Saturday 7 November 2015

Now what?

My cancer has gone. It has been my life pretty much for the last 7 months. So now what?
I still want to go to university, so I have plans to restart my A-levels in September. Going back to school for me means returning to normality.
I put on a lot of weight because of the steroids combined with not moving or doing exercise because of the pain. I haven't made any changes to the sort of food that I eat but the weight is beginning to come off as I become more mobile. Fitting back into the clothes I wore before I was ill means returning to normality.
I have a part-time job in my parents fish and chip restaurant, and I haven't worked since March, meaning I didn't work on the busiest day of the year which is Good Friday. Going back to work means returning to normality.
There's one other thing. I don't want to be known as a 'cancer kid' or names of the like. I don't want anything that I accomplish in the future to be tarred with the brush that I was ill. I want any achievements I make to be taken on their own merit. I am no different than I was before.
It's time to get my life back.

Wednesday 4 November 2015

REMISSION ACCOMPLISHED

The day I've been waiting for for a very long 7 months finally arrived yesterday, as my consultant confirmed that I am in remission. Tomorrow I am having my port-a-cath removed (at 7.30am!!) and I will be changed to 3 monthly appointments with my consultant at QMC. At some point after I turn 18 I will be transferred to the adult services at City Hospital.
What I didn't know beforehand was the difference between remission and cure. Remission, which is sometimes known as NEC, means there is no evidence of the disease that is detectable using PET scans, X-rays, blood tests etc. You are not classed as cured until after 5 years, as this is the time you are statistically most likely to relapse, although my consultant said some people affected by Hodgkin Lymphoma especially relapse outside of this period, so it's about being aware without becoming a hypochondriac.
I am just so relieved, and very very happy. Thank you all for all your kind words and support, it really means a lot, and thank you for reading my blog.