the day nothing (much) happened ...

I'm not sure what to say about today's "non-appointment" with my haematologist. It was billed as the appointment where I'd learn my final diagnosis, where the views of the Professor in Liverpool would have been canvassed, and a final plan of attack on my cancer would be outlined. There is still a little doubt over quite what my cancer is, so the second opinion was being awaited with keen interest: today was going to resolve this and clarify for Donna and me just what to expect.

But ... the second opinion is still not back! Dr Tueger was very apologetic, explaining that the Prof has been away and only got back yesterday, and as she is the go-to second opinion girl for all of the North West of England, my case wasn't necessarily at the top of the pile ... so, despite the fact that Dr Tueger even left the office to call through to see if she'd had a chance to look at my biopsy yet (she hadn't), we're still in a sort of mini-holding pattern for now. 

So the appointment deteriorated into a bit of a farce, with plans being outlined for treatment, then changed, then re-instated. Dr Tueger and his nurse, Dee, seesawed over what should happen next, with me pitching in, saying I was ready to roll on the 31st, and I'd built my schedule around that, including hoping to attend a 3-day workshop in one of the non-treatment weeks in April, so delaying the start of treatment would be inconvenient (I'm not exactly shy about saying my bit with medics, really). 

In the end, we agreed that, for now, we go ahead with the 31st as the target date for starting treatment, with the proviso that should the Prof in Liverpool come back with a different finding to Hodgkin's lymphoma, then this might need re-thinking. So Donna and I slipped off to a side room with Nurse Dee, who explained more about Hodgkin's to us, and about ABVD, the chemo cocktail I expect to become my medicinal tipple-of-choice over the coming months, and its possible side effects. Lots to take in and take away to read, but while the side effects are not to be looked forward to, there do seem to be drugs that can be taken to counteract these, so really it is all about suck-it-and-see to determine just how I respond to the intense poisons that I have to take into my body over the coming months. 

And, me being me, of course one of my questions was about whether or not I would be able keep running through my chemo. I was delighted when Dee told me that as I was running regularly now, there really was no reason why I shouldn't keep going, but that I should listen to my body, and if it said rest for a while, then I should rest for a while! Here's hoping I do, but also that my body will let me keep on running.

Despite the semi-chaos and indecisiveness of the appointment though, I came away quite positive overall and keen to get this treatment up and running ... bring it on. 

Another highlight of today was meeting Nurse Dee. As with Nurse Laura last week, she was a joy to speak to, knowledgeable and sure-footed in her handling of all our questions.  She and Laura are great communicators, with good senses of humour and they instil a great sense of confidence in them and how they will care for me going forward. Now that is a wonderful skill and I look forward to working with them over the coming months. Wish me luck ...