likely to be about 2:30pm again as he runs a clinic monday afternoon starting around then.

Monday is the day then!

PET / CT Scan Complete

I had my PET / CT scan today. Left the house about 9:20 and got to the hospital for 9:45. The appointment was not till 10:15 but getting earlier helped as i was able to deal with the admin side of things sooner. Just had to answer some questions and also take some diazepam. After i had the diazepam i was not able to drive for 24 hours so my dad had to do the driving.

After a while i had the tracer injected and rested for 45 mins to allow it to be absorbed by the body. Then it was time for the scan - i had keep my hands above my head for the duration of the scan - which got uncomfortable after a while but not too bad. After that it was all done and i was able to get changed back in to my clothes and leave.

My dad then picked me up in the Fiat and whilst waiting i got some snacks and read today's Times. Interesting article about a university lecturer banning her students from using Google and Wikipedia during their first year....!

The results of the PET / CT scan should be with Dr A by tomorrow i believe and i'll await a follow up appointment with him to discuss them.

PET / CT Scan Date

Got the date for my scan today. It will be on Monday at 10:15am. I've been told that i'll be given Diazepam as well and that i am therefore not allowed to drive for 24 hours. Hopefully i'll get my dad to do the driving on Monday!

Also with the PET / CT scan you are asked to fast for 6 hours prior to the scan.

The way it works is that a radioactive form of glucose is injected in to the body. One hour is then left for the sugar to be absorbed. Cancer cells absorb glucose at a much faster rate. Following this you go in to the scanning machine and the scan lasts about an hour. The PET images will show the absorbtion of the radioactive sugar and thus show where the cancer cells are. The CT imaging is like an x-ray and the two images are then overlayed giving the best possible analysis of cancer in the body.

Last time i had a PET / CT it confirmed that the lymphoma was restricted purely to the right arm pit area and had not spread anywhere else - this time i'm hoping the PET / CT scan will be completely clear. Inshallah.

7th Jan Meeting with Dr A

I've been talking about this meeting with Dr A a lot over the past few weeks. Its been the next thing on my schedule since about December 20th. I met a lot of people over the Christmas period and always talked about it too - so ive been building up to it for a while!

The meeting was very uneventful - Dr A has faxed details to the Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton for the PET CT scan and asked me to call them back on Wednesday to chase up a date for it.

He said - again - that first we'll have the PET CT scan and the planning of the next phase of the treatment will be done after we get that result. He gave me a quick examination too - checking the lymph node regions for any new lumps i guess - but all was ok.

So - didnt really gain much from that - but hopefully this week i should be given a date for the PET CT scan.