Thank you all for your recent telephone calls, text messages and e-mails!! I am fully aware its been nearly 2 weeks since I last posted on the blog, but there has been a very good reason for that (which will become clear!!). I didn't want to post a 'no news' post for the sake of it last week, and this week I have had 4 separate appointments with hospital/healthcare professionals so thought it best to wait their verdicts.
Following on from the last post and the progress I made with eating in Northumberland, my diet is now quite varied. Its still mostly soft stuff, easily digestible and most of all, easy to swallow. Nearly everything I swallow currently has to be washed down with a glass of milk, water or Coke but I can live with that.
Since I last posted of course we held Sarah's 40th party at Aston Hall Cricket club and it was fantastic to see so many friends again. Being laid up at home I have been limited in my social contact for the last 8 months so it was wonderful to meet and chat to so many old friends. I had a great time and Sarah did too - so thank you to everyone who showed up. I also thoroughly enjoyed myself throwing a few moves on the dance floor towards the end of the night, its good to see the old magic is still there!! 
Also on the night one of the more popular items of food (well, it was first to go!) was my ham, boiled for 3 hours in 2 litres of coca cola, then roasted in the oven having been glazed with black treacle, demerara sugar and mustard. I'd love to say it tasted nice but the gannets got to it first and I didn't get to try it!! 
Our Dan did a fantastic job of dj'ing on the night and Gina was the perfect amabassador for Weston Park Hospital, prising cash from most of the guests in exchange for a blue or pink bow pin badge!
On Saturday evening, while distracted due to watching the final Doctor Who episode, I was overcome with temptation and stole a slice of pepperoni pizza from our Dan. Surprisingly it was fairly easy to swallow when washed down with coke, and I went on to steal a piece of Gina's and also a slice of Sarah's Pollo Funghi - though the chicken proved more of a challenge than the pepperoni - good choice Sarah and i'm sure you will go for that pizza again to save you being ransacked in future! 
Sunday saw me being even more adventurous, with a large bowl of Frosties (microwaved and soggy) for breakfast, a Pot Noodle (yes, I know - eeeergh) for lunch and I was so encouraged I made my Irish Stew dish (as described in great detail in March) for dinner and served it in large Yorkshire Puddings. I managed half my Yorkshire Pud, and all my Irish Stew - and it felt great to be eating something so tasty again.
Monday again was a big food day, and even saw me eating out while on a shopping trip to Meadowhall with our Dan. We went to his favourite restaurant, Nando's, home of Piri Piri chicken. Now this was a step I was nervous about - spicy food. I had a childs portion of chicken strips and chips, managed the chicken and half my chips. I was so pleased with myself I texted half a dozen people to let them know!!
Tuesday and again I was in meadowhall, but with Gina. We had jacket potato for tea, me with lots of butter and a little grated cheese, and i spent a good few minutes mashing it all together to make it palatable. It was the first food I can honestly say I enjoyed since i started eating again, the other stuff seemed like a chore such was the pain against my ulcers and the difficulty I had in swallowing.
As the week has progressed I have even eaten a McDonaldsHappy Meal (minus the toy!) and last night Sarah cooked me the most gorgeous portion of cod in butter sauce (not boil in the bag either!!). That was delicious.
So, things are certainly looking up on the eating front.
On Monday I had an appointment with a Speech and Language therapist who gave me a long list of exercises to do with my mouth neck and throat to get me moving more normally, and of course speaking too without the pain. I reckon that when my ulcers finally take their leave that things will become much more natural.
Tuesday and I saw the dietician who was obviously delighted with progress although she did insist I keep using some milk shakes to top me up. Ive now lost 5 stone since my treatment started.
Wednesday and the appointment was with the nurse from the milk shake company, again delighted with progress and she checked my peg tube over - thats all ok too (as of Wednesday I hadnt used the peg in 9 days).
Thursday and it was the big appointment, 3 month review at Weston Park. Can you believe its been 3 months since my last session of radiotherapy? Time has absolutely flown, and when I think back to how I felt in that last week just 3 months ago - the improvement is incredible. Bernie Foran was away and so I saw Dr Thanvi. Now I get on very well with Dr Thanvi, we have a similar sense of humour, he's always smiling and you can have a good chat about nothing in particular! I had prepared a food diary covering the previous weeks eating exploits and he was delighted too. I told him how desperate I was to get rid of my peg tube so that I can get in a swimming pool and start exercising - and guess what?! he's arranged it!! The peg will be removed at the Royal Hallamshire in Sheffield on Tuesday morning - and that means just in time for my holiday too!
I am over the moon about that - I can really begin to feel human again once I don't have a plastic tube sticking out of my stomach.
Dr Thanvi also told me he regularly uses me as an example to his patients of how a positive frame of mind can help you overcome the trials of cancer treatment which was a brilliant compliment. He asked me if I would be prepared to speak to some of his patients if he passed on my number and of course i would be only too pleased to help, its the very least I can do.
So, I was walking on air when I emerged from Weston Park on Thursday. What an amazing transformation in just a few months. The blog certainly makes very interesting reading going back 3-4 months and the contrast from rock-bottom to walking on air is hugely satisfying.
Ive decided that I'm going back to work from the beginning of August. I'm only undertaking light duties at first on doctors advice but most people who know me would say thats all I ever do anyway!! A couple of days a week will suit me at first and I can slowly build up to being normal. And obviously thats one of the last major milestones for me, other than the upcoming scans and hopefully continued 'all-clears'.
The next 5 years will mean constant supervision from the team at Weston Park to ensure that there is no re-occurence and so it will be a case of holding my breath every time I have an appointment but its no different to many many people. And as I always say - there are many people far worse off than me.
Finally, I am undertaking a sponsored walk in September for Mouth Cancer Awareness. Its in Hyde Park in London and Sarah, Gina and Dan have already said they will accompany me. This is an open invitation to all of you to join me too, if you fancy spending a Saturday afternoon in London walking 10k for a very good cause with a nice meal on the Saturday evening to celebrate (we may even trouble Gordon Ramsey to cook for us in one of his restaurants), then please let me know and I will sign you up to join in.
All details on the walk, to take place on Saturday 20th September, can be found at this website. http://www.mouthcancerwalk.org/ And my friend (and sometimes inspiration) Hayley who's blog I have linked to on here a number of times, is doing the walk too so it will be great to meet her.
Please think about it - it will be great to have as many of you there as possible.
All the best
Nigel xx
It seems my comments about my experiences in Weston Park Hospital weren't to everyones taste, a little too graphic in their description. Well, I've thought long and hard about them and also about quotes like the ones above, and the reason I've used the two above quotes is that the message is quite different.
