Monday 19 July 2010

Back to Germany

We are off to Germany for treatment again on the 9th August and I hope that just one area is growing again. I guess I will find out. I don't know whether it will be chemoembolization, or chemoperfusion, the Prof. just said ' local intraarteiral in the involved areas' in his email.

We will be going by BA, so I hope they don't go on strike again.

I wonder how often I can have this treatment before it stops working any more? I know mesothelioma stops responding to chemotherapy drugs eventually.

There is a lot of research going on for a cure so hopefully something will be discovered whilst I am still fit enough to be treated.

I am so pleased that things seem to be working out for my lovely daughter Emily. She now has parts in a musical comedy in August and a show in Her Majesty's Theatre, Haymarket in September. In both parts she is singing, which is quite new for her as acting is her first choice.

My lovely grandson will be three on Wednesday, a birthday I thought I wouldn't see.







Today's painting is a watercolour of a Mediterranean arched doorway.

Saturday 10 July 2010

Here we go again.....


Well, here we go again. I emailed the Prof. who suggested it might be good to get treatment from him now to stop progression, rather than wait, as the Mesothelioma will just keep growing. I will still have the lymph node problem though.


So we are off to Germany again in the second week of August. I will have to ask Jeremy Steele if he is OK with me seeing the Prof. as well as him. I hope he is, as I definitely need to be monitored here in the U.K. too.

This is all so very stressful and political,

The Prof. is coming over here to talk to the Mesothelioma.UK charity meeting in October. Hopefully this will spread the word. We desperately need his treatments to be available in the UK as they do extend life of patients considerably.





Today's painting of is a colourful doorway in Greece.

Tuesday 6 July 2010

St. Bart's Visit.


I saw Dr. Jeremy Steele at St. Bart's and he advised me to hang on for a couple of months more before having the IPM chemo. He feels the Mesothelioma is not growing too fast and as I have a good standard of life at the moment, chemo will make me feel awful and sick and my hair will fall out again, delaying it will also add those extra months on at the end.

He was not too concerned about the lymph nodes at the moment as he says they can enlarge for several reasons and where would the meso go to anyway? Hmm... not too sure about this argument as I have heard of it spreading to the brain and to bones, but we'll see. He did say that he would give me the chemo straight away if that was what I wanted.

It is a slight possibility that my mistletoe injections could cause the lymph nodes to swell.

I have decided to take his advice as he is the expert and meso is his specialist interest. He is chairman of the 'mesothelioma UK' charity.

I see Dr Jeremy Steele again in three weeks and he will scan me again in about seven weeks to see how much the meso has grown and a decision will be taken then.

We went to the Hop Farm Festival on Saturday and saw some great bands, Mumford and Sons, Seasick Steve, Ray Davies, Pete Doherty, Laura Marling, Johnny Flynn,

The Magic Numbers, & Foy Vance.
The headline act was Bob Dylan, who was a bit disappointing. Still the weather was great, the company was great, and we all enjoyed ourselves.

I am so loving this amazing weather, long may it last.

Today's painting is of a colourful doorway found in Greece.

Thursday 1 July 2010


We have just got back from our appointment with Prof. Thomas Vogl in Germany. He did CT and MRI scans. He says that the cancer is still in its primary position in my right lung and HAS NOT spread separately into my abdomen. This is good news.

Unfortunately is has started growing again and now infects two lymph nodes too. This is bad news.

The Prof. says I now need conventional chemo again, followed by more visits to him when it is over.

I am seeing Dr. Jeremy Steele at St Bartholomew's on Friday and hope he can offer me something that may work.

This all seems such a battle, but I will continue to fight!


My painting is of Venice.