Wednesday 20th, scanning and other things

Morning: Dressings Clinic & Surgeons Clinic
A couple of visits to the hospital today. The first was a standing appointment at the dressings clinic. Dr Lorrigan's assistant said it was a good idea to attend, as they been monitoring the wound and may have some insight on the changes.

The dressings nurse referred me to the surgeon, who was also holding a clinic. I overheard Mr Murphy send back the message, that there was no point in him seeing me.

So Mr Murphy came to see me and gave me his best bedside manner. He confirmed it look like cancer. He said it was unusual for it to reappear so soon after surgery and grow so aggressively. He did explain that surgery can trigger the growth of cancerous cells. He confirmed that surgery was inappropriate (I had wondered if as a surgeon he would have a different point of view). So the 'systemic' approach is required, i.e. use chemotherapy to attack it everywhere in the body.

Mr Murphy also assured me he had spoken to Dr Lorrigan to try to move my next appointment forward, but Dr Lorrigan isn't holding a clinic between Xmas and New Year.

So that was 1.5 hours in the hospital for a few minutes with the surgeon.


Afternoon: CT Scan
Back home, my good friend Tor dropped by, who I hadn't seen for some years. That was great.

Then it was back to the Christie that afternoon. As before, I had to spend an hour drinking dye. This time I was given a choice of flavours: orange, blackcurrant or something else. I commented on this new sophistication. The nurse said that they had changed the dye, because their had been too many complaints about the cheaper one.

I spent quite some time being scanned. They concentrated on my brain and neck. I don't think they scanned my wound or bumps at all. I am not sure as I was told to keep my eyes most of the time, to avoid the laser light used to target the scan. It was at this point that the implications sank home.

Then it was back home. My parents had arrived. It is nice to have them here to give us both some moral support.