A month after Mistletoe

I had my first mistletoe injection on the 20th February and I STILL have a lump in the injection site a month later. This means I don't have to inject again until the lump goes, so probably in a couple of more weeks. I can't say I am sad about that.

I have to say that I am much more comfortable in bed now, the last chemoembolization Prof. Vogl did for me in February seems to have really made a difference. We see him again in May, giving us a nice three-month break from treatment. The longest we have had since I was diagnosed with mesothelioma. I am still not sleeping properly though. If anyone has any great ideas other than getting drunk I would love to hear them.

Actually getting drunk might become an option; where's the Bailey's?

Thank goodness the weather has improved; going for walks in the extreme cold was very difficult as the cold hurt my lungs. It is altogether much more pleasant now, especially as the spring flowers are starting to show and the sun occasionally comes out.

We are looking forward to a holiday in April, but before that we have our friend Carol coming to visit who we last saw over thirty years ago and she was responsible for Rob and I first meeting, for which we are very grateful. I am really looking forward to her and her husband John's visit. It will be the first time we meet John.

Mother's day was very pleasant. The night before we went to Brighton to see Chris Rea in concert, then stayed with my sister Dawn and had lunch with her and her daughter Jade, her partner and her three young children. We got home late afternoon and were visited by our children bearing cards and flowers, very nice. We see a lot of our children; they all live fairly close by which is lovely for us.

The picture this time is by my four-year-old great niece Lily who made it especially for me with a printed picture and stickers, which she did herself. I have it in our study and it cheers me up.

She is a talented young lady and very beautiful. Thank you Lily.

Mistletoe follow up.

I have had my follow up appointment with Dr. McGavin re the mistletoe. He says I must have a lively immune system as I reacted so much to it.. I am to wait until the first injection site has settled down and the swelling is gone before injecting any more. Then I am to go on a quarter dose and see what happens. If that takes a week to settle then I wait that long until I inject again, all in all not bad.

The good news is that the homeopathic medicines the labour MP's want to take away from the NHS does not include the mistletoe as they are Anthroposophic and not homeopathic so this is excellent news for me and others.

Finally I have got the drops Valerian from the chemist who took two weeks to get them in. They will hopefully help me to sleep as it that difficult for me now.

There are rumblings on the internet about a vaccine that is given to mesothelioma patients which uses the patient's own [dendritic cells] to present tumour-associated antigens and thereby generate tumour-specific immunity.It's not a vaccine in the traditional sense: It doesn't prevent disease. But like any vaccine, it triggers the immune system to attack an intruder, in this case, the cancerous cells. Dendritic cells are a form of immune system cell

My picture this time is one my Daughter Emily did at school when she was 14 years old. I have always liked it and have it framed at home. It is of the Museum building in Maidstone.