It's good to be home. I must go on record to say how pleased I was the treatment I received at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle. I could not have been looked after better.Our British National Health Service is the best healthcare system in the world. I wish that some of my American friends who are so strongly opposed to the idea of having a similar system over there could experience it (without having a brain tumour, obviously. :)
My operation was successful. The doctors told me they operated using a microscope and removed all of the brain tumour that they could see. I don't think that means I no longer have the tumour.There is still a part of it inside my brain which could grow back eventually. But hopefully this will give me a few more years when I will be able to enjoy a normal life.
One thing that puzzles me is why I don't feel better than I do at the moment. My sense of balance is worse than it was before the operation. I have to be very careful not to lose my balance when I move about the house. My vision is not as sharp as it was either,. I am using the computer quite well at the moment which is an improvement but typing is still a bit more error-prone than it was..
I remember after the first operation it took several weeks for my vision to stabilize. So I guess I may just have to be patient. I have another appointment with the doctors next week so we'll see then what they have to say about it.
3 October - Surgery again
Just a quick update on what is going to happen. The team at Newcastle have decided that the best course of action for me is more brain surgery to remove as much as possible of the tumour. We did raise the issue of other kinds of treatment but it turns out that they would not be appropriate for the type of tumour I have. ("Cyber knife" was mentioned but is not possible because my tumour doesn't have clearly defined boundaries.)
So the plan - as always subject to change subject to bed and theatre availability - is for me to go over next Tuesday (8th October) to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle (where I had brain surgery before). Hopefully I will be on the surgeon's list for Wednesday 9th.
I can't say that I am looking forward to it but there don't seem to be many other choices. The first time, when the tumour was first spotted, everything happened so quickly that I didn't have time to think about it much. I just have to hope that it all goes as well as it did the first time and I'll be back recovering from the op by next weekend.
Wish me luck!
2 October - A doctor calls
Had a phone call from a doctor this afternoon. My case has been discussed at the multi disciplinary meeting. The cancer has grown: it is now 3 cm. It seems they are going to do something about it. A doctor from the Newcastle hospital will phone tomorrow with more details of the treatment options. Olga thought he mentioned the possibility of going in to hospital next week. So we are now waiting anxiously for the phone to ring.
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