Update: September 2026

2026 09 08

Hi everyone –

Today has turned out to be a good day for me!

Yesterday was my three-monthly CT scan, also intended to see whether the chemo is helping. The answer is a resounding yes! (What a relief, after having the usual anxiety when waiting for scan results!) My appreciation to the people who knew where I was going today and sent encouraging messages.

All the ‘reference’ nodules in my lungs and liver have decreased in size, and so has the pleural effusion. My bones are stable, with nothing new. And my blood counts are good.

These results also gave the go-ahead to start chemo Cycle 4 (of 6), so this message comes to you from the chemo ward, where I am ensconced for three to four hours. Gail will fetch me when it's done. And I had a lovely visit from Carin, my friend I met in hospital three years ago.

Other good news: on Saturday I went to circle dancing, for the first time in two months! And Julia was with me! What a wonderful welcome we were given! We were sorry that Gail couldn’t come – she was getting over a cold/flu. I did 10 of the 18 dances, and taught three.

 Much, much love to all of you 🌹❤️

 (Photo: the circle dancing group)

  

2026 09 09

Hi everyone –

I forgot to add a further piece of good news: My tumour markers have come down from about 31 to 23!

In among all the good news, it’s time to remind us all (including me) that this cancer is not curable – it’s manageable, for as long as possible. So my next goal is to reach my 70th birthday next year, provided I still have good enough quality of life by then.

And a closer goal is to complete the current course of chemo, hopefully by mid-November. It’s not usually feasible to do more than 6 cycles, because it so thoroughly depletes one’s body. Gail and I had a good discussion with Garth yesterday, about my options for post-chemo treatments. We’ll make a firm decision nearer the time.

A next goal after that is to still be going strong by March next year, which is the age my mother was when she died. For her sake and for mine. (I’m including more info about her in the book I’m working on, now.)

Thank you all, so very much, for all your love and encouragement.

So much love to all of you. 🌹❤️

(Collage: last night I found the tiniest salvia “hotlips” flower I’ve ever seen, in our garden. See the comparison with a normal-size pair on the same plant.)

 

2026 09 10

To all who mark Rosh Hashanah in any way:

Wishing you – and everyone on our precious planet – peace, love, kindness and new beginnings.

Much love, Yvonne and Gail 🌹🕊️ ❤️

 

 

 

 

2026 09 17

Hi everyone –

Appreciation to those who sent me good wishes for my blood test and yesterday’s chemo. Both were fine, after the injections (Filgrastim) that have become my norm in order to keep my white blood count high enough. (They do cost me three or four days in bed, though, every time!)

Today was our day to wish Julia and Julian a safe trip back to London. We’re missing you already – come back soon!

(Photo: Indian hawthorn near the entrance to CancerCare)

Today would also have been my mother’s 96th birthday ... so many good memories of her.

Lots of love 🌹❤️

2026 09 23

Hi everyone – I hope today’s equinox feels like a good one for you!

While I’ve again been horizontal (due to those energy-sapping injections), I’ve been reading a book that has felt perfect for spring: The Paper Garden – An Artist Begins Her Life’s Work at 72 by Molly Peacock.

It’s about Mary Delany (1700-1788), who created 985 ‘portraits’ (which she referred to as ‘mosaicks’) of plants, especially flowering ones, using an astonishing, unique method.

Most of these are in the British Museum.

There are other books about these extraordinary works, and also about Mrs Delany (as she would always have been called, in her day), including the extensive ‘trove’ of letters she exchanged with her sister, as well as a partial autobiography. In The Paper Garden, Molly Peacock (who herself is a poet) draws on these other books, and also looks at the parallels between some of the ‘mosaicks’ and Mrs Delany’s life story and the parallels with her own life story (and thus with that of any woman who accesses any type of creativity in later life – which, of course, I find encouraging).

My appreciation to Kim Smith, who wrote a review of this book five years ago, and to other contacts who reminded me about its existence more recently.

I read it in black-and-white on Kindle, but viewed colour images online at

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/search?agent=Mary%20Delany

This article is also an interesting read:

https://unfinishedstory.substack.com/p/on-late-bloomers-flowers-friendship

Enjoy!

Lots of love 🌹❤️

 

 

2026 09 25

Hi everyone –

Here we go again: after more low-energy days than usual, I went for a blood test this morning. My haemoglobin and platelets are both low (8.7 and 30 respectively; should be above 9.0 and 100 at the very least).

So I’m at Constantiaberg (in my second-favourite ward) for a transfusion overnight, of two units of blood and a mega-unit of platelets. I don’t think I’ve had a platelet transfusion before!

Huge appreciation to everyone who donates blood or platelets; to all of you for your love and support; and to Gail and Neria for bringing me here to have the blood test this morning and to be admitted this afternoon.

Lots of love 🌹❤️

Photo: The sky at mid-morning today

2026 09 26

Home! With a reasonable blood count (11.2 and 93 respectively), which is likely to increase further over the next few days – we’ll test again on Tuesday, in preparation for Wednesday’s chemo (Day 1 of Cycle 5).

The transfusion ran from about 20:45 to 06:00. (I woke at around 04:00, and read and did puzzles and games on my phone, as well as exchanging some messages with a few ‘early birds’.)

Thanks to all of you for your support, which buoyed me up through the whole process. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Lots of love 🌹❤️

Our citronella pelargonium, which grows in two big pots near the front door, has just started flowering.

 

 

 

Update: August 2026

2026 08 03

 

Hi everyone –

Thanks for your ongoing ride with me on the merry-go-round. I hope yours is going ok ... mine didn’t toss me around as much as I expected in the past week; it just slowed down a lot at times.

In other words, the three injections gave me far less pain than in the past (probably because we did them to prevent depletion rather than fix it after the fact), but they did make me rather tired. And they did their work! I was able to have chemo today, without any fuss. So I’ll do the other three injections this week.

Wishing you a good week, whatever it holds!

Lots of love 🌹❤️

2026 08 07

Thank you, to everyone who sent me birthday wishes yesterday – I appreciate them hugely!

My birthday was an intentionally peaceful, gentle day at home with Gail, Neria and Layla.

This was my birthday outfit. 😄

We had scones with cream and Gail’s home-made grape jam for tea, and Gail made one of my favourite suppers: extremely mild Balti butter chicken. (Hmmm ... that sounds like the Famous Five describing their picnics, but anyway ...)

If you didn’t wish me yesterday, this message is not me fishing for more messages – all is good! (And I don’t always get to wishing everyone else, either.)

Much, much love 🌹❤️

 

2026 08 12

Hi everyone –

Today the merry-go-round has had to go in for some maintenance work!

When I continued to feel tired, even this long after completing all 6 injections (to raise my white blood count), I began to suspect that my haemoglobin (part of the red count) was low. This was confirmed by a blood test this morning, and I need three units of blood overnight tonight.

So this greeting comes to you from the medical ward at Constantiaberg (not my favourite ward, but they’re good here too), where the tune-up of my merry-go-round will be done overnight.

I hope you’re all ensuring that your merry-go-rounds are keeping well maintained!

Lots of love 🎠 🌹❤️

(Photo: iepark.com, merry-go-round manufacturers)

 

2026 08 13

Thanks, as always, for all your support! I appreciate it hugely.

A quick update:

I’m doing fine, and should be discharged by about lunch time.

(Photo: also iepark.com)

 

A long update, for those who want it:

From the middle of the night until about 6 or 7am, I had two of the three units of blood that had been delivered for me (and slept for much of that time).

After that, the merry-go-round mechanics started to argue among themselves about whether I must also receive the third unit. I won’t even try to detail all the back-and-forth, but it did include too many opinions, a blood test this morning, and almost returning the unit to the blood bank.

And then Garth arrived on his morning ward round and said (in other very polite words), “What is this nonsense? Three units were ordered; we need to keep this merry-go-round running for chemo to happen next week; catch that unit before it goes back; give it now!”

As they say, not all heroes wear capes.

So, at the time when the last unit would have been well on its way to completion, it was started.

And the wheels of the bus go round and round ...

(Scuse all the mixed metaphors!)

So much love to all of you ❤️ 🚌 🎠 ❤️

 

2026 08 14

I’ve been chatting with the 🎠, who says she’s off to join the 🎪. (She may catch a ride on the 🚌 to get there.) This leaves me with a choice between the 🎢 and the 🎡, although I’m not especially keen for either type of ride right now! But I’m definitely going to avoid the

!

Perhaps it’s time to hitch a ride on a 🦄 or a 

, a ☄️ or a 🌈 ... or maybe just wish upon a 🌟.

Some 💃🏻 along the way would be rather good, too!

(And yes,  the transfusion was helpful – I appreciate everyone’s support, including the🩸donors! Garth has now suggested, “talk to your platelets over the weekend,” as they need to increase too.)

Lots of love 🌹❤️

 

2026 08 17

Wow – thanks to everyone who had a conversation with my platelets over the weekend! Their count increased from 44 to more than 200! (The ideal is between 140 and 420.)

So I have been given the go-ahead for chemo tomorrow – the long session.

In other good news, Julia and Julian arrived from London on Saturday. They are staying with us at present, and will stay with Jonno next. It’s good to have them here!

(Collage: On Saturday, we all went for an early-evening walk on Park Island)

Lots of love 🌹❤️ 

2026 08 25

Hi everyone – a quick update from the chemo room, where I’m having the Day 8 session (the shorter one) of Cycle 3.

The white-cell-booster injections of last week worked well, and got me here today, but at quite a cost – several days (some of them in bed) with zero energy plus some aches and pains. What came before that, though, was the steroid-induced day of high energy that happens at the start of each chemo cycle, and Gail and I took Julia and Julian to see the early spring flowers at Sunset Beach, Milnerton. Thanks again to cousin Joyce for telling us about their existence, three years ago! Here’s the link to my photo album of our visit there.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/xvsQBNvzgN1AUMow6

(For info, I’m not yet wearing hats all the time, but there was a nippy breeze that day. And the T-shirt was a gift from Julia – I love puffins!) 

Lots of love to all of you 🌹❤️

 

 

 

Update: July 2026

2026 07 02

All aboard the chemo merry-go-round!

We’ve just confirmed that my chemo will start tomorrow. Gail and I will have a consultation at 11:30 with one of Garth’s medical officers to sign consent, and then it’s straight to the chemo room for between 2 and 3 hours.

As before, the cycle will be a longer session on Day 1 (tomorrow), a shorter one on Day 8 (hopefully next week Friday), and a two-week break (with “quarantine time” for about the first week of the break). All going well with blood tests, each cycle will start 3 weeks after the previous start, for a total of 6 cycles. Last year, we saw the pronounced effect of having had chemo previously, and this will probably be the same. So the whole series could take up to a month extra to complete.

The next CT scan will probably be towards the end of Cycle 3.

I’m hoping to dance as much possible during my non-quarantine times, although there will also be days of post-chemo ‘crashes’. We’ll address it all, one precious day at a time.

Thank you for riding this merry-go-round with me!

May whatever merry-go-round you are each riding, of your own, play the best possible music and not make you too dizzy!

So much love to all of you. 🌹❤️

(Photo credit: Jagoda Lalik)

 

2026 07 03

Thanks for all the lovely messages of support!

It all went well today, and the merry-go-round played good music.

And both of the women I chatted with, today, had read and enjoyed the copy of my book that’s been circulating in the chemo room!

Although the day was quite tiring, I enjoyed demolishing a huge slice of carrot cake afterwards, and am feeling fine to dance – which is great, as Sunday is the 11th World Circle Dance Day and we’ll do the three selected dances tomorrow and next Thursday.

The Carbo-Gem that I’m having is a combination of two chemos: Carboplatin and Gemcytabine. On Day 1 of each cycle, I have both together – hence the longer session – and on Day 8, only Gemcytabine. So if the blood counts from next Thursday afternoon’s blood test are high enough, I’ll have the shorter session next Friday.

As you can see from the photos, after fetching Neria from doggy daycare we stopped at the water round the corner from home, as the sunset was pretty and Neria also enjoyed being there.

Lots of love 🌹❤️

 

2026 07 10

Hi everyone –

Well, the merry-go-round did make me dizzier than I would have liked, this week! 🎠🎠

Saturday was wonderful, with lots of dancing; Sunday was fine; but Monday onwards was not great, with a post-steroid crash that lasted and lasted. (After feeling so very well, my body just wasn’t used to being zapped by all those substances!)

By yesterday, I was convinced that I needed a blood transfusion, and said so when I went to the hospital for the blood tests I needed for today’s chemo. Astonishingly, the results were really good!

They told me to test again this morning, which I did. After the usual long wait for results: still fine, with some of the levels even better than yesterday.

So we were able to do the Day 8 chemo today.

I’m still feeling wiped out (with persistent itchy skin rashes that have been around for a while now – a common side effect of both the hormone injections and the chemo). Daunting as this is, there’s nothing actually amiss.

Now begins my time of high susceptibility ... so there will be a lot of rest and no proximity to anyone other than Gail.

I’m waving to you 👋🏼 from this merry-go-round and wishing you all the best for whatever your current merry-go-round 🎠 is.

Lots of love 🌹❤️

(Collage: sunrise on chemo Day 1, by Heather; Layla – watching over me – surprised when I threw the sheet over her by mistake on getting out of bed.)

 

2026 07 20

Hi everyone –

Just a quick update:

This merry-go-round is a bit glitchy – my 🎠 got stuck in the down position last week, while other people’s were throwing them all over the place!

Gail developed a horrible cold/flu just over a week ago, just when I was most susceptible, and we had to isolate in different parts of our (quite small) house. She’s a lot better now, but not fully recovered. I appreciate her superhuman efforts to keep me safe, over the past week!

I’m now out of the susceptible phase, and several of the chemo side effects have eased – notably the horrid, itchy skin rashes, for which David Nye (my integrative doctor) send me an effective medication. Relief!

The other day, I looked back at my record of Cycle 1 of this chemo in 2025, and noticed a lot of things for which this cycle is a carbon copy! (Thank goodness, I had forgotten most of the nasty ones, which I won’t describe right now.) One thing that jumped out at me was that on Day 18, a huge amount of my hair had suddenly fallen out. Today is Day 18 of Cycle 1. So I stepped into the shower to wash my hair, with gritted teeth ...

Nothing happened!!!

🌟🤸🏻‍♂️🌈🤸🏻‍♂️🌟

That’s not to say it won’t yet happen, but this is a significant difference!

Today was also my first relatively normal day in two weeks, and I was able to drive to an appointment, do some shopping, and even take Neria to the off-leash park close to us. I’m slightly tired now, but it’s “nice tired” and I think my 🎠 is getting back into gear.

May everyone’s 🎠🎠 move smoothly, too! And may you not experience a

.

Thanks to all of you for your love and support.

Lots of love 🌹❤️

Collage: Clouds and aloe, while walking with Neria: succulent in our garden; Layla using me as a mattress after we came home

2026 07 24

Hi everyone –

The merry-go-round is getting a bit wild, now!

Although I was feeling so much better, it turned out that my blood levels had other ideas.

Yesterday’s blood test, to check whether I was ready for chemo Cycle 2, showed that everything was too low – all aspects of both the red and white counts. They told me to try again this morning, to see whether or not we could go ahead.

The answer: since yesterday, some aspects (such as haemoglobin) had increased slightly, but the neutrophils aspect of my white count had actually decreased, meaning that I was susceptible again. There was no way chemo could go ahead; instead, I needed injections to boost my white blood count. They gave me the first one at CancerCare, and I must inject myself tomorrow. I’ve done these injections once before (last November), and their side effects are fairly dramatic – bone aches, fatigue, fever, etc. I have anti-inflammatories to take if I need them.

On Monday morning, I must have a blood test to tell us whether it’s chemo or a further injection. (I feel a flowchart coming on ... only joking!)

So ... no dancing tomorrow (I was hoping to be there, all pepped up with chemo steroids), but rather a quiet weekend. Perhaps I’ll devise another poll to send out (also only joking, but I did enjoy yesterday’s one – thanks to all who participated!).

With much love and appreciation, as always 🌹❤️

(Photo: Stephanie Guarini)

PS – For those who like all the details:

There was such a long queue for blood tests at Pathcare this morning that my results would arrive an hour after CancerCare needed them. I opted to try my luck at Haematology, using my ‘status’ as one of their patients, as they have a much quicker turnaround time.

While there, I was lucky enough to be able to have a quick chat with each of Danie and Sr Pat, both of whom had read my book. Danie also commiserated about how much one’s blood levels are depleted by having chemo. I so enjoyed seeing them again! 😊

202607 26

Hi everyone – thank you for your ongoing encouragement!

A few people have asked how I’ve been, this weekend.

To use one of Garth’s favourite expressions, it’s been a mixed bag. I have been quite achy and nauseous, but the meds do help with these. My energy has been low, most of the time, although I have had a couple of earring-making moments and today managed to put the finishing touches to my latest piece of fun art.

Something that has been most enjoyable has been listening to a little girl called Happiness, age 7, who plays the piano (see HappyKeys on YouTube and Facebook).

Here she is, playing Canon in D Major by Johann Pachelbel:

https://youtube.com/shorts/4Hcu7FFHIPA?si=74pj7azWIlP5hjU6

There's a poll coming up, if you want to join in some more lighthearted fun.

Lots of love 🌹❤️

2026 07 27

Hi everyone –

Thanks again for all the support!

Today’s blood test results were good enough for chemo. And then the long chemo session was shorter than expected.

Those injections did pay off – so much so, that I have to give myself six more over the next 10 days! What have I let myself in for?! It is clear, though: I do as recommended, so as not to waste the opportunities accorded to me.

I hope you’re ok, wherever you are, and are also working out when to do as recommended, and when to say, “No way!!”

(Collage: a pale rainbow as we left for the hospital this morning; near the hospital; showing my recent haircut while I still have hair – it is starting to fall out now; sunset from our front door)

Lots of love 🌹❤️

 

 

 

Update: June 2026

2026 06 10

Hi everyone –

Yesterday’s blood test gave the go-ahead for the injection I had this morning (the sixth in the series of I-don’t-know-how-many). All going well, my next injection will be in four weeks’ time as usual.

Tomorrow is the next session of my Thursday morning circle dancing group. Dancing always energises me and I love the time we spend together there, so I’m greatly looking forward to it. 

A couple of my messages have included one of my ‘fun art’ pictures that I started doing in January (it’s a mixture of mindful art, neurographic art and Zentangle). Here’s the link to my blog about it, in case you want to see more – and please note that the bit about sending me the cost of a cup of tea, if you use one of the pieces as a greeting or similar, most definitely does not apply to my “Updates” people! (Please simply acknowledge me as the source.) I appreciate all the support you already give me.

https://yvonne-bulelwa-just-for-fun.blogspot.com/2026/04/yvonne-bulelwa-fun-art.html

Lots of love 🌹❤️

2026 06 17

Hi everyone –

(Apologies for sending this message at what is a rather late time of night in South Africa. It’s taken me a while to write it.)

Today, I had my latest CT scan in the long procession of regular scans.

I’ve been feeling well recently, and hoped that the scan would reflect this. Well, it both did and did not. (No comments about Schrödinger’s cat-scan from the peanut gallery, please! 😝 If you want to know what that means, there’s a lot of info if you google it.)

We can take today’s scan result as a score of “two-all”, which I’ll summarise in a moment.

For background, last week’s blood test showed that my tumour markers had increased quite a lot since last month, although they were still within the normal range. Garth had said that this could simply be a ‘blip’, or it could be an early indication of a change brewing, and the CT scan would give us more information and help to decide what – if anything – we needed to change.

Garth phoned me this evening with today’s results:

The two positives are that the injections have continued to help my bones to be stable and keep the pleural effusion right down.

The two components that are “escaping control – although not galloping away” (Garth’s words) are that the nodules in my lungs have increased in size and that two lesions in my liver have increased in size since the last scan, but at the same time the lesions are about 40% smaller than they were in August last year, just before we did the Carbo-Gem chemo series of mid-August 2025 to early January 2026.

So, although Garth is not yet concerned, he does not want to arrive at a point where he would suddenly be concerned. In the light of all this, he has recommended that my “holiday” from chemo should now be over. So in July, instead of the next injection, and because Carbo-Gem worked so well for me last time, we’ll start a new series of this chemo (all going well, and once the medical aid has authorised it). I’ll let you know the date, as soon as I know it.

What is encouraging is that this time round, I’m entering the chemo process in a much healthier state than last time, where pleural taps, salmonella, and the oral chemo that I couldn’t tolerate had all taken their toll. I’m hoping to be able to continue to dance fairly regularly (and to keep my morning group going if possible!), to go for walks, to drive myself around, to finish my “Funky Hats” sequel, and to spend time with people who mean a lot to me.

At the same time, I haven’t simply forgotten the low blood counts, skin rashes (although I get these with the injections as well), under-tongue ulcer (but now I know the natural remedy to take for it), neuropathy (which has just worked its way out of my feet 🙄), hair loss (I still have my favourite hats, though, plus a new one with sparkles and lights since my book launch), and cycles of low immunity.

I don’t yet know what treatment we’ll do when we finish the chemo series – we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Special appreciation to Garth for ensuring that I had the scan and the results by today, because …

Gail is flying to the UK tomorrow, for a brief visit to our family there! This is the trip that was delayed for more than a year, due to all the weird stuff that was happening with me last year. Tomorrow’s trip was almost derailed again, when Gail fell outside our house on Monday evening, and we spent more than four hours in the emergency unit at the hospital. Most of the time was spent waiting – for X-rays; doctor feedback; cleaning of grazes. (We got home just before midnight.) There was a possibility that her left hand had a fractured bone, but today the hand surgeon she consulted said this wasn’t the case and she could remove the (rather expensive) hand brace she’d had to buy that night. She’s doing much, much better now.

I’m so glad that Gail is going on this visit at last, and I hope that she and the family will have the most fantastic time together!

Lots of love 🌹❤️

So that you can see that I’m truly feeling fine, here’s a video that Gail took at circle dancing on Saturday, of us doing a dance choreographed and taught by Bernard, age 100, of the Fernhill House Care Home in Worcester, UK. It’s not specifically a circle dance, but it works well as one!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/yGeukooLeJYM4PSJ7

 

2026 06 18

 

Thanks for all your wonderful messages to both of us!

Here’s an update from Gail:

Believe it or not, this text arrived from British Airways at 01h00, just as I’d at last got to sleep!:

 

We’re sorry the BA56 on 18 Jun 2026 (19h30) JNB-LHR is cancelled. You are rebooked on BA54 19 Jun 2026 JNB 21h15 LHR 07h30. Please accept flight on {link} or call {phone number}.

 

I got back to sleep at about 02h30!

 

Have just managed to change today’s Safair flight to JHB to leaving CT tomorrow, to catch revised BA booking tomorrow night. 😅

Oh, the havoc caused by global events! And the domino effect on the family arrangements!

Anyway, I get to have a little more time with Gail before she leaves.

Much, much love and deep appreciation to all of you 🌹❤️