Wet & Windy Wednesday

Day 357...

Ordinarily I would be in work on a Wednesday but due to a phone appointment this morning I'd taken the day off...well I say 'off' but I actually got quite a bit of work done.

So over the day I managed to complete a vital piece of work, a cash-flow forecast! We are approaching the last full term of the academic year and in April we see changes to the National Living Wage which means that we need a review of all our salaries to ensure that we fall inline with government guidelines as well as being able to reward our staff accordingly. 

I needed therefore to be able to have an idea of how our finances pan out between now and July and how that will in turn impact our return in September. We always need to work between 3 to 6 months ahead of ourselves so that we can ensure the correct funding is received and apply it successfully.

The main reason for being at home today though was that I had a phone consultation with a nurse from the Breast Clinic at my local hospital. It is now two years since I received my diagnosis of breast cancer and although it was caught at an extremely early stage it still meant surgery and radiotherapy. Today's phone call was to check-in with me and make sure I was doing okay and aware of the plan going forward.

Since my surgery and radiotherapy I have had one more mammogram that came back completely fine. I will now have a mammogram annually for the next four years before I get 'signed off' from the clinic. I still get odd twinges and pain in my left boob and the nurse explained today that the pain is a result of the radiotherapy, whereas I'd presumed it was to do with the surgery. Apparently during radiotherapy the angle of the treatment means that the bones get affected and the 'pain' that I am feeling is actually in my bones and can be noticed when perhaps stretching, or lying differently, or getting a hug. Good to know that what I'm experiencing is completely normal and thankfully it is nothing overtly painful to deal with, just more annoying.

I am still surprised by how the experience has affected me, not only the twinges and discomfort, but more the psychological effect. The diagnosis stays with you and even when you think you've got a handle on it it can enter your brain and mess with your head when you least expect it. I think I have a tendency to try and dismiss it because 'it was caught so early' but I have to remind myself that being told you have cancer is not something you can be prepared for. Because I don't want to feel that I'm ever 'playing on it' or 'making a fuss' it can lead to me not dealing with it as perhaps as well as I should, and not recognising that yes I have cancer, yes I had surgery and yes I had 15 rounds of radiotherapy. I need to do a better job of embracing that, accepting it and knowing that it's okay to remember what I've been through and that is now just a part of who I am.

Before lunch we had a chap arrive to do a survey of our windows as we are moving forward with replacing all our wooden windows with fancy new uPVC ones. So today was getting all the final measurements in place, double checking finishes, handles, window openings and spotting any potential 'tricky areas'. Now we just need to wait for a date when all the work can be done.

As Simon finished for his lunch we spent a few minutes showing off his R2D2 build to the 'window man'. As R2 sits in our hallway it often becomes a talking point when we have visitors and Simon is very proud (and quite rightly so) to show it off!

Despite the grey clouds and drizzle we embarked on a quick walk out though the village to simply get some fresh air; a quick 1.7 miles in 30 minutes and a little wet by the time we got back home.

And the other news of today is that I have a hair appointment...well it's booked...for 13th May! So here in England we are hopefully, all fingers and toes crossed, due to see hairdressers, tattoists and shops re-opening on April 12th...if nothing untoward happens! So my hairdresser has done the fairest thing and worked through her appointments in order to re-arrange them. I should have been going blonde again mid-February so it will now be happening mid-May instead and I can't wait to change colour and go extra-short again!

Well the day was rounded out with a trip to the 'gym' for Simon but as I was feeling a bit cold, and quite frankly not in the mood for exercise, I turned my attention to writing this blog instead.

Wherever you are, whatever you are doing take care.
xx

Last Day...

So today marks the last day of my radiotherapy treatment.

This is not something that I have gone into in too much detail here on my blog. In fact it's not something I've wanted to make public to the world at large but now as the treatment comes to its conclusion let me fill you in.

Back in mid February, being a woman of a certain age, I got the letter through the post asking me to attend a routine mammogram which I duly did without an awful lot of thought.

Two weeks later I received a letter asking me to come into hospital for a further mammogram. Everything was worded very much along the lines of 'nothing to worry about but sometimes we have to do a second one'.

A few days later I was in the Breast Unit of my local hospital; I had another mammogram and was told there were a few white marks they needed to look at a bit closer and that after the mammogram I would have an ultra sound. So sure enough after a short wait I had an ultra sound and something was mentioned about having a needle procedure at which point I thought 'ok so by needle you mean biopsy - this is getting real'. After a long wait I underwent a biopsy, I then had a week to wait before I could go back for the results.

So as you can probably guess the results weren't great. I was given a diagnosis of Ductal Carcinoma in Situ; a form of breast cancer found in the milk ducts. Thankfully what was found was small and at a very early stage. The treatment plan set out before me was to undergo a lumpectomy, to remove the bad stuff, followed by a course of radiotherapy that would reduce the risk of re-occurrance.

Within three weeks of my diagnosis I was back at hospital for the lumpectomy. Thankfully this was all completed within a day and I was back home to recover. After confirming that all the nasty stuff had been removed and allowing sufficient time for my body to recover after the operation I then started a course of radiotherapy; 15 treatments in all.

Yesterday I saw my oncologist who was very happy with all the treatment given and then today I visited the radiotherapy department for the last time. It felt kind of strange to leave my gown behind today, this has travelled back and forth with me over the last few weeks and it seemed very poignant to leave it there...

These last four and a half months have been a whirlwind and at times a bit of a rollercoaster ride. Our lives were given a bit of a side swipe, our routines knocked out of place, our emotions thrown into turmoil, all of the usual life stuff was put into a whole new perspective.

I have been extremely fortunate to have had my amazing hubby and kids to support me all the way through this; a set of friends who would do anything for me and a fantastic team at work who have given me the time and space to get through it all.

I was extremely lucky that this was found early on and dealt with so efficiently. I cannot thank enough the wonderful team of NHS staff who have looked after me with such care and compassion. I have emerged at the end of it all in the best state possible; all the treatment has been successful and now I just have yearly mammograms to make sure it stays away!

So today I rang the bell to signify the end of treatment and then indulged in some cake to celebrate!

With much love and thanks to everyone at Royal Derby Hospital xx