Where do I start? It’s been a busy few weeks since my last blog, hence why it’s taken me so long to actually post anything! But take it as a good thing, I’m out here living! My last blog was all about physical side effects. Luckily since posting, some of those side effects have calmed down. The major issue was my hand-foot syndrome, so I let my oncologist know and they decided to let me have a break from chemo to help. Chemocation #2 was fantastic! It gave my hands time to heal a little so that once this is all over it shouldn’t take too long for my hands to recover fully. It was perfect timing as we officially moved to Rye now, so at least I could help during the moving process 🌞 Peter Mac have helped so much with the organising of my Baxter disconnection down in Rye and rescheduling clinic appointments and chemo so that we only have to come to Melbourne for one day each fortnight.

My oncologist also decided to reduce the dosage of Bevacizumab from 100% to 80%. Apparently it’s quite a small reduction compared to some people but the positive effect it’s had on my body is amazing! I’ve just finished my 3rd round on a reduced dose and my recovery is so much better. I would usually have nausea tablets across the 3 days of chemo but this round I didn’t have to take any! Yay!

I’ve also had another PET scan since my last blog, which was late September. The report of my results said I had a “VERY HIGH LEVEL RESPONSE TO THERAPY”! WOOOOOO! I was soooo happy to read that as previous scans have said “moderate response”. Way back in May, my oncologist warned me that my results would start to plateau. So far they haven’t done that and have continued to show shrinkage of my tumors!

Something else we have looked into is SIRT. It’s basically targeted radiation that goes straight to the liver tumors. I had a consult (which included an angiogram) booked in but when I got to the hospital and showed the doctor my latest PET scan results, he said I was no longer a candidate for SIRT as the tumors were now too small. I took this as good news!!

In October we took part in the Olivia Newton John Walk for Wellness, which raises money for cancer research. It was a 5km walk and I had pretty sore feet around the 3/4 mark, but managed to walk 16,000 steps that day! I didn’t get to meet Olivia but a couple of weeks later I did get to meet Samuel Johnson & the Love Your Sister crew 💕 He was so lovely and his passion for “Vankwishing Cancer” shines through when he talks about his future fundraising plans. His goal is to raise 1 million dollars per MONTH by December next year through his ‘Fuck Cancer Bank’, to help fund a simple blood test that can be done at diagnosis to determine what treatment and drugs are best suited for each individual patient. If you have a spare $10 per month then please sign up for the Fuck Cancer Bank at https://love-your-sister.giveeasy.org/fcb

Cancer has taken over our lives. It’s the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing I think about at night. In between isn’t too bad but there are distractions during the day. We have had quite a few emotional moments and I’ve felt quite anxious over the last few weeks but we have had some great support from friends and family to help us through! So thank you to those people 😘