Oncology Outpatients – Bad News

An early start this morning which saw us being picked up at 6.15 am.

The reason for this was to get to the hospital early so I could get a blood test done so the results would be ready in time for my Outpatients appointment. As it was we arrived before the blood testing section opened and so was first in the queue 👍.

The blood test went pretty well and was soon done. The plebotomist kindly put my vials of blood in a priority bag and said the results should be in in about 30 minutes.

So with the blood test done we headed out for some breakfast and ended up in Pret.

We had a leisurely breakfast and even had a go at Wordle!

We then headed back to the hospital with the hope that we might be seen early 🤞.

And we didn’t have to wait long to be seen. There were ominous signs as we were seeing the lead oncologist and two nurses were in attendance!

And it was to be bad news!

We were told that the Radium 223 treatment was not working as there was an increase in bone mets as well as new mets on lymph nodes. The cancer was spreading and existing mets and lesions were growing. My PSA was 1,970, a fairly large increase of around 400 since the last reading.

Worse still there are no other treatment options available or trials that I would be eligible for!

What all this means is that the cancer will now be allowed to take its course and it is just a matter of how much time I have left? This is probably measured in months rather than years.

We are of course devastated and still reeling from the news.

In the short term I will be transfered back to the oncology department at Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH). I will also be referred back to the palliative care team who will help look after me over the coming months and they will deal with any health issues that crop up.

So as I sit writing this I am anxiously waiting for some contact from PAH so I can start to come under their care. I am conscious that I still have problems with my haemoglobin and need to have regular blood tests to monitor it.

In the mean time we are busy making plans and high on the agenda is a cruise down the Danube River however we will only book it closer to the time depending on my health at the time. We also have a short trip to Norfolk coming up over Easter which will be nice and a good change of scenery.

And who knows what else we may get up to, it is not in my nature to be down or depressed so watch this space!