Day 144

As I have often remarked here in many ways I have been quite lucky. The cancer seems(fingers crossed) to have been caught early and I seem to be recovering well. I realise that there are many who are not as fortunate. They need organisations like Macmillan cancer Care. Coincidentally on my way to the paper shop I passed a house which said come and join us for a coffee morning in aid of self same charity.

You will not be surprised to learn that I decided to call in. It was a fairly low key event but everyone I met was pleasant. I didn't win anything on the raffle(it's a great game when you are winning and a swindle when you lose) but it was a lovely day and it was a very nice way to spend an hour.

Once again I have been able to experiment a little further. Tonight, for example, I had an English Sausage for my tea and that was the first since before I went into Hospital. What is encouraging is that even though I can feel quite full, the food seems to digest into the system much quicker than before. However I did not make the same mistake as yesterday and waited over an hour before having any pudding.

The local paper comes out tomorrow. I wonder if they have printed my letter.

Day 143

Not much to report today. I am weighing in at 14 stone 7 so that seems to have settled down. I do however need to avoid complacency when it comes to eating.

Ev made a very nice chicken stir fry this evening. She put a small amount on my plate. I managed to eat it all up by the method of taking a lot of time to eat it and cutting some already tender chicken into very small amounts. Anyway that was good and I didn't feel full. I decided to have a very small yogurt to follow and wham that awful stick at the top of the throat feeling returned. The moral of this story is to ensure between main course and pudding allow a gap of an hour. I am sure it will get better but perhaps not for a while.

The other day I mentioned that it seemed quicker to book theatre tickets by phone rather than on line and so it proved. Although we did discover that we were logging in with the wrong user name. The plus side is that we have got good seats for the day we wanted. I suppose this is a good sign in that we are looking for the both of us to be out and about.

May the improvements continue.

Day 142

I walked an extra mile today. I should explain that the part of the Island we live in is a succession of hills. We live in a valley or dip and it is quite a steep climb to the High Street. I decided to get the Bus up the hill and to walk back down again. All went well except for the fact that despite the timetable boasting of 6 buses an hour I still had to wait over 20 minutes before one turned up.

Whilst in town, I had a badly needed hair cut before walking back home. I made it okay but paid the price in that I had to take an afternoon nap. It's a hard life I tell you.

I am also making progress in that I managed some mince today with potato, carrots and broccoli for Dinner this evening. Slowly but surely I am increasing my veg and fruit intake.

In so many ways I really do feel a whole lot better. I shall be looking for further challenges in the weeks ahead.

day 141

It's a sign that I am improving when I can get exasperated by life's little trials. Now those of you who know me will be aware that when it comes to the Information Technology Super Highway I am a long way from the front of the queue. I have nothing against the use of the web at all. Where I perhaps draw the line is when using the computer actually takes longer than ringing somebody up.

Today's frustration was when we tried to book tickets for the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Twelfth Night in London. After going round in circles on the website, we eventually rang to be told tickets weren't going on sale for another two days despite the advertising from the Company telling us they would be available from today.

Otherwise I forgot to turn my phone off when returning a book to the library. This was unfortunate as whilst I was in there a friend from my Radio Cleveland days rang.

Healthwise it's been a decent day though. My next step will be to increase the amount of walking I do. This is a good thing especially to take advantage of some late summer sun.

Day 140

Well I've sent my letter. However whether it will be printed is another matter.

My weight is 14 stone 8 pounds(204 pounds). That is up by a pound on last week. Whilst this does mean that I am not losing anything I need to be careful I don't start piling the weight on.

Another first this evening in the form of a corned beef sandwich. I should explain that one of the warnings you get for the after effects of the operation is the difficulty in eating bread. I am pleased to report there were no problems.

Otherwise we spent a few hours at Andrea and Martin's today which was very pleasant. We also learned that Ev has agreed to be involved with the Church Christmas Play. This has added yet another string to her bow. She certainly keeps herself busy. For my part, I am not making any decisions about returning to Radio until next month. Though I am improving, I need to be sure that I don't get tired too easily.

So another satisfactory day and let us hope this trend continues.

Day 139

Today was altogether a relaxing one. The weather has been unseasonably warm.

My posts lately have been of a positive nature. The continuing fly in the ointment is my dry cough. The NHS did warn me about this. The Oncologist suggested I doubled the dose of tablets to take. I have also invested in some cough medicine but so far this has had limited success. What does surprise me a little is that the condition with acid reflux seems to be getting better. Given that self same acid is supposed to be a cause of the cough I am inclined to feel a little cheated. Nevertheless I intend to continue. Certainly this needs keeping in check if we want to go and see a show.

Tomorrow is another weigh day so we shall see how that is going. I might also write a letter to the local paper. One of the ferry companies operates a fast catamaran service to Portsmouth. The Company is replacing three ageing boats with two new ones. The paper has only just woken up to the fact that these new craft are smaller than the old ones and therefore will frequently be full with folk turned away. Despite enjoying a monopoly on these ferry routes there is no control by anyone on fares, levels of service and quality of accommodation. The new service starts at the beginning of October and will no doubt lead to protests. Gosh I sound like Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells.

Days 136, 137 and 138

Apologies for being off the air these last three days. Alas I struggle with the laptop and our monitor for the PC broke. Now a few quid lighter all is fixed and I am back on air.

Thank you for your messages of support. It's comforting to know that you understand even if you don't agree with what I have decided to do. Today(Friday) I went to have my anti Pneumonia Jab. The health centre nurse told me that if I was due to have chemo she would not have given me the injection.

Otherwise things are looking up. First of all I am back driving. The Island's roads are maddeningly slow but after 6 weeks or so away from the steering wheel they are a good reintroduction to the world of driving. Second I am definitely eating more and better. Yesterday Lunchtime I managed a ham and cheese croissant which I couldn't see me eating even a week ago. Thirdly when food does initially stick at the top of the throat it does not last nearly as long before digesting.

Just about everybody remarks on how well I look. I am also holding my weight so there is no problem about nourishment.

Let's hope this continues.