Well I am now into my routine of 4 tablets in the morning at 10am, two hours after breakfast and then 4 at 10pm at night with no food after 8pm. It is all going really well and by Monday night we could visibly see a reduction in several of the lumps - yes in less than a week!!! Feeling extremely good and the only apparent side effect I seem to be having is some insomnia. I seem to be getting 2 or 3 solid hours of sleep and then feel wide awake. I am however staying in bed and I must be drifting in and out but it does seem a long night and I am then getting up just after 6am. Other than that I have a little pain in my left hand between the wrist and fingers and it was slighltly swollen. However it is minimal pain and nothing I can't cope with. Everyone thinks I am looking good and I am holding down my full time job with no problems although I have reduced my hours slightly as I am getting tired. The other good news is that after 13 years together Brian and I are getting married on 21st January 2012. He proposed to me on my 39 birthday and I will be walking down the aisle on my Dad's arm on my 47th birthday - how wonderfull is that!
Really looking forward to a family Xmas and all the preparations are well under way for my dream wedding.
Wednesday, 21 December 2011
Wednesday, 14 December 2011
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
Lights, Camera, Action!
No part of me has been left unchecked, scanned, prodded or probed!
Just click the play button, comments welcome, video critique not!
Sunday, 4 December 2011
Friday, 2 December 2011
I am a Mutant!
Good news everyone I have the required mutated gene to hopefully go ahead with the clinical trial. Anyone would have thought I had won a gold medal at the Olympics the way I ran down the corridors at work to let all my friends and colleagues know! Lots of hugs were exchanged, Telephone calls to close family brought smiles and brings hope!
I go to Addenbrookes on Wed 7th December for a head, thorax, abdomen and pelvis CT scan followed by a full check by a Dermatologist and then finally meet with the oncologist. All the data is then collated and then the hope is that I start the drug on the 14th December. I will then have monthly scans and checks at Addenbrookes with the hope that the drug stops the spread of the cancer or even reduces it but it will only be for a limited time. The average seems to be about ten months. The drug is eighty percent effective and so this clinical trial is different to others in that all patients take the drug instead of the usual 50 percent placebo effect.
Lynn Masson 1 The Big C 0
I go to Addenbrookes on Wed 7th December for a head, thorax, abdomen and pelvis CT scan followed by a full check by a Dermatologist and then finally meet with the oncologist. All the data is then collated and then the hope is that I start the drug on the 14th December. I will then have monthly scans and checks at Addenbrookes with the hope that the drug stops the spread of the cancer or even reduces it but it will only be for a limited time. The average seems to be about ten months. The drug is eighty percent effective and so this clinical trial is different to others in that all patients take the drug instead of the usual 50 percent placebo effect.
Lynn Masson 1 The Big C 0
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Latest update
Unfortunately Wednesdays consultation has been cancelled due to the delayed arrival of my gene test results.
The earliest I will hear is either Friday or next Monday. Therefore whatever the result my next appointment will be on Wednesday the 7th of December. This is for a CT scan and hopefully other tests, but only if I am suitable for this drug trial. If I don't have the mutant gene needed, we will have discussions on the other treatments available to me.
I am still working but tiredness is becoming more an every day issue. I also find more lumps popping up on a regular basis, which is inevitable as I am not having any treatment or drugs at the moment.
My spirits are still high and I am sleeping very well and would like to thank you all again for your continued support.
Love & hugs Lynn xx
The earliest I will hear is either Friday or next Monday. Therefore whatever the result my next appointment will be on Wednesday the 7th of December. This is for a CT scan and hopefully other tests, but only if I am suitable for this drug trial. If I don't have the mutant gene needed, we will have discussions on the other treatments available to me.
I am still working but tiredness is becoming more an every day issue. I also find more lumps popping up on a regular basis, which is inevitable as I am not having any treatment or drugs at the moment.
My spirits are still high and I am sleeping very well and would like to thank you all again for your continued support.
Love & hugs Lynn xx
Friday, 18 November 2011
A part of me is now winging its way to the USA
Well I signed the consent form yesterday to go ahead with the proposed clinical trial. I phoned today to make sure it had been received and can confirm that the process has begun. I have an appointment booked at Addenbrookes for Wed 30th to hear if I have the necessary gene. However this may be delayed if the results are not back from USA as it does take 2 to 3 weeks. If I do have the gene then they have also booked an appointment for me on Wed 7th Dec for some scans so that the process can start as quickly as possible. I would also need some other tests such as an ECG before I can begin taking the drugs. I would be taking 4 tablets in the morning and 4 at night and there are possible side effects of nausea, tiredness, rash, sensitivity to light, joint or muscle pain, possible alteration of the heart activity. There is also a 25 to 30 percent chance of developing squamous cell carcinoma of the skin but these can be removed. I will have checks once a month and the first one will be a physcal exam, bloods, CT, ECG. A head and neck examinaton every 3 months, head to toe dermatologist exam every 3 months, CT or MRI every 2 months initially, and an ECG for the first 3 months and then every 3 months.
The study so far has given an eighty percent chance of slowing the spread or even regression of the cancer. However it only seems to work for about ten months but hopefully with more research this can be increased.
If I do not have the gene then there are other proposed layers of treatment as the consultant called them but I will only go into that when and if I need to.
Feeling better day on day as there has been lots to deal with over the last month. Still not feeling completely healthy but it's not really surprising. Looking forward to a lovely weekend with my Mum, Dad and brother and the rest of my fantastic family.
The study so far has given an eighty percent chance of slowing the spread or even regression of the cancer. However it only seems to work for about ten months but hopefully with more research this can be increased.
If I do not have the gene then there are other proposed layers of treatment as the consultant called them but I will only go into that when and if I need to.
Feeling better day on day as there has been lots to deal with over the last month. Still not feeling completely healthy but it's not really surprising. Looking forward to a lovely weekend with my Mum, Dad and brother and the rest of my fantastic family.
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