Side effects

Well, we had the the meeting with the oncologist at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (that's Queen Elizabeth II's mother not the current queen - only discovered this fascinating fact when I was prowling the corridors looking for a shop. It makes sense. The original buildings look to be 1930s so the naming no doubt goes back to that pre-coronation time).

As assumed, the thrust of the consultation was that I was advised to start the targeted drug therapy but I hadn't anticipated that they would suggest that I did so immediately. I had been hoping that they would tell us the findings of a detailed comparison of the pre and post op CT (soft tissue) scans as far as the lungs were concerned. That didn't happen. For the oncologists the baseline scan is the first post op and for that reason perhaps (?) they had not prioritised the comparison with the first. We were given some vague reassurances that the 'nodules' (new word) had not increased but this appeared to be contradicted by some other info they gave us which suggested they had increased in size (and quite considerably).

This is the world I get into. What are they saying? What does it mean? What are they not saying and what does that mean?

I think one thing is clear - as far as they are concerned the important comparison is between the baseline (first post-op) scan and the next which will be in a few months time when I am well into the treatment.

So far, so good, with the drugs. A 50 mg capsule of Sunitinib each morning slips down easily. Today is day 4 of 28 and then I take two weeks off before starting the cycle again and so on and so on until and unless the scans reveal that there is little or no clinical benefit from the treatment or I get a transfer to that well-stocked pharmacy in the sky..........

We were given an account of possible side effects. The list grows every time someone goes through them with us. I, of course, assume that I will have all of them; nosebleeds, diarrhoea, nausea, mouth ulcers, face rash, skin problems with palms and soles of feet, yellowing of skin, fatigue, high blood pressure etc etc etc. I may become unrecognisable!

At the moment, I'm fine but the cumulative effects are most likely to emerge in weeks 3 and 4.

Given that this therapy is very expensive (figures vary but I'll post definitive info when I get it) I was interested in what assurances I could be given that the Q E H Trust would continue to fund it indefinitely. It felt like I might have hurt their feelings from the reaction I got. There was no question - 'the drugs are NICE approved', 'as long as there were clinical benefits..................' - but I'm thinking about austerity and its side effects.

Tomorrow I join Marian in Bewdley for part 3 of our Worcestershire Way walk; from the village of Martley to Longley Green. Part 2, Shaver's End quarry to Martley, took us over a number of wooded ridges giving us some further majestic views over the English countryside. We plundered the wayside trees for damsons, apples and pears. Though we consumed our backpack victuals both of us had more weight to carry at the end that we did at the start. Neither of us felt hungry when we reached our rendezvous point.

I look forward to further adventures.................and their side effects, possibly.