Progress and a blockage

The busy week went well. Prostap injection Monday - no problems. Zometa infusion Tuesday- quite a pleasant experience, in as much as having a needle stuck in you can be pleasant. The infusion was done in one of the nurses' offices. I was sat in a comfortable reclining armchair and provided with a cup of tea whilst the Zometa was fed into my vein. Listening to and chatting with the nurses was a bonus.

On the Wednesday I received a letter telling me I had an appointment with the Oncologist on the multi-disciplinary team (I'd actually asked to see a different one, but never mind). The Oncologist was the one I was initially referred to for post operative treatment for my testicular cancer back in 2007, and I was pleased he remembered me. I learnt from him that the reason I am ineligible for clinical trials is that I have already had, and been treated for cancer. If the Bicalutamide (Casodex) treatment does not bring down my PSA or stops being effective later, then the next treatment to be tried will be oestrogen, followed by chemotherapy. He didn't think that the newer treatments - Arbiterone and Alpharadin - will be licensed for a year or two and will need to be OKed by NICE before they become available. Pretty much as I expected really. I'll have a PSA test at the same time as the blood tests that have to be done before each Zometa infusion in April. This should also fit in with the annual blood tests regarding my high blood pressure - not high at the moment the pills are working. The car had its service and passed its MOT that day too.

On the following Saturday I met up with some on-line friends from the FiftyPlusForum in Altrincham for a chat and a meal. It was good to actually meet some of the people I'd been exchanging messages with over the last year or so. I enjoyed the chatting and meal but the enjoyment was reduced a bit by a persistent pain in my right leg. That pain usually responds to a combination of Ibuprofen and Paracetemol (or Co-Codamol) but not that day.

The pain eased over the rest of the weekend but a side effect of the pain killers cut in - constipation. So on the Monday I made an appointment to see a GP on the Tuesday. He provided me with a couple of stronger pain killers for when needed (like on Saturday) and a couple of laxative options to try. The laxative, Movicol, did its work in as much as the backlog wanted to budge but couldn't get past my piles. After a few fruitless attempts at moving my bowels my wife 'phoned the pharmacy to ask if they had any suggestions. They said that I'd need to see a doctor who may arrange for the district nurse to sort me out (probably with an enema I suppose). I got an emergency appointment for later in the afternoon. Before then, however, the piles were breached and my bowels evacuated. Hurray. I saw the doctor anyway and he advised me to continue with the laxatives and aim to keep the stools soft. He prescribed a cream for the piles on the basis that it would have an anaesthetic effect and reduce pain but he doubted whether such creams do anything else worthwhile.

As of now the Zometa seems to be beginning to work in as much as I have less bone pain and have cut down on the pain killers. The constipation hasn't gone though and the laxative does not seem to be working. I'll have to up the dose a bit. Another good thing is that I have lost about half a stone over the last few weeks, shame my belly seems to have got bigger though.