Update: April 2025
2025 04 07
Some of you have asked whether my radiotherapy has started …
not yet! I had the planning scan on 28 March, and heard at the end of last week
that the treatment is scheduled to start late tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon, for
8 to 10 treatment sessions. If it’s 8, it will finish on 17 April; otherwise on
23 April. My next CT scan is planned for 5 May.
The sciatica-type pain is still with me, but it’s much less and only intermittent; I’ve been doing some seated dancing (and the tiniest amount of gentle dancing) at Saturday circle dancing.
Last Thursday, I finally acknowledged that the Letrozole had crept up to being a BIG EISH for me – as bad as it was three years ago. So I stopped taking it. Continuing with my life’s journey has started to feel like a good thing to do, again, instead of the grey-blanket feeling that had become the price to pay for potentially holding some nasty developments at bay. (The leg cramps, a side effect of both Tamoxifen and Letrozole, have already almost completely vanished.) The moment I stopped taking that EISH, I let Garth know that we need to make our next decisions: hopefully I’ll be able to find out more when I’m there tomorrow.
There was a rainbow for a few minutes this afternoon – the first one in absolute ages. (Photo: origami that Gail did, five years ago, with a rainbow from one of our suncatchers.)
Thanks, as always, for all the love and support. It means the world to me.
Lots of love 🌹❤️
2025 04 10
The radiotherapy is going well – thanks for all the support about it! We did Day 3 of 10 today, and as usual it was quick and uncomplicated.
I’m not going to do daily updates, as that would get quite repetitive, but today there is something else to tell ... the summary is in this message, and the detail is in the other message of today, which is only to be read by the unsqueamish, please!
I have mentioned, after each of the last three or so CT scans, that there’s been some fluid round my left lung (it grew from nothing; it shrank; it grew a bit again the last time). Garth had asked me to look out for shortness of breath. This became an intermittent reality recently, and suddenly escalated over about the past 10 days. When I went for my pre-radiation consultation on Tuesday, Dr Yusuf Parker (who works with Garth) said that it was time for me to have the fluid drained.
That’s what we did this morning! It was a bigger procedure than I expected, but (as several medical people promised) I am breathing much more normally now! And, as always at Constantiaberg, the love and care I received were phenomenal.
Appreciation to Gail for being close by, throughout.
I’m recovering in bed now.
Whew!
Lots of love 🌹❤️
2025 04 10 (2)
ONLY FOR UNSQUEAMISH PEOPLE
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This procedure is done in the radiology department, as it’s
guided by ultrasound.
The correct term for what was being drained is a pleural effusion. It’s probably linked to the nodules inside my lung – they sent a small amount for analysis, just to make sure.
The drainage was done through my left back (so I didn’t have to look – yay!) with a local anaesthetic, a needle and a catheter. (I was sitting up throughout.) After about 20 or 30 minutes, a litre had already come out! It then became a little painful inside, kind-of like a stitch. They told me this was probably my lung re-inflating. Say what??!! It hadn’t occurred to me that it was deflated, but it was in fact partially collapsed to make room for all that fluid. By then a further half-litre had come out.
They then removed that catheter and put another one in nearby, to see if any more would come out: it did! Total: two litres!!!
After all that, I felt really weird for a while (faint; sweaty; nauseous; tearful; drained – scuse the pun!) and had to drink water and lie down until I felt better.
The process ended with a chest X-ray, and then it was time for radiotherapy. Only 5 minutes of that today.
I’m still quite achy on my left side – that’s apparently normal, but I can let them know if it hasn’t subsided by tomorrow.
Whew again!!!
Lots of love 🌹❤️
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2025 04 11
As I was still quite achy this morning, I went back to the radiology department to let them know. They did an X-ray to see if anything was as it shouldn’t be.
The good news: None of the problems that could be a concern have happened.
The bad news: “Nature abhors a vacuum”, so there’s already a small amount of new fluid there since yesterday.🙄 They told me today that some people come there quite regularly for it to be drained! I’m hoping that I won’t have to be one of them. It’s possible that Garth may be able to help via medication.
The best news: on our way home, Gail and I popped in on our dancing friend Caroline to drop something off. We all laughed a lot together, and then I found myself breathing more easily than I have in a very long time. Proving what we all know: Laughter is the best medicine.
Lots of love 🌹❤️
2025 04 16
Hi everyone –
The radiotherapy has continued to go well, and there are only 3 more sessions left! I have almost zero pain, now. (But some expected fatigue.)
The aches after draining the fluid from around my lung also eventually went away.
This morning, I had a consultation with Garth. He confirmed that the analysis of the fluid shows that it’s related to the existing nodules in my lung and there’s nothing new involved. The challenge, now, is to choose the next treatment with the best chance of preventing an ongoing cycle of accumulation and drainage – together with a lifestyle that most closely matches the wonderfulness (if there’s such a word!) that I’ve had over the past year or so.
Two different treatments are still available to me. To help us decide between them, we’ve booked my next CT scan for Thursday 24 April (about 10 days earlier than originally planned). Next will be a further consultation, and then I’ll let you know what we choose.
Thanks, as always, for being there for me!
So much love 🌹❤️
(We drove home via Sunrise Beach – photo from the car)
2025 04 23
Radiotherapy is done and dusted! I rang the bell today! (My third time.)
I have no more sciatic pain, which is a massive relief.
At the same time my breathing has become very tight again, so Garth moved my CT scan to yesterday (it had been scheduled for tomorrow), to see whether I needed another pleural tap. The results showed that it is needed (eeuw!), and he requested that for today. But the radiology department was short-staffed today, so they couldn’t fit me in and we’re trying again tomorrow. Meanwhile, I exert myself as little as possible. (And all I want to do is dance!)
Within the next few days, we’ll discuss the next steps regarding medication – which was the original intention of this CT scan! And one of the intentions of the medication is to try to reduce or remove the need for pleural taps.
Thanks for all your wishes and follow-ups!
Lots of love 🌹❤️
2025 04 24
Quick update: they have eventually fitted me in tomorrow morning. We’re just back from the blood test I now needed again (the result from the previous one expired yesterday 🙄).
Looking forward to breathing more easily!
Thanks, as always, for your love and support. 🌹❤️
2025 04 25
Pleural tap done!
I’m not going to pretend it was easy or fun, because it wasn’t ... but I’m still here to tell the tale! Also to do my darnedest not to have any more of those!
Now home resting, and hugely appreciating the love and prayers and good vibes.
Lots of love
(Photo: at the hospital entrance, just after I rang the bell on Tuesday)
2025 04 29
After a long weekend mostly devoted to getting over the pleural tap (muscle aches; trying to breathe deeply enough; wondering if it’s already filling up again) and the radiation (fatigue; some digestive issues), and after reminding Garth’s receptionist that I really, really needed to speak with him, he managed to squeeze in a phone call to me this afternoon.
Garth surprised me with the news that last week’s CT scan had shown little change to the nodules inside my lung – I had been concerned that the large amount of fluid (2 litres, again, on Friday) represented an increase in the number and size of the nodules.
We have now agreed that I’m going to have a course of oral chemo, to try to bring the fluid under control and to manage the metastases in general. For the second time in my life, I’ve just consented to chemo! Who would ever have thought! This one is quite gentle, and doesn’t have the side effects of nausea and hair loss, but it may cause some skin irritation. I also have to pass a blood test (tomorrow) to prove that I can tolerate it.
I need to take things gently, for now, but I’m not in any immediate danger. (Gail and I were relieved to hear the latter!)
There may still be a further need for a pleural tap. Please send good vibes to divert all excess fluid, from me and everyone else, towards completely extinguishing the mountain fires in Cape Town!
Lots of love 🌹❤️
(Photo: we managed a gentle outing on Sunday.)
