I have just finished 3 months of Chemo which was harder than the op, and am waiting to see my consultant in December to see how things are looking now
What prompted the Chemo? Did they not manage to remove it all with the operation? My GF had a radical hysterectomy 4 years ago, 3 months later she was in remission, no chemo, nothing… 4yrs later she’s still in remission! And her cancer was so far advanced when they found it, they were preparing us both for the worst in terms of arduous chemo and radiotherapy treatments going forward…
I had chemo because out of the 22 lymph nodes they took out one pesky one had cancer in it so it was kind of belt and braces to stop any spread hopefully!
So the saga continues...
What a last few days I've had! So as you can see from the pics, I've spent a bit of time in hospital. Sadly, due to some complications, I developed a pretty serious infection last week, some 6 weeks after my surgery to remove the cancerous lump from my bowels. I started feeling unwell on Tuesday evening, by Wednesday morning I was really unwell, got an emergency appointment with the Doc's on Weds afternoon who prescribed more antibiotics... Which was about as effective as closing the stable door after the horse had already bolted!
Fast forward to Friday night and I was in a bad place... Julie took me to A&E, where after an 11hr wait and being repeatedly told to "just sit down" (I can't sit, the infection is on my arse! My legs were too weak for me to stand for more than a few seconds at a time, and I couldn't sit anywhere!), the use of both my Cancer and previous TIA fast-tracks got me absolutely nowhere but I was finally admitted to a ward... Well I say a ward, but I spent the next 3hrs in a corridor writhing around in pain whilst everyone bashed into my bed that was in everyones way until they had a space left on a ward! Anyway... Not their fault, more a symptom of a chronically underfunded NHS.
So eventually I get onto a ward, where I'm actually given a room on my own due to the nature of my infection... Pretty soon, I get seen to by a surgeon who takes one look at the infected area and says "that needs operating on immediately, antibiotics on their own are going to do nothing to that"... So I was prepared for surgery... Which was another 12hr wait! But finally at 10pm on Saturday night, they operated on me to relieve the infection and to say the pressure relief has been incredible is an understatement!
There are side effects... I now have an open wound on my bum (hopefully will close up slowly in its own time but can be a bit painful when the inevitable needs to happen), but I woke up on Sunday morning after surgery like a new man! My body had been slowly shutting things down due to the infection, Sepsis was setting in. The moment it was relieved, my body returned pretty much to normal! Well I still have to regain control of a couple of things yet, so wearing adult nappies for a few days still (thank you to my GF! 😂), but well on the road to recovery...
Just a few weeks now of recovery, waiting for the wound to heal by itself, and then hopefully I can return to normal... Well, as close to normal as having ongoing checks every 3 months post cancer surgery can be, but hey ho... Hopefully that will be a lot less traumatic than the last few days has been!
And don't know what I'd have done without my GF by my side the last few days and weeks. She has been an absolute rock for me! Can't stress just how much I love her and how much she has done for me, even when (because of the pain) I have been absolutely unbearable at times!
First pic me on Saturday, pre surgery, looking as good as I could. Second pic me on Sunday morning about 10hrs post surgery, feeling 100x better already...
Keep on keeping on, the second pic looks good!
And they say my thread was a rollercoaster!
Good luck mate, hopefully that's the last time you see the inside of a hospital for a while other that for perfectly routine checkups.👍
Dunno what you were worrying about. You still look pink in that first pic not blue or green 🙂
Horrible stuff to have happen. Glad you are on the mend
Blimey you really have been through it haven't you, definitely looking a million times better in that second photo, hope you heal well.
Nobody ever looked good in a hospital gown. KTM T-shirt every time. Glad they caught it in time and you are on the mend. Sepsis is just awful. Speaking from personal experience with my sister who was very lucky to survive.
Bloody hell boy you've been well & truly through the wringer! Wishing you all the BEST.
Jeez you've been through it, glad things are on the up.
Thank you again guys for your support.
tj I can assure you that I may not have looked jaundiced, but the experience was horrific! I am mostly gutted because of both anaesthetic and the position that I never got to see the abscess being drained though... 😂
And yeah, couldn't believe how well I felt when I woke up on Sunday! Even though I'd soiled myself in my sleep... 😂 Once that had all been sorted out, I had a shower, got myself dressed, moved a few things about in the room, got comfy in the bed and was genuinely feeling 100x better. The surgeon came in shortly after I took the photo, said he couldn't believe I was the same guy! I asked if he wanted a coffee, I'd head down and get one for him from the Costa down the road if he wanted... 😂
Glad you are on the mend fella👍
Glad the op went ok for you and you feel better 👍
Mboy,
Take another photo like the one in photo 2 in the same condition if possible.
Then post it on STW.
I shall explain later once I see it.