53 – It’s all About Family and Friends

15 February 2025

Well. In what’s coming up to five years living with cancer, undergoing 44 sessions of radiotherapy; 18 weeks of chemotherapy; 16 weeks of immunotherapy; a clinical trial with two further shots of immunotherapy and two shots of an experimental vaccine, the actuality is I’m coming to the end of the road.

Or should that be my road?

In any case, I’ve just had my final treatment.

It was just a small dose (is there such a thing?) of radiotherapy to help alleviate some of the constant, excruciating pain I’m experiencing from the cancer attack on my ribs.

The morphine has been doing a good job in dulling the pain, but there are now more than a few times each day when even that ain’t really hitting the spot.

So, the end of my road is up ahead. Not immediately, but the prognosis is poor and expected to be measured in months.

Of course, avid readers of my blog will know this isn’t the first time I’ve been in this situation of ‘a few more months’ – and while it’s been hard to take in – there’s always been another treatment drug to help. But no more.

Now begins the tough but inevitable choices to make for ‘end of life’ planning. As ever with my local NHS, Dr Grant is still taking care of the medical side – albeit with less to do now, but my palliative care team, led by the lovely Vicki Mills is now more involved in the detail over the next few months – hopefully longer.

I say hopefully longer, because I keep chalking off memorable dates as I pass them. Seeing 2024 out wasn’t expected, but I did it. – Nor was celebrating our 11^th wedding anniversary coming in mid-March. I’ll make that no problem.

April sees Nisa and Samros’ birthdays and the birth of my next grandchild – my daughter Rachel is expecting mid-April – I’ll be fine!

Then in July is my 70^th – and I’m also planning for that.

We’ll see how it goes after – just wondering how much  of a milestone until Manchester United win the Champions League 😉

Keeping me going is without doubt, is family, friends and travel. Right now, it’s a blessing – I’m seeing my family more than ever before – mostly they come to Gloucester to visit me.

Samros and Nisa especially are a massive support for me, both physically and especially mentally – although Samros is also suffering the effects of my situation and of course my pain and prognosis.

And who would be without friends? For me, I’m lucky in having some good friends that also make the effort to come visit me – although I can still travel, I’m ever so appreciative of catching-up here locally.

Because of my lung problems, it’s far too much of a faff to fly these days, so I limit myself to overland trips by train or road. A few months ago, I sorted some ‘Interrail’ 1^st class passes and us three, along with my mum (bless her) and a very good mate Paul, who joined us – to visit Christmas markets in Frankfurt and Aachen.

We did it all by pretty swish trains including Eurostar, staying just a couple nights in Frankfurt and one night in Aachen.

Well, I have to say – those Germans. Boy, do they like a market! Nothing to do with shopping, just eating sausages in bread rolls and the obligatory Gluhwein (warm mulled wine). Right up my strasse 🙂

We had another couple of friends travelled to meet us in Frankfurt. I’ve known Bob some twenty years since my first time living in Spain. Bob and his wife Claudia now live in Germany, but also made the time to travel and see us in Frankfurt.

A great trip with lots of lovely memories and well recommended

Speaking of which – a year or so ago – one of my grammar school mates – Jim Earls, found me on Facebook. We’ve chatted a few times, but he found a few others from our year, so arranged a meet-up at London’s Liverpool Street Station.

Juts the four of us at lunchtime, with a few beers (including a couple for me) and a lot of reminiscing about this and that.

I suppose anyone looking at us would have thought they were filming another episode of ‘Last of the Summer Wine’ – a few old farts drinking and remembering the good old days.

Just as it should be!