All pain, no gain?

So it's been a while since I have posted anything but not much has been happening (Apart from taking a Mensa exam and being outed as a genius!! Who knew?! I certainly didn’t!). But nothing on the Meso front, Up until most recently that is. So I have been having some pleuritic pain which seemed to be getting progressively worse. Of course living with cancer means any changes have to be discussed with your oncologist and lung cancer nurse team but aside of that it’s just a worry. So many things go through your mind; is the cancer growing? Is this another pleural effusion (fluid collection)? Have I got some strange tropical disease? (stranger things happen in Teesside!!). Anyway I spoke to the lung cancer team and they brought forward my CT scan and I had it last Wednesday. Much to my surprise (because these things are never fast) and much to the tenacity of Sara my lung cancer nurse, I got the results on Friday.

Good news. No spread, no growth and slight shrinkage of the pleural thickening (cancer). See Meso isn’t like other cancers, there’s no tumours as such, it’s more like a sheet of tiny cancer cells. Imagine sugar scattered on clingfilm, if you will. So the severity of it is measured by the term ‘pleural thickening’. In short, I’m no thicker than I was in December!

So good news all round. It’s a relief and such a lovely thing to be able to tell family and friends. I’m now on a health kick, trying to lose all the blubber I put on during chemo (I was falsely led to believe I’d shed the weight because I couldn’t eat during chemo, never had that problem!) so now I’m on it! So if you see me wobbling about in my recently revived gym leggings, don’t phone Green peace, it’s a work in progress!