We've had the first of those ups and downs I suspect will become common place until complacency sets in. Last Friday I came home and Sarah told me her breast had been itching in the same way and place as when the big C first made itself known. Oh great. After a few frantic phone calls to the breast care nurse the following week minds were put at ease. The itching then stopped.
Friday we saw the Professor to discuss the next stage of the surgery. Sarah has decided to wait until after the summer to give her body some time to catch up. Although its both Mike and Sean's birthday on the 8th of September I'm getting a pair of new presents. Before this, on the 22nd May, the port is being removed from the temporary implant which will make it a little more comfortable for Sarah. A simple local anaesthetic procedure. Although these things never tend to be straightforward with Sarah. Not that I'm being a pessimist, it's a historic fact. But fingers crossed it goes to plan.
During the consultation they also explained the recent blood tests. Two key points were that Sarah's low vitamin D isn't good for cancer prevention however her low score on the cancer marker was good. This marker for her was 19, up to 35 is normal. It's the velocity of any change they look for. If you're at 37 and three months later 50, then 80 a month later it's probably the cancer returning. A CT would confirm the worst. The vitamin deficiency can be controlled with over the counter tablets. The Prof also said to take aspirins to help reduce the probability of cancer. This advice applies to all of us, note to self: buy shares in Aspirin production firms.
June the 19th the first post-treatment CT scan, on the 26th the results. The dice rolled again, another up or down? I'm sure over time, fairly quickly I suspect, we will get used to this recurring event and it will be just the rhythm of our life.
As Sarah's energy continues to return I can see we'll be back to normal soon, although a new normal admittedly.
Rob.
PS For an explanation of the title of this post check out this obscure musical reference.