September Scans and meeting other Melanoma Fighters/Survivors.
As the title suggests I have had my
September scans. As always nervous and worried about the out come….. It doesn’t
matter how many times you have scans, the feeling remains the same, Scanxiety,
gut wrenching, nervousness and the unknown question of ‘what if?’
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| Drain for Iodine injection during scans |
I drove away from work to see the oncologist,
after another busy day at work, I cracked up, The Queens of the Stone Age, to
calm me down or some would say fire me up.
Met Lisa there…we walked in and sat in the
waiting room…in between patients my oncologist gave us the thumbs up and a smile.
This was a welcome relief. All seemed ok from this sign….we entered his office
and my oncologist used the words everything is stable….. NO NEW TUMOURS!!!!! The one that is left is still in the lymph
nodes behind the chest cavity…..and is the size of an olive. He is not
concerned about it and he going to keep a close eye on it……so all in all, I am
doing really well….STABLE in fact Love that word…..Can’t wait to hear NED (No
Evidence of Disease).
It is hard to express my excitement and
relief in words…..all I can say is that someone or something is looking
after us.
Lisa and I are so relieved…. we are almost
at the 12 month mark since everything changed our lives…Which brings me to the
that 12 month mark…..I have asked Lisa to write the next blog entry…..which I
will add a small part to, but Lisa will write from her perspective of the last
12 months.
As a family we are heading off to Palm Cove
for a well-earned family holiday. This will give us a chance to recharge and
enjoy family time…..I am very much looking forward to this magical time…..I
will keep out of the sun…but enjoy the warmth of Palm Cove.
Since the last blog entry many things have
happened……Kalita had her Father’s Day evening at her kinder. We spent time
doing kinder activities….she was so excited and had made me a hand print and
worded phrase written by her teachers about me and from her thoughts….there is
an interesting line in it (see image)….about me having lots of beers….mind you
I have a beer here and there….not often and watching the Hawks. It was
interesting to see what children observe and how much they do take in…..we have
an impact on them in many ways and need to realize this and embrace it when we
can.
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| Kalita's Father's Day evening. |
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| Kalita's Gift to me. Well worded. |
Our backyard is finished; we have access from the deck to the back yard and
grass. Thanks to our good mate Adam Grills for getting this moving and
finished. Also Shane Parke for the fence and grass. We really appreciate it and
love it. (Image below)
I also had the privilege of meeting some
fellow Melanoma Warriors and people who have been affected by Melanoma in
someway. This was a great night out…..we had dinner and shared stories and lots
of laughs.
Jay Allen, who I have mentioned before, came
down from Sydney for the weekend……he is a Stage 3 survivor and works for Melanoma
Australia in Sydney. As part of his role and passion for supporting Melanoma
Patients, he hosts support group meetings once a month….Andrew Rust was the
another gentleman at dinner who I also met……he is a 10 year Stage 4
Survivor…..a larger than life guy who has the best daughter and wife as
support. Chris Bradley was also at dinner he lost his son who was 32 to
Melanoma. Nicole Miller, a beautiful lady, she was there supporting Jay and
Chris, but also had her own personal story, supporting her father who has
Melanoma. All of these people are inspirational and the most down to earth
people, I actually felt like we had all met before.
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| Fellow Melanoma Warriors |
As a result of meeting Jay, and my eagerness
to start a Melanoma Support group here in Melbourne….Well it is happening,….
Every 2nd Wednesday of the month I will be hosting a meeting at my
school to chat and share experiences with other Melanoma Warriors….Our First
meeting will be the 9th October 7:30pm…..all Melanoma Warriors
welcome.
Aside from the excitement of my results I
want to share how I am travelling with my fitness. Riding has hit a new level and
in fact my riding partner Matthew Collins is having trouble keeping up, sorry
Matty had to add this…I am riding an average of 145km a week we have had some
big long rides on most weekends. Running has also stepped up….The Melbourne
Marathon 10km run, is only a month away….Lisa is training hard for the half and I am
hitting around 15km a week and running around 4:15min/km pace…….Not where I
used to be, but I am so happy to be running again and at a reasonable fitness…….the
time away will see Lisa and I running more. The plan is to run the 10km at
Melbourne Marathon and hopefully break 43minutes….After this event I am
planning to race some cycling races.
Forgot to mention how excited I am about
the month coming……would love to see all of my goals achieved, health improve...... as well as see the
MIGHTY HAWKS win the flag!!!
GO HAWKS!!!
Remember to hug your loved one's. Love to all. x
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