Hi everyone, well it’s been about a month or so since I last wrote a post – certainly not as regular as I have been of most of the last 2 years or so (yes, it has been two years, in mid January). I’ll break this post up into two main components. Firstly, for those who don’t want to read the whole thing but are interested in the nitty gritty on how the cancer I have is progressing and how I am managing it, and secondly, more about my thoughts and feelings around the whole process. Up to now – first component I was diagnosed with bowel cancer in July 2014, 2 ½ years ago. About six months later i ..read more

Hi everyone, it’s been almost a couple of months since I last wrote on this blog, so thanks for your patience and also to the messages of support I have received. The main reason I haven’t done the writing is that it has been a torrid month healthwise – I have not been well at all, and of course this is related to the cancer I have. I’ve been finding out recently that many of these health issues are directly a result of unknowingly being constipated; being blocked up chronically will make anybody feel sick – nausea, dizziness, fatigue, absent minded, muddled thinking, general malaise and lack ..read more

I have taken on, taken to, and adapted this age old saying for my own benefit; a large part of the reason for going to Melbourne was to get some more/new opinions regarding possible ways to treat the cancer still invading me. I/we went to three main appointments with three different styles of practitioner, all cancer specialists in their own ways. I was hoping to increase my knowledge of what I am up against, equip me with some knowledge, skills and strategies to help me beat it, and provide motivation for my courage to act, which I feel lately is sometimes sorely lacking. I think I get a bit ..read more

Tamarillos with lemons in background Tamarillos growing in the garden, much loved by all the family, especially the children. High in vitamin C and grow well in this climate. Lemons in the background – a fantastic crop this season. You may have gathered from my last post that I was a bit down in the dumps about having cancer and the fact that it definitely seems to be getting worse, despite all that I do. It is very powerful and perhaps I have underestimated its strength and overestimated my ability to knock it out. Sometimes I am a bit over confident in my abilities, based on my optimistic ou ..read more

New front fence You can see from the above photo the new front fence that could not have been built without the help of my amigos, so thanks Alex, Sean and Kim for the initial construction and much of the grunt work, M and Ariel for the painting, and M and Chris for the wire – a real team effort. Also, Jai supplied the wire, brand new no less. It is much appreciated, and doesn’t it look beautiful! M has even started restoring the garden. You know the old Beatles song: I get by with a little help from my friends, I get high with a little help from my friends, I’m gonna try with a little help fr ..read more

Hi everyone, I hope you had a great festive season, as I did with family and loved ones. P M and grandchildren After the last scans I saw the oncologist and she recommended that there was nothing to be done for the moment except wait and see. It’s too early to begin another round of chemo as the body needs more of a break to try and repair itself from the damage the chemicals have done, and I still feel quite damaged. So that gives me a couple of months to do my own thing – if you’ve been following this blog you’ll realise that I am almost treating my road back to health as a full time job and ..read more

Grape vine sprouting new life Hi everyone, it’s been almost a month since I last posted anything. I’ve been finishing chemo (oral tablets) and busy with life. The chemo has a cumulative effect on me, making me a bit worse each time, and taking longer to recover each time; now, thankfully, after 5 months of it, this current regime of cycles is finished. In a couple of weeks we are off on an amazing holiday, and I feel I really need it; I’m worn out physically, mentally and emotionally – the cancer and its treatment is taking its toll on me, and on us, and this is how most people experience it ..read more

Chemotherapy port a cath I’m not having much luck with the port inserted in my chest all those months ago that was supposed to make the chemo infusions trouble free. The last two times I have been to the hospital to have my 3-weekly drip, the port played up and wouldn’t work. It has always been a problem child, but now it has totally refused to work at all. It seems as though it has a kink in one of the lines and this stops the chemicals from passing through. What this means in effect is that I haven’t been able to have the last two intra-venous doses of oxalyplatin and avastan, which is a bit ..read more

A week or so ago I had an ultrasound to check the blood clots in my neck and a CT scan of pelvis, abdomen and chest to check progression of tumours, especially metastases in the lungs. The ultrasound showed that the blood clots were still quite a strong presence, so I keep taking the Clexane (2 needles a day) to try and help dissolve these. The CT scan returned some pleasant results that seem to suggest that the lung tumours are responding well to treatment and seem to be shrinking. I hope this is true and it seems to be; it’s almost too scary to hope for, but two doctors think that the result ..read more

But firstly some recipes Banana and fruit custard Here we have photos of 4 baked custards (individual serves) that contained some left over quiche mix of egg and milk, with some fresh chopped banana and date plus some goji berries (note, no actual sugar). These then were baked at about 1500 C for approx. ½ hour in a fan forced oven. A lovely healthy desert. And for the main course, please read on. Custards (sugar free) and quiche Above is a photo of the quiche and the four custards cooked with some cinnamon sprinkled on top. The quiche is full of vegies such as multiple greens, onion, celery ..read more