So, today we went to the oncologist....

And he didn't really have much new to say, but at least I did manage to winkle out of him the chemo protocol I will be having after the operation. Xelox, which is pretty good because I only need to get to the hospital once every three weeks, the rest is pills. Xelox is short for Xeloda and Oxyplatin. Oxyplatin is a bit nasty, but I will get it just once every three weeks, so I guess a few days down time every cycle is all really. I am still not going to go bald, according to him! No-one would believe I have cancer, really, I mean look at all this hair!

Sorry it's a bit blurry, it's hard holding the computer still up in the air.

  I will have eight cycles, so six months, and then a month or so rest, then reversal of the ileostomy.
I am getting a bit ahead of myself, probably because I would like to be able really to get it all over with. I do feel better knowing what is coming along. On the other hand, I now have a date for a PET-CT, ( 10th of February) which is really definitive for metastases in the pelvis, so I can start worrying about that now. Good, that gives me something to do!

No Mets Confirmed

I have just ( finally!) got the complete report from the chest CT I did two weeks ago, and it is clear,as Prof. Shpitz thought. This is really good news, and gives me a lot of hope of beating this thing. Now I just need to get it cut out, chemo the hell out of any cells left floating around and hope for the best.
The operation is the next big thing, and the biggest issue is that  I will have a temporary ileostomy when I wake up. This doesn't worry me in the least, since I have seen loads of them and know how to take care of it. For Oren it is a bit more difficult, but I am gradually educating him, showing him pictures of ileostomies and talking about it, and he is getting used to the idea. I want to avoid waking up after the operation and having him go, " What on earth is THAT thing?!!!" I most likely won't be in the best state for explaining calmly and reasonably at that point.
Although it is only temporary it will be quite a while, probably six months or more. The reason I need an ileostomy is because during chemotherapy the danger of sepsis from small leaks in the operation site is deadly, because the immune system is depressed. The area of the operation has had radiotherapy and is not healthy normal tissue anyway, so just taking the tumour out and sewing the ends together isn't a good option, although some surgeons do do it, depending on what they see during the operation. I prefer the safe option, I have no intention of getting rid of cancer and dying of sepsis!
 There are quite a few sites giving advice on ileostomies on the web, and looking through them I found some hilarious advice. One site recommends buying a swimsuit 'with a matching pattern to hide the bag' . What, with little baggie prints all over? Hum, is there a real one in there somewhere? Another says that rugby is best avoided. Damn, I was planning on making the team this year! One site gives advice on foods best avoided and manages to recommend cutting out all of the major food groups.
One thing which has me completely in shock is the new theory put forward by James Watson, one of the scientists who discovered DNA. It seems that antioxidants, for instance vitamins and lycopenes among others, actually harm cancer patients. The cancer grabs the vitamins and uses them to protect itself, so that radiotherapy and chemotherapy have much less effect. The cancer can also become metastasized earlier. When I looked for support for this theory I found that many oncologists in the US have been quietly telling their patients for a while not to take vitamin supplements. It has been known for several years that supplements of vitamin E in particular actually shorten the average  life span- now we know why. I am very glad that I haven't taken any vitamins, and even went and chucked out some enriched milk from the fridge! Now I check all the food wrappers in the supermarket to make sure there are no added vitamins in anything. No escape that way, f*****g tumour! You're surrounded, come out with your polyps in the air!
I'm not going to complain about my bum today, because it is so sore I don't want to think about it. The nurse took a look last visit and then opened the 'special cupboard', the one you only get to look inside during the last bit of radiotherapy, and gave me so many creams and gels I could open a sore bum shop. Oh well, only two more sessions and then a big long bum rest.

Date for the Operation!

We went to see Prof. Shpitz today. He looked at the chest CT, which we are still waiting for the interpretation of ( I did it about 8 days ago) and said it looks ok to him, no metastases. That was good to know! He did a physical exam and says the tumour feels more mobile, which is good, and may have shrunk a bit, it is hard to know from touch alone. I wanted to hear that it had gone altogether, but he says that only happens in 10% of cases. Then the important bit; the operation will be on the 12th of March, exactly six weeks after the end of radiotherapy. I go into hospital on the 11th for pre-op. He will do the operation himself, something which I am very glad to hear.
We had a good day; after seeing Prof Shpitz we went to make an appointment with the oncologist for two weeks time, talked to the secretary of Surgery B ward and got all the paperwork sorted, got a list of blood tests and so on, got Beilinson to let me come early for radiotherapy today, went to buy sneakers for us both, had lunch in the middle and came home satisfied. I will need a PET CT before the operation and a gynecological exam and a chest x-ray and an ECG, all ordered through my GP, so I'll be tromping round all the medical facilities of central Israel for the foreseeable future! At least I only have one more week of radiotherapy to go!
I also am happy to say that my taint (thanks for the word, Eddie!) is feeling better. 
That's all my news!

Halfway!

Fifteen doses of radiotherapy done, thirteen to go, and I'm still standing. Only because it hurts to sit though. No, actually I'm just kidding. So far so good, I have a few side effects but nothing really bad, and I am still working part time. Chemobrain still hasn't kicked in, at least I can still beat Oren at chess some of the time, although he blames his defeats on absorption through the skin!
Now, I'm going to talk about ladies private parts, so anyone who doesn't want to know should tune out here!  Meanwhile, here is a photo of me wearing my new beautiful scarf and hat knitted for me by Anat, my sister in law. It's really cold and rainy here just now, this is now part of my survival kit with a thick angora coat every time I go out.

Now, on to ladies bits, specifically vaginas. If there is anyone in the process of starting radiotherapy to the rectum reading this, I have one good piece of advice; get some thick, sticky aloe vera gel without alcohol in it ( unbelievable that some kinds have alcohol in) and start applying it around the entrance of your vagina as soon as you start treatment. Not before the daily treatment, when the area has to be clean and dry, but right afterwards. Maybe you will manage to avoid what I have, which is a feeling as though someone has stuck a long, thick sharp nail into my vagina every time I go to pee. If I put aloe vera on first, it's much better, almost no pain at all, but only the thick one, forget about natural juice from the leaf, it's not thick enough to stick on.
Other places I spread it include my bum, which is just starting to smart now, and the area between there and my vagina, which doesn't hurt yet but is the only place the nurse expects it to.
So far, that's about it for side effects. My pubic hair hasn't fallen out just yet, but it may be growing a bit slower. I'm a bit fed up about that, I thought at least I was going to get a free brazilian wax. My head hair seems to be growing more slowly, but I can see my roots again so it is growing. No hand and foot peeling, no mouth sores, nothing. I know the second half of the course is the hardest because the effect accumulates, but I am starting to hope it won't be too bad at all, after all it is only three more weeks! Then a few weeks of complete rest before the op.
Today is probably the rainiest day in Israel since records began, no kidding. It is HEAVING it down outside, and it is COLD. Today of course is the day I go for my chest CT and after that radiotherapy, and of course I have to go up and down the road with the worst traffic jam in Israel, Jabotinsky Street from Geha junction to Bnei Brac and then all the way back to Beilinson hospital. It's going to be a nightmare, and I'm just glad that Oren is taking me and I don't have to go on the bus. Tuesday is my day off, and I have spent it mostly in bed until now, in this weather that is the place to be. I really don't want to get up, maybe I can take the duvet with me?
Update; yesterday the internet went off before I could post this. Everything went fine, we got to Bnei Brac early, did the CT and battled our way through enormous traffic jams to Beilinson, then home in the driving sleet and cold, gusty wind. Today snow is falling in Jerusalem and it is hailing outside, Hadera is partly under water and the road from here to Binyamina has just reopened after being flooded. But we will soon be on the way to Beilinson as usual....

Sheva has a new home.

Nothing earth shattering has been happening here, just taking the pills, going to radiotherapy sessions, feeling fine. The good news is that Sheva has found a new home. Sheva is our beautiful cross breed German Shepherd, she traveled with us all the way from Israel and has been a faithful companion and guard dog. When we came to Israel, thinking we would be back soon, we left her with a good family, but meanwhile they have left Puerto Princesa and Sheva has had to stay with their housekeeper. She has been well looked after, but this couldn't be a permanent solution. We have been very very lucky in that we know quite a few of the expat community in Puerto, and have managed to find her a really good home with Jack, an expat from Australia who loves dogs. He has sent us some photos of Sheva looking relieved that she won't have to improve her typing skills! He was scandalized that she has been fed dry food only; we didn't have the courage to tell him that we always fed her dry food too. No wonder she looks happy!