Well folks, I can't believe it has been over a month since I last wrote a post! I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome you all to winter, well if you're in the northern hemisphere anyway, and happy second day of advent! Hope that opening those little doors every morning has revealed some treats! I'm very lucky this year and have four advent calendars on the go!!!! As well as a wee bit of chocolate, I get a Liz Earle mini from their advent calendar, a mini pot of nail polish from my Ciaté one (Thank you so much Lesley and Laura for this) and on my iPhone I get a photo from A Year to Celebrate 2012 app, to remind me what a great year this has been.
Anyway, where did I leave off with this blog ... (Goes back to read last post) ....
Oh yes, I remember now ... I'd seen the registrar and they thought my scan was all clear. Well, after a week of waiting back at Mum and Dad's, I came back to London to find an answer phone message from the registrar confirming that the scan report was in and that it was indeed all clear - phew! The message had been left the Monday after I'd been to the hospital (a week before I found it), so why couldn't the registrar have called me on my mobile? They had the number! Oh well, what was done was done. Now I could get on with enjoying my time off before my planned return to work in the last week in November. Oh yes, and I was recovering from my treatment and building my strength back up ;-)
During my week at Mum and Dad's I went down to Dorset to celebrate the christening of a good friend's daughter. This was a lovely day and I really enjoyed catching up with everyone! Thank you so much Poppy for inviting me to your special day!
Half term week bought my good friend Sarah to London and with it a lovely catch up session and a trip to the cinema to see the lovely Mr Bond! ;-) I really enjoyed Skyfall but was thankful that the seats were comfy! I'd recommend seeing it if you are one of the few that hasn't already!
I think that bought me to the end of October and therefore into the month of my return to work - eek! I was feeling loads better already and my cetuximab rash was beginning to clear up, so I was looking less scarey too. A trip to the hairdessers for a colour and cut helped with this too. I was even managing to stay awake all day (no more afternoon naps). I was getting out on my walks and enjoying some lovely sessions with my yogi! It was time to start planning again. I wanted to do some sort of retreat to try and help set me on a healthy footing. Initially I wanted to try and fit something in before going back to work, but in the end I decided that I'd prefer to do something when I was sure I'd have the energy to enjoy it and make the most of the experience. Therefore, I have booked myself onto an 8 day retreat in Costa Rica in February, which I am SOOOOOOOO excited about!!!! It is aimed at people affected by cancer and as well as yoga, meditation and healthy cooking classes, there is a trek up a volcano, rainforest hikes and visits to the local villages! It all sounds so much fun and just up my street! Hopefully my sister will be able to come too, but it will depend on her work - she's just changed jobs. If she can't make it, off I go on my first holiday on my own! How have I got to be a single 34 year old without doing that before? Anyway, my aim now is to try and be as fit and healthy as I can be to make the most of my trip.
November has bought with it the opportunity to meet up with friends, both old and new. I had a lovely pamper session with Lucy, a day of culture at the Science Museum and V& A with Jo and Oliver and a lovely walk in the park with Nikki and Callan. I have also managed to meet up with some of my lovely new friends that I have met through twitter that have also been affected by bowel cancer. There are far too many of you to mention individually but it has been great to meet you all and I hope that we can meet again soon - you are all so lovely and an inspiration and so special to me - thank you! I wouldn't have got through this year without you all! A special mention must go to Paul though, who invited me to join him and his friends to go to Twickenham to watch the England v South Africa rugby match. Despite the rain and the result, I had a really fun day! Thank you sooooo much Paul! :-) Hopefully over the coming months, I will be able to meet more of my twitter family!
Friday 23rd November bought with it the return trip to the hospital to see my oncologist. I'd been to the hospital a few days before to have blood taken so that the test results would be there ready for my clinic appointment. It was time to see what the all important CEA had done in the weeks since chemo had finished. I must admit, I was very nervous about this appointment, although I knew in my head that I had done everything I could to beat the cancer and I was feeling great. Mum and Dad came up to London and Dad came with me to the hospital. After the usual wait, my oncology consultant called us through. She asked how I was and then told me that everything was looking good. The CEA was now 8, and whilst not back within the normal range, it had certainly dropped from the last time, 5 weeks earlier, and was the lowest it has ever been recorded at for me. Yay!!! As a result of this, she doesn't want to see me again until March next year! This means that my next hospital appointments are with my surgeon at the beginning of February and then with my oncologist in mid March! I can't believe that I am now working in months rather than weeks! Hooray!!!
OK, the next milestone to get through was my return to work! It seemed to come around so quick and I was really looking forward to getting back and seeing everyone again. Thankfully the 8am starts and long shifts are waiting a bit longer as my managers have agreed to let me take it slowly with a phased return. As a result, I am currently working half days and not every day. So last Sunday evening I set my alarm for going back Monday morning. This week has gone well and although I have been tired, I have still managed to have a bit of a life around work - I really didn't want to go back to work but be too tired to do anything else, even just the little things like do my grocery shopping or clean the flat, which is why I'm doing the phased return thing, even though it means a few less ££ at the end of the month. Anyway, week two beacons this week, so hopefully that will go as well as last week. I've tried to be a bit prepared and have made some stuff for lunches that are in the freezer, and planned my other meals - hopefully I'll be able to resist the pasty shop at the station again, although they smell sooo good! ;-)
Now, I know many of you will be aware that November is the month of the dodgy tash in aid of Movember, raising money for prostate cancer. Well, did you know that December is the month of the dodgy beards? Decembeard is to help raise money and awareness of bowel cancer and so is therefore an event that is close to my heart. Both Bowel Cancer UK and Beating Bowel Cancer are hoping to get people to raise money for them by growing a beard. Now, as this is not something I can do very easily, I have decided to wear a cut out beard to raise money for both of these wonderful charities Now the plan at the moment is to wear the beards on 27th December and I am asking for sponsors for this. I know it's not the best time of the year for spare change, with Christmas just around the corner, but if you have any spare pennies I would be ever so grateful if you could bung them my way, via www.virginmoneygiving.com/RachelVince Thanks ever so much! Now, anyway, 27th December is my first live shift back at work, so it will be 11 hours sitting in the office. I will get photographic evidence that I will be wearing my beard though and I will of course wear it too and from work on the train and when I am out and about on my lunch break. I just have to figure out how I am going to eat my lunch and drink my tea - through a straw maybe?!?
I think that's about all my news for now ....
take care everyone
xxxxx
