29th July - Clinic and raised Tumour Markers. Another Chemo cycle needed

I woke up feeling much better and ready to head into hospital for the last of my Bleomycin top-ups which would conclude my first cycle of my treatment.

We arrived at the hospital early in time to have the dressing changed on my PICC line and my bloods taken before my 9.30am appointment.  This time I'd asked to see Professor Joffe who had returned from holiday and I'd heard good reports about him.

We headed in for the appointment and Danny (the nurse I'd dealt with in the past) also sat in.  I was asked how I'd been getting on before, unfortunately, I was informed that one of the tumour markers (a protein indicator) from last week's blood sample had spiked significantly.  Typically the reading should be 5-6, the chemo could have led to an increase to around 8-9, but mine had spiked to 15!  This is a firm indicator of a likelihood that some cancerous cells are still present and as a result, I was informed that I'd now need to receive three cycles of chemo rather than the two I was currently in the middle of receiving.

Obviously this was not good news and took me completely by surprise.  By this point I was in the mindset that I was all but through my first cycle of chemo and only had three more weeks to go.  Now, I was being told that I was, in effect, back at square one again and would need to face up to another six weeks of treatment.  Looking at the bigger picture, however, I was told that these increased markers were not uncommon and that the third cycle was needed as a belt and braces approach to ensure that any cancerous cells were hit hard now, rather than the risk of recurrence later.  In summary, my long term prognosis would not be affected by the change in my situation.  In addition, having all but finished one cycle of chemo it was somewhat easier to digest the news that I'd need a further cycle knowing that I now only needed to face two rather than three had I have received the news before my treatment started.

Having finished my appointment with Prof Joffe, who was very helpful and informative, we waited for my drugs to be prepared (which can only be done once I've been given the green light at the clinic) and I then received a half hour Bleomycin infusion.  I said my farewells to Will who was receiving his last Chemo treatment today and we'd spoken a lot of the past couple of weeks.  We left the hospital around 1.30pm and I was felling fine.