One of the gifts I received at Christmas was a Fitbit…you must have heard of them…they tell you how many steps you do, how many flights of stairs you climb…and even how well you slept.
Well I normally hover somewhere around 7 hours “sleep” with about 5 restless times during the night.
Last night I had less than 5 hours & most of it was restless…and what was to blame?
Well it wasn’t The Mr & his musical interludes…although he did get an elbow in his ribs a few times…poor thing!
This time the blame was Melanoia….the joyous experience us Melanoma patients face in advance of any medical event, from a standard routine appointment, to a scan…that paranoia that even if you “feel ok” and even though you think you check you lymph nodes well, someone else will do a better job & spot a problem.
So I woke from my not so sleep like slumber & after the usual titivating I made my way on the icy roads to Oxford.
I seem to be seen by a different Oncologist most times I go to these appointments so wasn’t expecting a familiar face….but then in walked Dr Valentine Macauly.
Frequent readers will remember it was Dr Valentine who I first saw when I was looking at a clinical trial at Oxford. (LINK TO BLOG)She fought my corner & I have seen her very much as an angel since then.
She spent so much time with me today, checking my skin, listening to my breathing, my eyes, my heart rate and even reviewing the scars from 2 years ago that she hadn’t seen since I first met her.
I mentioned my fears of the right armpit under my Sentinel Lymph Node biopsy & that I am acutely aware it feels “different” than my other armpit…but the lumps that I feel are scar tissue and my ribs…because I am “skinny”…so now The Angel is top of my Christmas card list!
Aches and pains noted onto already full hospital notes & as she flicked through page after page of my recent medical history we discussed the Colon link.
All Melanoma are classified into DNA strains. Mine is BRaf positive which is basically an indicator of a potentially more aggressive tumour strain. I also knew that the various lesions removed from my colon were Braf + 7 that this link is of interest those involved with Melanoma at Oxford.
It’s unusual for a “young person” (scoff!)have a secondary cancer (even if it’s not active), and even more so that it that holds the same genetic code. The Angel plans to enquire with the Gastro team for an update on the DNA Sequencing they are doing of me! I’m like an enigma…a short, blond messy enigma!
So…there was only one element of my appointment that was frankly less comfortable.
I mentioned aches & pains earlier…..well occasionally I do get a sharp pain in my stomach that lasts a long time.
She poked my tummy, prodded around & then sat me down to discuss my erm…*cough*….bathroom habits!
I actually need you to close your eyes and visualise a cartoon….a cartoon image of an Angel speaking to a female with a frazzled look on her face….and now insert a speech bubble above the Angel….”No need to come to heaven just yet dear, but you should probably go and have a good poo”!!!
I am fine…I shall say no more…I’m otherwise occupied.