Cancer Awareness

Regular readers of my blog will be aware that son1 was diagnosed with leukaemia last year. He has been in remission for over a year now but still has almost two more years of chemotherapy ahead.

This month is “Be Child Cancer Aware” month, so son1 has one thing to say – “Oi Cancer, Poke Off”. You may join in this campaign by texting POKE11 £3 to 70070. 100% of all donations will go to supporting children with cancer in the UK. Use the hashtags #GoGold & #pokeoffcancer to challenge your family and friends to tell cancer to poke off!

Yesterday we participated in a workshop for International Bead Challenge Day for the Beads of Courage Programme. The boys made two String of Strength bracelets each – one for themselves and one to be given to another child undergoing cancer treatment in hospital. Son1 got a special bead to add to his own Beads of Courage. We also got to see the beads being made.

The boys making string of strength bracelets

Son2 made this string of strength bracelet

Also I would like to draw your attention to another lesser known cancer which you may not have heard of – mesothelioma. This is caused by exposure to asbestos. Heather, a survivor of mesothelioma, who was given 15 months to live in 2005, shares her story here. In the US, it will be mesothelioma awareness day on September 26th, although we have a different date here in the UK, usually the first Friday in July.

Mesothelioma is a preventable disease. I can remember that we had asbestos mats in the science labs at school, but I thought that asbestos had now been outlawed. But no, not fully I now find out. Although it is now banned for construction, some existing asbestos remains. Asbestos needs to be safely disposed of entirely to prevent lives needlessly being lost to mesothelioma.

Here are some key facts about asbestos and mesothelioma.

To this day, asbestos is still found in many schools, homes, commercial and industrial buildings.
Asbestos was once used in common household items such as toasters hairdryers, and over 3,000 other consumer products.
Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer that attacks the lining of the body cavity called the mesothelium. The only known cause to mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos.
Asbestos exposure was first linked to mesothelioma cancer in 1964. Worldwide mesothelioma cases are expected to reach their peak around the year 2020.

For more information, see www.mesothelioma.com or http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/type/mesothelioma/

And September 26th is another key cancer awareness date in the UK for Macmillan, with the world’s biggest coffee morning. In 2013, 154,000 people signed up, raising a record £20 million. I’m doing my bit by organising a cake sale and bake off challenge in my workplace for Macmillan that day. And then next month, my other half is participating in an outdoor swim also in aid of Macmillan.

Another update on my son’s treatment

Son1 has now commenced the 4th phase of his chemotherapy treatment – delayed intensification.  We always knew this was going to be a tough phase, as there is a lot of medication, but he is being a real little trooper.

He had started his new school a week and a half previously, arriving at lunchtime on the first day of term straight from the hospital, as he had ended up not being discharged until the Monday morning, when we had expected to be home the previous Friday.  He was just so keen to start at the same time as the other children, not the usual reaction from most children to school.  And he managed almost full-time attendance during those few days, which was a remarkable achievement compared to the few odd hours he managed towards the end of last term at his old school.  We were hoping being there at the start of term would give him a chance to bond with his new classmates, but he stuck steadily with his buddy who had come from his old school.

And even now suffering tiredness and nausea side-effects of the chemotherapy, he is still managing a lot of hours at school.  I was expecting him to be too poorly to manage much school until after half-term, so this is amazing.  Well done to him.

He is unable to participate in contact sports, as he has a portacath implanted in his chest, but school has designated him “coach”, so he can still join in the fun with the other boys when he is up to participating.  No standing shivering at the edge of the pitch.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Brushing the cobwebs off my blog

I feel ready to start blogging again.  Everything was all too raw earlier.  Son1 has been in remission for over a month now, but treatment will continue for 3 years.  We are participating in a trial of higher dose medication during the summer, but less from November onwards.  This may become the standard chemotherapy treatment in a few years time, depending on the results of the trial.

I am very proud of how brave and strong son1 has been over the last few months.  He almost always has a smile on his face.  So I’ve entered him into The Face of Kinder 2013 competition, with the photo below.  If you would like to vote for him, click on this link which should take you directly to his photo.

Son1 made this hat at the hospital to wear at their summer fete

Meanwhile son2 has also been very unsettled by everything going on, but we did manage to celebrate his birthday with a super-heros party inbetween hospital visits.

My darling son

Son1 was diagnosed with leukaemia, just over 3 weeks ago, so I haven’t felt like blogging much under the current circumstances.  He is undergoing chemotherapy and has been experiencing painful side effects, particularly with eating, but this seems to be easing over the last couple of days.  He has been much happier since coming home from hospital last Sunday, although we still have frequent out-patient appointments.  And yesterday, I got the answer I needed to hear, that his chemotherapy is progressing as well as can be expected.

We have a wonderful support network from the mums at school who have been fantastic.  They are helping us in every way they can by collecting son2 from school and providing us with home-cooked meals, plus so much more.  And son1 has received so many kind gifts, that I am overwhelmed by everyone’s care.

Son1 with his Beads of Courage

My world has fallen apart!!

My darling son1 was diagnosed with leukaemia last week and has now commenced chemotherapy.  We are all absolutely devastated.  Please pray for him.