All change

It’s all change now. We duly went to see the oncologist on Friday. Clearly he, too, had heard about my request for a second opinion & of my influential relative.

First we went through the CT scan. The tumour has not in fact grown since Christmas, despite the lump & pain reappearing. This being so he wonders if further chemotherapy is worthwhile. I’m certainly dubious as it will only aggravate the neuropathy I’m already feeling in my hands & feet. My hands are not too bad. I’m still able to do things. However, the numbness in my feet has now extended beyond my toes to halfway along my feet. I think it could make walking quite dangerous if it extends much further. I suspect a longer break from chemo would give my extremities chance to recover a bit. At the moment they’re still getting worse.

The inflammation on my lung shown on the pre-Christmas scan would seem to be due to the cold I had then. It has now cleared. So that’s not a cause of concern.

Now, he says he never suggested there was a problem with me having further radiotherapy despite me having it four years ago. That’s certainly not what either of us heard in previous meetings with him. However, he had arranged for me to see the radiotherapist this week to look into the possibility of treatment through her speciality. If I take up that option, the PICC line can come out even if I subsequently have it put in again for further chemo after radiotherapy.

I have continued to insist on the need for a second opinion. The one thing that is clear to me is that I’m not going to get rid of this cancer without an operation & my present surgeon is fearful of operating. Maybe the surgeon is right to be anxious. I certainly don’t want to be operated on by someone who isn’t confident of what he is doing. A second opinion should confirm whether the op is as dangerous as has been suggested or whether this surgeon hasn’t the expertise & experience to do it. I want to know which it is. Only then will I settle down to accepting we’re talking of palliative care to make me comfortable & able to live a reasonable quality of life for a reasonable amount of time even though I may have to have disruptions for sessions of chemotherapy/radiotherapy from time to time to keep me going.

Mentioning my relative has certainly scared the hospital. I suspect they think I’ll be suing them or something. I have no such intention. I just want to be fully informed with the best advice available, & if that isn’t from this hospital then we’ll have to go elsewhere.

I really can’t get over the difference in advice I’m now getting since they know I have this knowledgeable relative. I’m beginning to realise how valuable knowing the right people can be in the field of medicine as in so many other fields of life.