Long weekend comming up ... yay!

Not a whole lot to report today. I have been a little more aware of very slight nausea symptoms, but these seem to be keeping pretty much at bay with the meds. The prednasone has certainly monkeyed with my insulin requirements today. More ongoing experimentation with insulin doses required.

Had last appointment with Mike Hanlon (Ortopaedic Specialist) late afternoon. He was pretty happy with the ongoing healing in the leg wound from the biopsy. Didn't seem to think the sore ankle was a bone issue per se but just part of the healing process happening further up that leg.

Speaking of legs, or more specifically groins, the lump in my left groin feels significantly smaller than a few days ago. The one on my right shoulder seems a little less pronounced than before. Hopefully all that toxic stuff is starting to do some of its 'business'.

We're off up to Algies Bay again for the 3-day weekend, which we're looking forward to.

Thanks again for all the support and care.

Another day at the office..

Well, not really, although I did end up there later in the day today and did about an hours worth 'in person'. While it is great having the VPN set-up at home so I can appear to the outside world exactly as if I was sitting at my desk (other than not answering that phone extension!) it is still mutually beneficial to be interacting with colleagues in the real world.

Fortunately, the orders are still rolling in. After Selwyn's inclusion of "Illegal Tegals" (i.e. native wood pigeons) in the crazy TradeMe auction mentioned a few days back, it was quite satisfying to recieve confirmation today of my earlier quotation work for the new boardroom AV system for - guess who... TEGAL!

In the interests of ADK (80k) here is another paragraph break.

Today I have continued my raft of medications at all the right times - some on empty stomach, some with food etc. Taking my temperature etc. I've been drinking heaps (as commanded) and doing plenty of what Buzz Aldrin was the first human to do on the moon while Neil Armstrong was taking his first steps (according to the Herald this morning).

The anti nausea meds seem to be working pretty well, with only an occasional very slight sensation of nausea. So far feeling fine, although aware of not having quite the stamina I'm used to. Yes, I am definitely keen to let my body get on with the major current task of getting better, rather than getting worn down over things that don't really figure in the bigger picture.

Here's another break, David!

I went to good 'ole Rob at Ponsonby Barbers today for a slightly overdue mop chop, thanks to my time in hospital and having been somewhat out of circulation. I've gone a wee bit shorter on top than usual (maybe another tribute to Buzz Aldrin?). If/when it starts coming out in clumps, I'll probably go the whole hog with my first ever #0 and a beanie. At this stage, I don't even own a beanie!

This weekend we're off to Algies Bay for the Queens Birthday long weekend holiday which will be great. I have a bunch more reading material to digest since last weekend's pile.

That is probably about it for tonight's post.

Ciao

So far, so good

I've now been "R"'d (yesterday) and "CHOPped" (today) and all went well both days, I'm pleased to report. Again, so far, no nausea or other unpleasantness. I've had my second whack of Prednosone today (which is the 'P' in the CHOP) - which seems to have had the predicted side effect of incresing my insulin resistance so I'll have to experiment a little to establish new higher insulin doses to compensate for this. They've also now got me on the anti-nausea medication (which I guess must be working well!). The staff at the Haematolgy Day Stay unit are superb and do their utmost to make the process as pleasant as possible. Friendly, competent, careful and sociable. Nice work Tracey!

Unfortunately the pain in the ankle is still a bit of a bother and is now joined by pain under the left heel. Nett result is it is curbing my mobility a bit. Maybe that isn't such a bad thing as it will keep me from charging around like usual as if there's nothing going on. I do want to make sure the old 'bod' gets as much benefit as possible out of this programme. Traditionally I tend to just keep pushing when I feel a bit off, or tired, or whatever. I think during this phase I just need to listen to my body and go with what it says!

Treated myself to Steve Winwoods new album 'Nine Lives' which I bought on the way home from the Daystay. I'm listening to as I write. Not nearly as 'produced' as Back in the Highlife. Sounds good so far.

R went well...CHOP tomorrow

Well, I'm pleased to report that today went...well.

They started things off pretty quietly (slowly) and kept monitoring my temp and blood pressure every half hour and gradually kept ramping up the drip speed over the time I was there watching for any ill effects. (Just as well they didn't try ramping it up after I'd gone home, I guess). Didn't experience any nausea; no fever; no shivvers; no throat discomfort which they were on the lookout for. They did have a bit of fun getting a satisfactory lure installation. Apparently my veins, though easy to locate, were rather hard/tough. When I explained I'd been mainlining 2gms of Fluclox (apparently 'hard' on the veins) twice a day fro 2 1/2 weeks, they suspected that may have had something to do with it.

I hope tomorrow goes as easily! To my left today was a very nice couple from Waiheke. She was having her last CHOP today and has done very well on it. Apart from hair loss, she said she has had virtually no side effects other than feeling tried. The anti-nausea drugs seem to be quite effective she thought. There was a minor celebration at 4:30 when the drip lure was finally taken out of her arm for the last time.

I have had a sore right ankle since Sunday. On Monday I spoke to Haematology Dr about it in case it was significant i.e. a further tumor like at the top of the tibia. Possible, but not necessarily so. I have probably tweeked it somehow over the weekend I guess. It doesn't like being used a lot for any great length of time. Was quite sore yesterday afternoon/evening. Was given medication for it which by this morning seemed to worked well. I'd iced it a lot Monday night. However, today the parking at the hospital was worse than usual and I ended up with a long walk from near the Cricket Grandstand to the Oncology/Haematology Block, and the reverse trip again on the way home. The morning walk was OK but late afternoon one wasn't so tranquil. I've got it up as I type with a bag of ice draped around it and have had another allopurinol(?) (1 per day).

Tonight we dined on delicious apricot chicken, thanks to the generous efforts of the Angel Food crew at St Pauls. Very much appreciated, thank you very much! Thanks too to Graham & Julie for your wonderful delivery tonight!

I have another plan for the parking logistics tomorrow and will report back as to whether it worked or not!

Thanks again so much for all the great expressions of support and love etc.

P.S. My good friends Sel & Ruth Martin pointed out a very funny listing on TradeMe currently for a big wooden wardrobe which they would like to buy, except it is too far away for them. (http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=157255196&
permanent=0) which, if you appreciate the slightly zany and whacky type of humour which I'm partial to, is well worth a look. Then read through the Q and A with Sel's funny questions and the vendor's wonderful replies for many more laughs. Last night I couldn't resist joining in ("jeanetteb" on TradeMe) and it continues to get even sillier. Dosen't end until Friday so plenty of time to join in!

Cheers,
Bruce

Let the R-Chop begin...

I've decided to decline the offer of the trial as described in previous post. While I can see that there might be benefits to be had, there may also be none and a lot of extra visits (and parking trials) to the hospital over the 38 week time frame. There is also a risk of further side effects, some of which would only complicate things for me (as a diabetic) if they did occur.

Ironically, last night I had an email from some very dear friends in the States - she has been battling cancer of a different type for quite some time. While having been on chemo therapy, she is currently ONLY on Avastin, which is the much more pronouncable name for bevacizumab. Go Renate! This is exactly the drug the trial was being conducted on with regard to use in combination with the "R-CHOP" chemo cocktail which I am about to commence.

Tomorrow morning I start with the R part (the rituximab) and then follow with the CHOP on Wednesday. For subsequent treatment rounds, the R will be on the same day as the CHOP. It will be interesting to see how the body reacts and handles things. I'm certainly hoping it won't beat me up too badly!

Cheers,
B & J

Bevacizumab trial...Yes or No???

We have had a nice break up at Algies Bay for the weekend. Weather on Friday night was fairly wild, raining and blowing straight in from the north east. During Saturady, it progressively tamed down to being a pleasant day (meteorologically speaking!). We were just blobbing out so it made no difference whatsoever as far as we were concerned. It was just nice to be able to enjoy a nice sea view from a warm and comfy spot.

Sunday morning was absolutely gorgeous, beautifully calm, still and pristine. Stayed good all day. I did the lawns in the afternoon (the ride-on makes it almost fun!) thinking that although we'll be up there again this coming weekend, I'm not sure what sort of shape I'll be in after the 1st round of chemo on Wednesday and whether I'd feel like doing lawns then. Hopefully I won't be knocked around too much by the exciting list of likely side effects.

The question of whether or not to participate in the Bevacizumab (Avastin) trial is still a little in the air. The drug itself has been around for a while (FDA approved) and is used for treating cancer in the colon and some types of lung cancers (300,000 folk have had it so far). Its use in Non-Hodgkins lymphoma chemotherapy newer and is what the trial is seeking to gain hard evidence on. With a trial of this nature, those that are selected to be part of it have a 50% chance of getting the drug or getting the placebo.

As I type, my thoughts (having oscillated back and forth somewhat since Friday's meeting) tend to be favouring the idea of not taking part in the trial. From what I gather, although also a monoclonal antibody (like Rituximab) it sounds as though the likely benefits are a lot less pronounced than Rituximab. The side effects sound rather like the other potions in the R-CHOP cocktail. There is also a 38-week follow up period with appointments every 3 weeks at the Haematology Dept of the hospital (eek!).

I'm meeting with them again early afternoon tomorrow, so will hold my final decision on the trial part of the treatment until closer to that point.

Stay tuned.

Again, a huge thankyou to you all for the amazing level of support and prayers, actions, good thoughts and best wishes. We really do value it. Fantastic.

Cheers,
Bruce & Jeanette

Time for the CHOP

Today, Friday at 1:30, I had a meeting with two of the Haematology Drs regarding staging and where to from here etc. Despite Jeanette previously informing you all (guessing actually) that there were 5 stages, there are in fact only 4. I had already figured that mine was stage 4 having read the definitions of each. If it was just the lymphoma with nothing elsewhere (like my leg bone) it would have been stage 3. Fortunately stage 4 does respond well to the chemo.

They are wanting to start my chemo (“CHOP" therapy – an acronym for the 4 x drugs/poisons/paint strippers/weed killers which they use) on Wednesday. I was very pleased to learn that they can indeed include me in the programme which adds an R to the mix, namely "R-CHOP". The Rituximab adds a much more precise and targeted aspect to the chemo resulting in a lot less collateral damage. Sounds good to me! This costs $5000 per treatment, which will cost Michael Cullen about $35k. The other day it was uncertain as to whether this was going to be funded for my particular version of lymphoma. Fortunately, it is. Yay!

They have also offered me the chance to have another drug added to the mix, again from the same company, and they have given me a bunch of stuff to read and research on during the weekend. At this point I can see a bunch of reasons to do it, and another bunch of reasons not to. Hopefully I’ll get a handle on it so as I can make an informed decision.

We're about to drive up to Algies Bay for a quiet "veg out" at Dad & Nola's bach. We can just kick back and admire the view and relax and read and chat etc. Unfortunately, we'll probably be off line for the next couple of days.

Ciao
Bruce & Jeanette

Wednesday 21st May - 7:15 pm local time

Got my promotion!


Yabba dabba dooooo!!! I got released/discharged/evicted/ promoted back to civilian life this afternoon. Took a predictably long time to get all the docs signed and prescription done etc. Joel came and picked me up and took me home via the chemist where I got my scrip all sorted.

Certainly a nice feeling walking back in the front door. Joel let Blue (our jumbo-sized dog) in the back door and I took the opportunity to hide and surprise him (Blue, not Joel!). Blue was suitably (and gratifyingly) pleased to see me after two and a half weeks. Ella and Max (2 of the 3 cats) were also very welcoming. Sophie (#3) left her entree until later. Mum came in from her Granny flat at the back and we celebrated with a cup of tea which was significantly better than the warm Arcoroc versions I've grown oddly accepting of during recent times!

I have been told I can start to reuse the leg and don't need top keep it up like I've been faithfully doing day in, day out. I'll just have to watch I don't do too much too soon (extremely tempting!). Soon after arriving home I had a little session on the 'beast' (Korg OASYS keyboard) for which I'd certainly been feeling the absence from). It was nice to re-connect and just enjoy the feeling and satisfaction of making my own kind of music. I look forward to more...

Managed to get spuds peeled and cooked and beef caserole thawed (thanks so much, Christine!) and heated, along with nice warm fire lit all before Jeanette arrived home. I couldn't stand the thought of her coming in to a dark empty house and having to face all that again. At least tonight, there is no rapid turn around and then back out to visit me in hospital.

Yesterday, I had no Dr's visit during the ward rounds and by evening meal time figured I might just have been missed out! (Oh, the joys of hyperbole - Greg and Zoe?). Kev Harper came in to visit after work (and my dinner) and we were having a good old yarn when suddenly Mike Hanlon and Mike Van Niekerk (orthopedic surgeons) appeared unexpectedly at the end of my bed and did the proverbial "Site Inspection" (ProVision Technologies 'speak'). Fortunately they were both suitably impressed with progress on the wound site and said I was cleared for take off. Yowza!!!

Despite that, it was still around 2:30 today when I finally taxied down the Transition Lounge drive/runway and took off. Nice feeling though!

I'm about to trawl back through the home a/c emails which I understand will be a fairly serious mission. Please understand any tardiness shown in responding in my usual prompt and efficient (not to mention humble?) fashion.

Again, a huge thankyou to all for the enormous level of support and prayers and cheering-on from the sidelines. The effect is very real and certainly quite tangible. I/we really appreciate greatly. You're an awesome bunch of friends, family, colleagues, whanau, etc.

Monday 20th May 2008

Day 17 in hospital

Bruce had some good news today and that is that the Specialist said he could go home tomorrow. The only people now who can say no are the hematology medical team so we hold our breath for tomorrow when we get their answer! It's been a lot of trips to and from the hospital and while we are grateful for the hospital - we are so over it too!

He has been told that the meeting tomorrow may not happen as they don't have everything in place yet. We are just happy if Bruce can come out and get on to the Vitamin C treatment again and we can fight it all at that level at least for now plus getting food into him that has some nutrients attached. I seriously don't understand how anyone can get well on that food as it's all been well cooked and gone through many processes before it's eaten! I guess Bruce will miss the hospital trolley sounds and the cups of warmish water in arcoroc cups that he makes his green tea with. I really have something to live up to! He certainly isn't going to get each piece of bread in a separate paper bag!


Well I hope tomorrow I can report that he is home -in tomorrows blog.... in fact I will get him to do this instead of me!!!! Yay.... Can you tell it's getting late in the evening???

Again thanks for the great visitors those of you that have gone up have been. We have had a lot of laughs around the bed. Thank you!

Monday 19th May

Day 16 in hospital.

Just a quick note tonight to say that Bruce has had a day that has been much like yesterday. Got to watch Top Gear last night which great! Leg looking better again today. He would like to think he could come home tomorrow but I am not sure they will let him go yet. I guess we will have to wait and see. Let you know tomorrow night!

Off to bed now as it is past my bedtime with the early starts I am having to make now I have to travel to the office and not just walk up the hall to my studio! Big change but good. Learning to travel the buses and the protocols therein! It's been a long time but some things don't change to much.

Sunday May 18 2008

Day 15 in hospital

Bruce has moved bed spaces today but is still in the same room. Now he has a new room mate and two spare beds which may fill up over night.

Not much to report - he has loved the visitors, can tell what all the noises are as they happen around the hospital and which trolley is on the move - especially the tea and food ones! He didn't have a Dr look a the wound today but decided that he would do his own assessment and thinks it looked better than yesterday! Unfortunately he couldn't release himself from hospital.

Big thank you to all those who have gone up to visit and for the reading matter etc he has received. He will get the borrowed mags and books back to you - it all helps to pass the time especially when he doesn't feel sick but is just stuck on the bed.

I have decided that it is a good thing the hospital does not rely on repeat business based on performance to earn their keep because their client retention would be very poor! The nursing staff are either great (and some are amazing) or 'out to lunch'. The standard of spoken English leaves a lot to be desired in my view. I am sure that the nurses understand and can write English but it seems a challenge for them to get the accents spoken on the right part of the syllable therefore enabling us to easily understand what is being communicated verbally especially when medical terms are used. I find myself repeating the words after the nurses so I know I have heard correctly. Sometimes it's critical we understand. (This is not new to me as I had a terrible time when Claire was in there last and we almost lost her though an in hospital communication/schedule misadventure where they finally did emergency surgery at 2am in the morning and we hope heads rolled for that although we don't know the outcome and strongly suspect none did). I guess I am less trusting and very wary of the staff and their abilities given the experiences that are under the bridge over the last 3 years.

Well it will be interesting to see what this next week brings - watch this space :)

Friday 16th May 2008

Day 13 in hospital

Bruce had the scan and the biopsy in the hip today and is doing fine. It all went well and now the results need to be processed. There is a meeting organised for next Wednesday at the Hospital for a talk about how the treatment will go forward and they will also give an indication of where on the level of 0 - 5 he is on their scale of lymphoma development. Bruce thinks from his reading that he is at least a 3 or 4 given that he already has a secondary in the tibia but we will have to wait and see if Dr Bruce has make the right diagnosis of his condition :) Our hope is that he may be able to come home in between but it's a dim hope really if we look at the history.

The leg wound continues to be clean and looking good which is a great thing. The site where they took the other lump out (arm) has healed really well. The biopsy today was in the pelvic bone taking bone marrow and other stuff as they do so it was in the end just a local to do it.

Here is and explanation for some of you who have thought a little like one of the Dr's. He expressed his concern to Bruce today that Bruce seems to be taking this all a bit too lightly. Bruce explained to him that he (and I) had faced his mortality at least twice in a big way and over the years on and off in some of the diabetic comas that he has been in which I have had to pull him out of (on occasions with the help of the paramedics and in the early years hospital). We have lived with this for over 30 years so this is just another challenge ahead of us for which the odds are quite good. I would also add that in those first two weeks that we were pretty sure that Bruce had cancer but hadn't said anything to any one we faced the worst during that time together and planned for it as well. Some might call that morbid but it has enabled us to be able to know that if the worst happens I will be fine and now we can go forward hoping and praying for the best! It's like having the disaster relief stuff in your cupboard and keeping it up to date but living life to the full hoping and expecting you won't need it.

Bruce is still in Ward 74 - now called the Ear Nose and Tibia ward by this specialist!

Thank you to those who have popped in to see him :) He has loved the visits.

J xx

Thursday 15th May 2008

Day 12 at the hospital

It's been a quiet at the hospital today for Bruce. The CT scan never happened but they are threatening it tomorrow so he is nil per mouth again tonight - it's all so much fun. The Drs don't say a whole lot so we have some frustrating conversations with each other trying to figure out what their plans are as they obviously affect us in a big way! Sadly this doesn't seem to matter to the hospital staff and Drs. We have an idea that they may want to keep him in hospital until after the first hit of Chemo but as I said we really have no idea - just trying to read between the lines.

Talk to you again tomorrow night - might have more news!

Wednesday 14th May 2008

Day 11 in hospital

Well he is still in the Ear Nose and Throat ward (74) but that hasn't stopped Greg walking on his walker from 75!!!! Go Greg!!!!

Bruce had a heart scan in multi colour this morning and was facinated - definite proof he has one as if we needed it! Our friend Kevin sets up and teaches people to operate all this very expensive equipment and Bruce often thinks of him as he is scanned by another Philips piece of equipment. I think it's the multi colours that they can get on the scans that fascinates him - probably just as well as he has a CAT scan again tomorrow. They want to get more than was got in the last 3 weeks ago. You are probably wondering why all this ....well to have the chemo they need to know what is going on in side and how health it is to take the knock of the chemo. They will be more specific with the scan now they know what they are looking for.

Bruce has been reading up on Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma in a book written by the Professor we hope will be overseeing his treatment. The funny thing was the hospital Drs couldn't find the Professor we had been specifically recommended and didn't know where to find him. It took Bruce to point out that he was the co-author of the book they had given him to read which gave a large hint about where to find him. Anyone who knows Bruce will know him as the last of the great researchers and as one Dr said to him a couple of weeks ago re the Vitamin C IV treatment - your PHD begins now and I (Jeanette) will bet that by the time he has come through all this he will be an authority.

Again thanks for your texts, mail and calls. If you are calling please know that you will probably not find us in and if we are we will probably let the call go to voice mail and pick them up when we have a moment. I am going to bed early just to keep energised for work and hospital visits plus the chores that need to be done daily. Oh - Getting proficient at bus catching for work too for all those who have only seen me in a car!

Love
Jeanette

Tuesday 13th May 2008

Day 10 in hospital

Today was the day we finally heard that Bruce definitely has Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma which evidently is one of the better one's to get according to the Dr if any is better. The leg is only sightly better and we have been told that it is quite likely that because the bone cancer is close to the surface it won't be healing properly until they give him a zap with chemo. This will make the tumor begin to retreat and let the surface heal so....this could mean that he won't be home any time soon :( Even the dog has given up coming to Bruce's side of the bed to say hi to him in the morning once I let him in. Ella (cat) who is Bruce's night pal has decided that I will do to sleep next to at night! Max (another cat) has just taken over the lower part of Bruce's side of the bed so when he gets home he will have to stake his claim again!!!

Bruce is on the move now around the hospital and if you are going to visit him it would pay to phone for a current address. He is in Ward 76 as of tonight but I am sure he will be moved tomorrow. Probably to oncology but I will let you know once he is settled.

Joel and I are like ships in the night at the moment although we did see each other for a few moments this morning - crazy living in the same house! We are doing fine.

Thanks for all the comments on the blog and mail in. I hope that you appreciate it's just to much for me to answer my emails - unfortunately there just isn't time in the day.

Love to you all B & J xx

Monday 12th May 2008

Day 9 in hospital.

Today brought some good news in that the infected area is looking a bit better - so a few more days like that and they may let him home.

Bruce is still in bed with his foot up but has been able to encourage two of his other inmates as they both made first walks. One after surgery for a sport injury on Saturday and the other after being off his feet for 8 weeks - the other one is on crutcher's already. They all took over the TV room to watch Top Gear last night and didn't get to sleep till 11.30 because they were just yarning! The night before staff came in to ask who ever was making a racus noise to leave as complaints had come in about the noise coming from their room. Staff soon realised that it was a mix of patients not the visitors making the noise!! They are living in their own little microcosm with a great view of the city and the helipad and staff at their beck and call - not that hard really!

I start a new job tomorrow so won't be posting anything until later in the evening after I get home from visiting Bruce.

Take Care
Jeanette

Sunday May 11 2008

Hi,

Just a quick update to say that we haven't heard any firm news yet as to what the diagnosis is but we believe it to be a lymphoma of some sort. I will post the results as soon as we have them :)

Bruce is still in hospital fighting the infection in his leg. He is stuck on his bed but fortunately he has a great company sitting in the surrounding beds (long may it continue) - a tad better than the very over weight 'sea slug' he had in the bed opposite on the 6th floor who was a constant source of every imaginable sound (yes every one) and a lot of profanity which given the severity of the health of those around was completely uncalled for! Bruce will still be up there on the 7th floor for another few days - it's complicated. For anyone who may want to visit he is Auckland Hospital, Level 7, Ward 75, Room 9, Bed D. Visiting is 11 - 1 and then 3 - 8 I think - to be honest I haven't really taken any notice except for the 1 - 3 which is patient rest time and they do police that fairly strictly.

Provision Technologies (Bruce's work) have been amazing and so supportive. They are happy for him to do some work from home (VPN) with his leg up so if we could get that far right now that would seem amazing and a huge relief (I don't want to start thinking about the dollars Wilson's Parking has made out of the Bremner family over the last week). If he could work from home then he could go out for appointments and then come home to the leg up position which is not easy to do in the office.

Thank you to all of you who continue to send your love and to those who have offered help and taken Bruce goodies. At the moment we are pretty self sufficient with only Joel and myself at home but there may be a time we will have to call for help and we will let you know at that time.
Again Thank you!

Update again soon
Love Jeanette

Previously mail

Hi Dear Friends,

I am mailing this to you on behalf of Bruce who fully intended do it. Unfortunately he has found himself in hospital with an infection in the leg he had the biopsy on so has been parted from his computer for the next few days. Hope this makes sense because the last 30 odd hours have not contained much sleep which does not bode well for my cognitive activities! I stood in a lift about 2.30am this morning for a while before I realized I had pressed the button for the floor I was on rather than the one I was going too = actually on reflection I think I may have slept standing up! You will all be pleased to know that I am off the road and not going to drive until I have had sleep.

A quick round up of the week just gone: He had the biopsy late Monday afternoon and all went well. He spent Tuesday and Wednesday with his leg up and on Thursday and Friday worked two full days. Saturday found him less mobile and by Saturday night his leg had swelled considerably so at the time all normal people were heading to bed we were hopping in the car to visit Ascot A& E and then journeyed on to Auckland Hospital. The plus for visiting Ascot first was that he was able to go straight to the assessment ward and skip the A & E for which I am truly grateful – worth the $75! (I have seen way too much of that part of the hospital over the last two and a half years with family). I am so over trying to sleep up right in their horrid blue chairs (though I am grateful they have chairs) and last night fought the desire to make Bruce move over so I could lie down too! Gotta laugh really. I am very much looking forward to a full nights sleep tonight horizontal in my own bed! There were laughs in the night like the doctor who could have stepped right out of a war ‘film set’ somewhere in Russia – unbelievable lack of every day manners let alone the bedside one’s – we just laughed when she left she was so surreal. Go Auckland Hospital management – you know how to pick em!

Where to from hre: Hopefully there will be an ultra scan tomorrow. Once the swelling is down, the bloods look normal and his temp is normal he will be on his way home and back to work but on antibiotics for a while – we are praying for sooner rather than later. On the 9^th May at 5pm we are to meet with the specialist re the results from the biopsy at his surgery but with this infection he may see Bruce at Auckland Hospital on Tuesday when he comes in to see other patients. It is all looking like Lymphoma and we will be surprise if it is not.

Bruce began Vitamin C treatment intravenously last week which acts like a natural chemo and has had good results according to studies. If you are interested we can refer you to web sites that have heaps of studies etc on them – or just google ‘Vitamin C cancer’.

Okey Dokey – need to go and video Top Gear for BB as it is his favorite programme because he won’t probably get to see it in hospital.

Thank you for your prayers and offers of help – you are such a blessing!

Talk soon

Love

Jeanette

April 17^th

Hi,

Apologies for the ‘general newsletter’ format of this message, but I think the logic will become self evident. This method is a simple and time-efficient way to communicate to a wide range of friends, family, church family, associates, neighbours, etc.

Most will be unaware of the events and medical developments I (Bruce) have encountered in the last two weeks. A couple of weeks ago I went to my GP for a general check-up, but primarily for a bit on input on a niggle in my right knee which I’ve been aware of for the last few months, and had finally started wondering why it wasn’t getting better or responding to either Voltarin emugel rub, or AntiFlam rub. He said the centre of the pain (feels more like a nagging bad bruise rather than a sharp pain) was below the knee joint. He sent me off for an X-ray which I had the next morning.

The report back from the lab expressed concern about a dark area at the top of my tibia bone. They thought it might be indicative of Myeloma cancer. Phil (my GP) immediately had me off for a bunch of tests which would give some more clues.

The results proved negative as far as Myeloma was concerned. The problem was still there in there tibia and it was necessary to find out what was going on. So it was off to an Orthopedic Specialist for further consultation and to initiate further tests.

Yesterday, (there’s got to be a song in there somewhere!) I had what felt like an all-day pass at a theme park when I went for a CT scan, chest X-ray and body scan and an MRI scan. Late this afternoon we went back to the specialist with the big envelopes containing all the scan film/info to see what was going on. The scans confirmed and gave more detail on the problem in the tibia and fibula bones and also showed some small irregularities in the lungs which apparently are not necessarily significant (or that unusual) along with enlarged nodes in the bowel area which were of more concern to him. There are also other lumps on my arm, neck/shoulder and top of the leg which could be significant.

At this stage indications could be either cancer of the sarcoma type or of the lymphoma type. Next diagnostic step is a biopsy (Monday 28^th) on the bone and a the arm lump which will hopefully give us a much better idea of what is going on and therefore what sort of treatment will be required.

We’re both doing OK and are very conscious of the ‘everlasting arms’ supporting us each step of the way. The crisp pacing of the steps thus far has been very heartening too.

Again, apologies for the newsletter format! We’ll try and keep you updated as we go.

Bruce & Jeanette