CT Scan results

In my last post you will recall that I was about to go to Basingstoke for my annual CT scan. The scan went ahead with out any issues and with the usual efficiency that we experience on scan day at Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital
 The wait for the results was similar to recent years;  we waited 4 weeks and three days for the letter to arrive.  Usually I wait for the four week anniversary and then call the specialist nurses to chase the results only to find that a letter was posted just days before. It usually lands on the doormat the following day!
This year I waited just a couple of days more and sure enough the letter arrived without me having to bother the very busy specialist nurses at Basingstoke. To be honest the "scanxiety" wasn't too bad at all this year and we just got on with things without too much worry.

 The good news is that the results were "fine". Whilst my tumour markers are up slightly the team at Basingstoke do not seem concerned at present. The areas of reoccurance that are being monitored have grown by a couple of millimetres but again are nothing to worry about.
The team at Basingstoke have given me the option of a repeat scan in two years time rather than yearly if I want it but I prefer to stick to the yearly scan...peace of mind.
The fact that they have offered me a two year scan is however encouraging and suggests that they don't expect anything to change too much in that period. Happy days!

So we have continued to get on with life. I remain fit and healthy and active as ever. In September Tracey and I had our first holiday abroad together in a number of years in Rhodes, Greece. The girls now grown up stayed at home and we had a lovely holiday on our own at an adult only resort. It was peaceful, quiet and very relaxing. We spent time relaxing by the pool and on the beach. We had a day out in Rhodes old town which is a UNESCO World Heritage site and very interesting. We swam in the pool and I went snorkelling most days. It was perfect!

Snorkelling

Moonlit cabana beds on the beach

Rhodes Old Town

Rhodes Old Town

Interestingly I found obtaining holiday insurance much easier this time around. Last time we went there were few insurance companies that would insure me and I used MIA online. Ironically this year MIA Online wouldn't insure me yet I managed to find multiple companies that would on the comparison websites and at a very reasonable rate too!

We plan to book our next trip away early in the New Year.

I continue to spend much of my free time out of doors and have had some great days out over the summer and autumn period. Most memorable was a day walking, foraging and taking photo's in Savernake Forest with my good friend Jon.

Fly Agaric mushroom- Savernake forest.

I have also managed to do some caving and have started a project to film as much of Swildons Hole in Priddy in Somerset as I can. I need to do this across multiple trips filming section by section. Below is some footage from the very first section of cave and not the final edit. I'll share that in a few months time when its finished!

So hopefully as you can see it is still possible to live a full and active life after treatment for Pseudomyxoma Peritonei. In-fact, after two cytoreductive surgeries....
The one thing I have learnt is that life is short and you need to make the most of it, experience what you can when you can and enjoy the world around you whist you can. You never know when that might change.

Finally, I'd like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year.

Dave

Still Here!

 I'm Still here!

 I know its been a long time since my last post, I won't apologise as I have been busy just getting on with life!

Whilst I'm still currently on "watch and wait" Pseudomyxoma has been far from my mind. I continue to be well and I'm making the most of every minute of it! I have been on watch and wait now for three years or more and little has changed.

I continue with annual CT scans and bloods being taken to measure my tumour markers at the six month mark between scans.

The blood results have been OK but the markers are steadily on the rise-


Tumour Marker       2017                2018        should be less than
         
CEA                         4 ug/L                5 ug/L            5.00 ug/L
CA 19-9                 18 kU/L              20 kU/L          35.00 kU/L
CA125                     5 kU/L                6 kU/L          35.00 kU/L

This continues a trend from the 2016 results. Whilst both the CA19-9 and the CA125 markers are within the normal range the CEA is right on the top end of the normal range for 2018. Am I worried....? Not yet, whats to say the next results might not reduce? I guess I'll just have to wait and see. I suspect that the tumour markers alone are not something to be worried about and are only part of the diagnostics. The next CT scan will be the real test....

Talking of which, I now have a date; 19th October. Judging by my last CT I don't expect to hear of any results for around four weeks after the scan has been done. So that puts the date somewhere around mid to late November. Fingers crossed!

As I have eluded to above we have continued to get on with life. I continue to enjoy keeping fit although have suffered with my back again recently. So it looks like my running days are over, time for a road bike me thinks! I have continued to swim regularly and have enjoyed it very much. You may have noticed that I have created a "Club" on Strava for people with Pseudomyxoma to share their achievements.

We have been lucky enough to have some good holidays here in the UK and have been blessed by an amazing summer with long periods of hot weather. I continue to enjoy my amateur photography and film making. It satisfies my creative appetite! Here's just a few of my favourites!

   
                                          Ilfracombe, Devon.

                                         Newqay, Cornwall.
               

                                         Mousehole, Cornwall.                                      

So I plan to give you my next update after my CT scan and blood results have been issued some time in November. Hopefully the news will be good. As the saying goes for now I'll just "keep calm and carry on!".......

A New Year brings new adventures!

With the New Year well underway and the promise of spring just around the corner the mind is already starting to plan new adventures. Right now its very cold here in the UK and the threat of snow looms as the “Beast from the East” as the media has dubbed it breathes its icy wind all the way from Siberia. Cold air is being pushed east to west across the UK with daytime temperatures due to be hovering around zero by midweek. Yet, if you find a spot out of the wind the sun does have some warmth in it. A warm kiss on the cheek ,the days lengthening, and for the keen eyed the early stirrings of the natural world brings the promise of warmer days to come.

But not to let winter beat me I have already managed some small adventures. I continue with my running and swimming. The swimming in particular has really helped rebuild my core and lower back muscles that have taken such  battering over the last few years. Im pretty sure that the subsequent back problems I suffered after my operations for Pseudomyxoma had something to do with the imbalance if the muscles in the core. I think  there was always an underlying issue there but the operations didn’t help. However the exercise definitely seems to be working and I’m feeling really well at the moment!

I have also been back underground and taken a colleague of mine on his first caving trip! Piotr had shown an interest for some time and it was great to finally get him underground. The weather that weekend was awful with torrential rain and flooding so I had to rethink where we were going to ensure the trip was safe and able to go ahead. This meant a trip back to a cave where I first started out; Goatchurch Cavern in Burrington Coombe in the Mendip Hills.

It’s a small, short cave and is a favourite for beginners so was perfect for Piotr's first trip. The nice big entrance soon gives way to narrow passages and rifts and interestingly named obstacles such as “The coffin lid” and “ The drainpipe”!

I have also managed some short walks over the winter. Its one of my favourite times of the year. With nature largely dormant and fast asleep its a peaceful, quiet time of the year. With “golden hour” at a reasonable time in the morning and early evening it makes capturing those amazing sun rises and sun sets so much easier with the camera.

Talking of camera’s I have now added a new dimension to my film and photography allowing me to get shots from the air using a drone! Ive only managed a few short  clips whilst I get the hang of using it at present . I’m a big kid at heart and this is a great toy to play with and I have lots of plans to use it to help add a different angle to future films of my mini adventures! So watch this space….!

The family are well and both Jess and Chloe are growing up too fast! Jess has secured a full time job an is working in a marketing department for a large company using her graphics and multi media skills whilst Chloe has managed to secure herself a place on a course at Bristol zoo studying zoological management. Whilst Chloe was at her interviewed I also managed to grab a couple of hours with the camera snapping some of the residents!

I’m really lucky that my health continues to be good. With my next scan not planned until October I can hopefully just get on with life and enjoy it. I do plan to get a blood test done in the next month or so just to keep tabs on my tumour markers between now and the scan. 12 month is a long time to wait for a scan when you know that you do still have cancer lurking deep inside. So far its stayed stable and not done anything. Long may it continue……as I have plenty more adventures planned for the summer!