Happy New Year!! Yes it’s already January 3 but it’s my first post for 2024 and in fact my first post in a while. We go big celebrating the new year when in fact nothing much changes, the biggest effect is usually having to buy a new calendar!
It’s much of a muchness for us. A new year but the same stresses and a few extra ones to boot. Linda is fine. We had our regular oncology appointment, a date we keep every three weeks, and the professor was pretty pleased with how she is tracking. Her latest bone scan was good, there is no reason to think that her cancer has spread to her organs and we continue much as we have done for the last 18 months, looking forward to what lies ahead in our lives. There was one slight note of caution. Her cancer markers are rising very slowly yet surely. Now by itself it doesn’t mean much and isn’t cause for major alarm, in fact the professor has stressed to us previously that decisions aren’t made on rising cancer markers and Linda’s are still quite low compared to what they were when diagnosed. At that time she was in crisis. But, what it does reveal is that the medication is subduing 90 percent of the cancer but a small amount of creep is evident. But, we go on.
We have a great deal of faith in the medical professionals involved in Linda’s treatment. They have hit the mark with analysis, diagnosis and treatment at nearly every point, only a minor glitch here and there which has been picked up by the system before any real danger occurred. Linda’s life is in their hands, and we are appreciative of that. She would be dead now without them.
I finished the year with a regular bladder check up with attendance at day surgery at the local private hospital. Ever since a little cancerous growth was found on my bladder and removed two or so years ago, I have had to have a regular procedure every twelve months. This will continue until I am too old to have it done any more. A camera is inserted into my bladder by a rather invasive procedure and the bladder walls checked for any recurrence. There is a 20 percent chance of it returning and that would cause real concern and a dose of chemotherapy to be flushed through my nether regions However, the surgeon is confident that won’t happen but has still urged me to come back every year. The people who get themselves into trouble are the ones who don’t and come back seven or eight years later and have real problems. Once again, I can only take the advice of medical professionals.
So as another year begins to shake out, everything old is new again and we rest and prepare for all our annual rituals. Linda and I don’t know what lies in store from here and the uncertainty of our situation is daunting. But we enjoy what we have, trials and tribulations be damned. We look forward to sharing our adventures in 2024.
Strange Notations From a Laborious Life 