Farrah Fawcett at the Leonardis Klinik..

I heard on the news yesterday that Farrah Fawcett had been receiving experimental cancer treatment at a clinic in Germany. I wondered at the time if she had returned to the Leonardis Klinik where she had received treatment in 2007 at the suggestion of close friend Cher.

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A lot of people have asked me if the treatment I received in Germany was worth the expense, especially considering that it produced only a modest reduction in my lymphoma which then quickly returned to where it was.

The answer is yes it was worth it. But not in the way you'd expect. You see had it not been for me travelling to Germany and having quite high doses of myelosuppressive chemotherapy, the doctors here in NZ would never have agreed to try the stem cell treatment. It was only the fact that I survived the salvage chemo in Germany without any major bone marrow suppression that they were prepared to take the risk of further treatment here.

I'm pleased to report that I'm still in good shape and have none of the tell-tale B-symptoms that indicate active lymphoma. I have an appointment tomorrow with Dr D'Souza at which time I should find out when I will be having a follow-up scan scheduled.

I'll post tomorrow what he has to say.

Platelets 72

I had a blood test today, and I'm pleased to say my platelets have now risen to a very safe 72 . My white cell count and Neutrophils are also very good and are now in the normal range. The straggler seems to be my red cells and haemoglobin which are below normal and explains why I get a bit breathless when I exercise. I'm sure they will also come back up given a few more weeks.

Not much happening..

I've now completely recovered from my ulcers and my mouth and throat are back to normal again.
I have an appointment at the hospital later in the week, at which time I'll have another blood test and see how high the numbers are getting.

Other than that I have a follow-up appointment with the haematologist in mid April to discuss how things are post transplant. There are no PET or CT scans scheduled at this point in time and until I have had a scan there is no way of knowing how successful the treatment has been.

In the mean time every itch, every ache or sweat leaves me wondering if it has returned.
I've been told that you never get over cancer. You spend the rest of your life worrying about it's possible return. I try to put it out of my mind. I have no cough, I have no night sweats, no pulsing back ache. I shall just have to learn to relax and enjoy the good health.

I've started exercising again. Sarah and I went for an hour long walk last night and shall do the same again this evening. The idea is to make it a regular thing that we do before dinner. The alternative is to sit on the couch, watch mindless telly and eat snacks, not exactly good for the body or the mind.

Eating again

I got onto things pretty quickly this time round and I think by self medicating with an anti-fungal liquid on Monday I've managed to avoid a long stretch of suffering.
The hospital has prescribed a systemic anti-fungal which I started on Tuesday and by Wednesday I was able to swallow fluids again. Today I was able to eat cornflakes for breakfast, all be it rather soggy ones.
Most of the ulcers have subsided apart from a few really painful ones on the inside of my lips. I'm sure they will be gone in a day or two.

Sounds silly and insignificant to be complaining about mouth ulcers after all the medical dramas I've been through, but I can assure you that having thirty ulcers is thirty times more painful than having just one, and on Monday I was a pretty pitiful sight. Unable to eat, drink or even talk properly. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

I was awoken by a sore throat on Sunday morning. By Sunday night I had developed several mouth ulcers. By Monday I could not swallow and the ulcers were numbering in the thirties. After a sleepless night last night I phoned the hospital and relayed the symptoms. They suggested I come in straight away.

My mouth and tongue have gone completely white, a symptom of oral thrush. But I've never seen it get so bad so quickly. I can't swallow without severe pain and drinking any kind of liquid is very difficult. Solid food is impossible.

I'm really annoyed about this because after all the care I went through during chemo to avoid problems with my mouth I've developed exactly what I was trying to avoid. It was this time last year that I suffered the same thing and lost 15kg in weight when I was unable to eat for two weeks. Hopefully this time it won't be as bad.

The really good news is that I had a blood test today. All my counts have doubled since last Saturday. Most are now back into the normal range. The platelet count has shot up to 38 and looks like it's going to rocket up to a normal level in a few weeks. This means that the Bone Marrow transplant has definitely engrafted. I can stop worrying now.

Ugly is the state of my mouth. I hope it wasn't the Indian food I had on Saturday night to celebrate! I've never seen so many ulcers come up all at once. Today in hospital they gave me a litre of fluid via IV as I'm already dehydrated through not being able to swallow. The doctor also took several swabs from my mouth and tongue to see if they can grow anything in the lab. They want me back in again tomorrow.