Kick that Uterus into Touch

Here we are. December 20th. Thursday. 5 days before Christmas.....well in the Quiney household, we have our christmas dinner on Christmas Eve (so in reality - 4 days before the dinner!) I started this tradition many years ago - it worked well for us - I was often rostered to work on Christmas Day - and could always request being off the day before, so we started the old Northern European tradition, because it meant that I could spend all day pottering about, creating a fantastic spread without the stress of opening presents, rushing to  try to get food on the table, and Peter would invariably take the boys off christmas shopping on Christmas Eve (he is that odd man who does shop on Christmas Eve - usually arriving at the shops as everyone else is rushing home for a large drink, in despair....). But this did mean that I could take my time, not get too flustered, and hopefully cover all bases, and make sure we were ready for the big day.  Presents would all be wrapped, t...

A few weeks ago, I'd never heard of the word 'adjuvant'. Now I have - the google definition is:- "applied after initial treatment for cancer, especially to suppress secondary tumour formation." Up until today, I had assumed that adjuvant therapy was either radiotherapy, or chemotherapy. But today I discovered that there is a specific type of radiotherapy known as brachytherapy. This is what my surgeon Marielle has recommended for me. Apparently, the cancer was confined to the uterine body, but was drilling its way through the myometrial muscle and was quite close to blood vessel supply. Because of this, the recommended course of action is Brachytherapy - which is explained as localised radioactive material being placed near the affected area. This is going to happen on 4 different occasions (6 minutes or so) over an 11 day period in January - so we're assuming that my body will have recovered from the surgery and can then tolerate some blasting. The doct...

Our weekend away was booked months ago. Each year, I try to visit my old mate Sue, who I first met at Bretton Hall College in 1974 - a pretty long friendship. Sue lives in Malton, North Yorkshire, which is designated the "Food Capital of Yorkshire". We try to coincide our visit with the Christmas Food Festival, when the town is taken over by stallholders selling foodstuffs and crafts (and quite a bit of tat too). Always a lovely atmosphere: brass bands, choirs, children, funfairs, alcohol, gifts, food, food and more food. In the past, we've been rained on and snowed on...you never quite know what to expect. I wasn't sure we were going to make it this year - only 10 days post hysterectomy - I had no idea if I'd feel up to the journey.   Last week, I felt pretty good - managed to get to the London Fire Brigade Carol Concert on Thursday, and felt ok - so we decided we'd give it a go - I didn't want to miss out on seeing Sue either - plus the fact that...

I've had a lovely couple of days. Yesterday, my awesome colleague (good ol' Susan Sammons) came over and spent a few hours helping me put up christmas decorations. I had intended going out for a walk - but the weather was shitty - so staying in and decorating the tree was a much better option! We enjoyed it - chatting and gossiping and making the place look pretty. - so much easier with two! Because I mentioned yesterday that we were out of basic food supplies, and I'd had to order an internet shop - I have had various offers of food parcels- thank you all - but honestly, you don't want to even start thinking about feeding a Succarath the size of my baby Ned! (This was a word I first heard on Call my Bluff in the 1970s, and my cousin Simon and I have, for some strange reason, remembered it ever after.......the definition at the time was 'a monster of indescribable proportions', but googling it since leads me to believe that it is a sloth-like creature discov...

Good morning everyone. Am very aware that I haven’t blogged during the last few days. I’ve been concentrating on recovery. Some days have been great - others have been not quite so great. Lots of problems with referred pain - why on earth do you get pain in your shoulder blade after a laparoscopic procedure???? Makes no sense.  Somebody will be clever enough to explain that to me. Recovery is now going well, I think.  Hoping to go out for a gentle stroll today. Analgesia consists of paracetamol and ibuprofen, and I’m now trying to only take it when I think I need to. Not enjoying the anticoagulant therapy - how many times have I shown women how to do this? Don’t like physically puncturing myself - utterly counterintuitive - especially when all the little puncture wounds from the surgery are now looking fearsomely bruised! And I shall be doing this until 2 days after Christmas! Managed to get the Christmas tree in and up yesterday (delivered by Si Sparkes, and erected ...