Getting There

It has been a while since my last post, mostly because cancer is now mostly not a part of my life.

Two weeks ago I had a 3 monthly CEA test, then I had 4 days of panic as I thought the cancer was coming back.  But no, my CEA was 1.6 which was the same as last time.  That flat result strongly suggests no recurrence, and certainly I am now officially No Evidence of Disease or NED.

In terms of my health, I am mostly feeling pretty good.  I still get problems such as chest pain and nausea if I over do it, but I seem to be managing that quite well now.  I do have to take a break early afternoon and have a lie down for an hour, and cold really gets to me, but either I am managing the situation better, or I am slowly getting better as I feel I am coping better with normal life.

I am not sure of the cause of the fatigue, it could be my liver rebuilding, in which case it should get slowly better over the next 6 months, or it could be caused by the chemo, in which case there is fair chance I will just have to live with it.  I also have persistent random itching, but that may well be my liver rebuilding itself.

Overall I really do feel pretty good with my life.  There is no question that the trauma of chemo and surgery was worth it.  Without the medical treatment I would be in a really bad way now, or very stable.

Like everyone else, I have no idea what the future holds.  If I start thinking statistics and probabilities I can get down, but right now life is great, I am feeling good, and have nothing to worry about that I cannot deal with, so worry is a wasted emotion.

I am eternally grateful for the support I have had, and am still getting, from Teresa, Christchurch Hospital, my employer (Meridian), extended family and friends.  Without the contribution from them all I would not be in this great space.