I attended a small demonstration outside the National ALP Conference at Darling Harbour today. The demonstration opposed the change in ALP policy to now allow the establishment of new uranium mines in Australia.
I recorded some of the speeches in very low resolution with my digital camera and in particular I have assembled a little video that contains most of Christine Milne’s (Australian Greens Tasmanian Senator) speech and I have now uploaded this short and crude documentary to YouTube (see below). This is my first YouTube upload and I might have considered uploading to some public repository a little less tacky, such as the excellent archive.org, but I wanted to try out YouTube and also wanted to conveniently embed the video in my blog.
The actor Tony Barry also gave an excellent speech in which he quoted from memory and at length from Chief Seattle in 1854 when attempts where made by the U.S.A. government to “buy” the Indian land. In the quotation, the chief lamented the ruthless explotation of natural resources saying that it was “The end of living and the beginning of survival”.
I have included the full body of the CT scan report below (I may retrospectively add previous reports in the future). The report shows “a minimal decrease in size of the right upper lobe neoplasm“. This is the first scan since commencing treatment and follows the previous scan that was immediately prior to treatment and which had showed some slight growth.
The oncologist registrar explained that it is not possible to tell from the scan to how much of the abnormal tissue in the lung is necrotic mass (dead tissue).
No change in the abnormal kidney mass and the registrar also suggested that it can’t be certain that this area is a tumor. The report suggests that ultrasound could be contributory in deciding the nature of this tissue, so I will discuss this with a doctor at a future consultation.
The scan does not reveal much about the status of the 12th rib area pathological fracture area, but I have not needed pain killers to deal with this for some time now (weeks).
After receiving the infusion on Wednesday I experienced a strange type of fatigue over Thursday and Friday.
Strange, because rather than a normal general fatigue, it was a sensation that was specific to my body, especially the limbs. My head also seemed too weak to hold itself up and I would walk along resting it on my hand propped up by my arm at the elbow, in turn supported by my other arm. My favourite position was prone and the effort of moving across the room seemed enormous.
By Saturday, the problem was much reduced. Today, Sunday, I felt much more energetic and free to move and walk as normal and was very much able to enjoy an uplifting visits to the MCA and the cinema.
I have also experienced some mild sensations, sometimes as a light tingling, around my left shoulder blade which I have found rather perturbing and have been anxious that it might be some sort of neuropathy occurring as a result of the treatment. Various other strange aches and tenderness come and go from within various parts of my torso, but these are not normally severe enough to require use of pain killers.
At the close of Sunday though, generally feeling very well and pleased that I have a week off before the beginning of the next cycle.
I attended chemotherapy yesterday and received the second 1800 mg Gemcitabine dose for the cycle. I arrived at 2pm but didn’t get hooked up until 4:40. I was quite uncomfortable with a lot of stinging in my hand and arm for the duration.
I had spend much of the time waiting chatting to friends on the phone and one turned up to join me in the chemo suite at about 4.
Set free at about 5:20 and rushed off to an appointment with my GP which had been set for 5:15. My weight has been stable at around 65 kg for the last month. Heart and lungs sound good apparently. I also had flu and B12 injections, bringing the today number of skin perforations for the day up to 4.
A long and exhausting day at the cancer centre but otherwise mostly trouble free.
We arrived a few minutes late a little after 9 a.m. and after a short wait started out with a counsultation with the registrar and reviewed all symptoms to-date.
Blood was then taken and after a reasonably long wait we had a very short, not to say tokeninstic, consultation with the Professor (my oncologist). However it does seem clear I am coping quite well with the therapy and he did indicate that he thought the decline in pain that I reported was a good sign.
Next scan will be taken at the end of this current cycle, currently booked for April 18, but we may move that around a bit to suit other plans ( a little later than I had earlier thought).
My blood levels today were very good with WCC at 6.9 and Neutrophils at 4.7. Another reading Platelets, had been quite low at the time of my brief hospital adventure, but had recovered at least sufficiently to proceed with the chemo today.
Next another long wait before the chemo got going. I made enquiry about the doses that I am getting per cycle:
The feed of these drugs seemed to take forever today, although we had a very pleasant and caring practioner. I had a bit of stinging in my hand from the first dose. I amused myself reading APC magazine and the SMH.
Eventually we were freed and took refuge in nearby juice bar. I had retrieved the slides from previous scans that recently been held at the Professor’s office and while sipping my juice, took a moment to have a read of the report from the scan that had been taken immediately prior to the commencement of chemotherapy. This indicated that the primary lung tumor had grown just a little in the time that elapsed between the initial diagnosis and the commencement of chemo but no other indications (to my layperson’s reading) of rampant disease growth in that period.
After this, just a little shopping before having a very unpleasant encounter with a bus driver on our trip to Glebe where I picked up a recently purchased book from the post office. Finally a coffee break (Dandelion in my case) and a mercifully brief trip home in a taxi where finally collapsed for a good rest.
Today is the last day of the current cycle and tomorrow, if blood levels are all OK in the morning, Cycle 3 will begin .
After the visit to hospital and being observed there for a few hours, my temperature has remained normal. I then had a few sniffles in the nose for about 24 hours, which then lingered less intensely for a day or two, and have been just a little tired on one or two days.
Overall I am feeling very well. I have largely stopped using pain killers as I don’t seem to need them much at the moment.
In the morning I will also get to see the oncologist for the first time since the initial consultation. I believe that we will probably do a new scan Real Soon Now so as to attempt an evaluation of the effectiveness of the current therapy.
