January 31st 2021 - I Have My First Covid 19 Jab

I had my first Covid 19 vaccination yesterday administered by Velindre. It was of the Pfizer Biontech variety. It all went relatively smoothly as it was well-organised. So far no side effects to report.

This comes as a relief with my radiotherapy due to start in 16 days time. I was concerned about my daily visits to the hospital being a potential source of infection. 

January 26th 2021 - I Get My First Tattoo

I had the planning appointment for my radiotherapy yesterday at Velindre. This is a taste of what is to come with careful control of bladder and bowel condition required to ensure as much consistency as possible. This involves such pleasantries as an enema and a bit of waiting around for things to happen. I then spent some time in a CT Scanner with marker fluid injected into a vein so that the target area can be identified and marked. This included my first ever tattoo – free of charge!

The whole process was pretty painless and all well I will commence radiotherapy on February 16^th with my bladder and rectum in prime condition. I returned home armed with a supply of enemas and strangely my own pair of what are normally disposable plastic overshoes which need to be used for the whole treatment

I was really impressed with the friendliness and efficiency of the medical staff who did their utmost to lighten the mood while carrying out their duties thoroughly professionally.

I am impatient to get this radiotherapy done – at least it is in the diary now. Having had the chance to meet the medics and look around the department my stress levels have reduced somewhat.

January 19th 2021 - Radiotherapy Looms Large

 Yesterday I had my appointment with the oncologist at Velindre. This time I met with a different doctor and the consultation was all about the radiotherapy that was the next item on my health agenda.

It very much started with, “here is the bad news”, with a long list of the possible side effects which at first sight is pretty daunting: fatigue, diarrhoea, urinary symptoms, PR bleeding, skin redness, changes to bowel/bladder habit including small risk of incontinence, erectile dysfunction and small chance of second malignancy. Of course, this needs to be set against the impact of no treatment which is unthinkable. The doctor stressed that this was an exhaustive list with most risks relatively short term. It does make you think though!

He then explained the process I would follow. The first item will be a CT scan at Velindre to accurately locate and mark the target areas for the radiotherapy – in my case the tumours in the prostate and nearby lymph nodes. This should be carried out in the next couple of weeks. This will also be the planning session for the radiotherapy which will be discussed in detail.

The actual radiotherapy will follow a couple of weeks later. While the delivery of the burst of radiation only takes about five minutes, there is quite a lot of preparation before each treatment. This is all about getting the bladder and bowels into a consistent condition and involves enemas etc. Not looking forward to this! I will have a treatment every weekday for four weeks along with a weekly review. There should be no problem for me to drive myself there which makes things a bit simpler.

I asked about whether there would be a COVID 19 vaccination available as all those trips to a hospital filled me with dread. Velindre had actually started doing vaccinations that day and the doctor thought that I might be contacted at some stage with an offer for this.

So there it is, the next stage looms large. How do I feel? I must confess I am apprehensive about it – who wouldn’t be.  One thing I do know is that I will feel mighty relieved after it is completed. It is now my turn to find a way through it as thousands of people have done before me.

 It is just a case of “grin and bear it”, or even, “grin and bare it”.

January 11th 2021 - I finally get the Three Monthly Jab

I finally had my first three monthly injection today after months of communication issues between GP and Velindre. I have to confess this is the first time I have been genuinely worried about catching Covid 19. In a short period of time, I have four face to face medical appointments. Today was the first and this is then closely followed by the dentist on Wednesday, blood test on Friday and Velindre next Monday. I know the necessary precautions are all in place but the virus is rampant at the moment. The plan is for radiotherapy to commence in February with daily visits to Velindre. I would feel a lot more comfortable with a dose of vaccine in my arm! I will have to wait my turn for this of course.

The side effects of the hormone treatment are still in evidence with fatigue and hot flushes still accompanying the inexorable weight gain.

The next key date is next Monday’s visit to Velindre.