My Cancer and Me

I have lived with cancer for 8 years in August - 8 YEARS!

That's ages, especially when my first reaction was , well that's it then, I'll get my coat...etc...

For those of you new to my blog I have Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia (CML), I take a pill everyday, and that keeps it at bay.

If you want to read more about my history with cancer, I have blogged about it on numerous occasions, but here are a couple of the highlights here and here

My results were so good that last year I had five months pill free (which was glorious) as there have been studies that some people who have been taking my drug Dasatanib and similar have come off it and shown no further signs of CML. I wasn't that lucky and ended up back on my drugs after 5 months.

That was a bit of a blow, as being off my drugs was great, I had lots of energy, my body ached less and my breathlessness when walking was gone. Sadly, all those things are back in abundance. BUT and this is a big but, I don't have to be injected with traditional chemo, I haven't lost my hair - it's thinned a bit, but on the whole it's hanging in there, I don't spend days vomiting or feeling nauseous (the nausea and headaches just happened when I first took my drugs and eased off over time).  On the whole my symptoms from the drugs don't impact my life too much.

If you'd have told me in 2010 I was still going to be here in 2018 I probably wouldn't have believed you, but as every year goes by my hope increases.

Me, blissfully ignorant on holiday about a month before my diagnosis.

Me today.

Initially, I had to have yearly blood marrow biopsies to check things they couldn't just get from my blood, now they don't need to my cytogenetic blood test is enough to give them all the information they need.

For anyone who has ever had a bone marrow biopsy you'll understand why I am happy to not have them any more.  Having an injection into bone is very painful, I am not going to sugar coat this, no it's not as painful as giving birth (because that goes on for longer), but it is painful.

So yes, no more bone marrow biopsy's equal huge relief, but also demonstrate how quickly this field of medicine is moving on. Some believe that I will end up with medicine that is specifically targeted to my DNA, which would be amazing.

So just remember when you are asked to contribute to Cancer Research or Blood Wise, do, because you will be helping me and people like me.

I want to grow old, I want to move to the seaside, I want to see my children become adults and celebrate life, however they choose, and this seems to become a more realistic probability every day.

So yes, I am 8 years with cancer but I am optimistic that I will continue to fight, and get the best medicine and support the charities that support me, and that tiny niggle of what would happen if my condition took a turn for a worse lessens everyday.

So I live with Cancer, it's not my bestie, far from it, it is an annoyance that I can overcome, most days (I still have bad days), because cancer is stupid and I am better than it.

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