ron-smith
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Kris
Obviously your latest posting and mine were being done at the same time and crossed. Had I read your one I may not have been quite so flippant. But I still think you have to hold on to the fact that you had a clean scan.
Keep strong.
Ron
Hi Kris
Sorry to hear you are having a hard time of it. Just remember that you had a clean scan in October.
Just a thought, could your current gastro problem be related to the problems you had last year? I think you ended up calling it “sludge”. I am also inclined to go along with everyone that it could well be to do with a change in diet (and quantities???). As someone who used to regularly travel to the States from Europe I know how easy it is to overeat, plus there are so many dishes that have a lot of dairy product in them.
As for your neck pains, well, yes, there is an association between the cancer and pains in you shoulder area. Jeff recently posted about it. But I find I get sore shoulders if I sit at the computer too long. Is that a possibility? Also, you are on holiday, so are you lifting heavy suitcases or shopping bags or plates of burgers and chips?
Final fear – should I stay or should I go? We talked earlier about the problem of not having travel insurance and presumably, that is your position. Being charged $800 for small scale tests through the family doctor presumably means you are not going to get any favours. So the last thing you want is to have to have treatment in the States. On the other hand I imagine you want to spend at least Christmas with your parents. Is your return ticket very flexible so you could get a seat back to Sweden at very short notice? If not, and bearing in mind the time of year, it may be prudent to arrange your return ASAP. But what is the family doctor saying about your tests?
Wherever you are, have a wonderful Christmas.
Ron
PS
I really looked for your comments about the Kilties, but nothing? You must be feeling ill right enough.Kris and John
The posts were from Gavin and it was his father who was having the treatment. Haven’t seen any posts from him for a while.
Ron
John
The insurance company should only be interested if you are able to do the same or very similar work compared with prior to your illness. Assuming you cannot then they should accept your claim. You may have to have a quiet word with your GP and oncologist so that they are aware of your own wishes and what is at stake financially.
Good luck
Ron
Hi John
Good to see that you are in good spirits. I have the same problem with my platelets and generally now have 2 on and 1 off for my chemo.
Just in case there is some confusion, it is not the Inland Revenue you would ask about the pension funds it is your own insurance company. This assumes that you have made your own private pension arrangements.
Same for the life assurance payouts.All the best
Ron
Hi Jonuk. Like everyone else I would like to welcome you but at the same time say I’m sorry that you have to be here. I see you are having the same treatment as me and that you seem to be handling it fine. So I will not write about that but rather information I have discovered that may help with the financial side. There are 2 social security benefits you should be entitled to. Assuming you are no longer working you will be entitled to Incapacity Benefit. There are 3 levels of IB –
Hi gang
Had my third round of gemcitabine yesterday and the good news was that my platelets had soared to 181. Is it the beetroot juice or the Gatorade? I don’t know but I will just keep filling up with both.
The bad news was that my ct scan shows progression of the cancer. Now there is definite mets to lung, abdomen and neck area. This was a late baseline scan so we will see what the next one shows.
All the best
Ron
I can endorse what Kris wrote as I was given no information regarding supplements, such as milk thistle, following my resections in Scotland. I started taking it after reading about it on this site. Since starting chemo I have stopped taking the supplements because I feel that the chemo, along with my various angina medications, is probably enough to be putting into my body.
Marion
Just a suggestion about the green bar. Instead of just showing the date and time, how about having a title, preprinted on each bar, saying:
“Date Posted”
So your posting would show:
Date Posted: Today 19:11:22
Tomorrow it would show:
Date Posted: Yesterday 19:11:22Next week:
Date Posted: 2008-10-09 19:11:22
It would make it a bit more obvious to new members and perhaps stand out a bit better to the rest of us.
Ron
Sue
I am so sorry to read about Ray. I must confess that I very rarely visit this part of the site. I think it is because I don’t want to read about the inevitable. Silly, I know, but it’s just the way I am.
The shocking thing about this disease is the speed that things can change. I am so glad that Ray is peaceful and not in pain. I know from my own experience that this was the main, selfish consideration I had when I was diagnosed.
Thinking of you and your family.
Ron
Lissa
I have always believed that it is vital to my survival to keep active. Like you I gave up work and it would be so easy to slip into a rut and spend all my time and energy fretting about my condition. I find that if I can spend some time in the garden or even just out walking, it makes me feel so much better, both physically and mentally. The only problem is trying to convince my wife that housework is not really suitable exercise (LOL).
All the best
Ron
devoncat wrote:Ron,
When I lived in Glasgow, I frequently looked at http://www.moneysavingexpert.com. They will have the latest infor and suggestions. It is run by Martin something (a consumer advocate) and there is a forum plus his writings. It is a very helpful website and I am sure he is on top of it.Kris
Hi Kris
That would be Martin Lewis. I subscribe to his weekly newsletter too and it’s very interesting. Good for finding cheap flights: unfortunately they are not long-haul as in UK – USA. The UK government seem to be quite determined to resolve this in favour of the UK depositors, which makes a nice, unexpected change. As I said, they are even freezing the Icelandic bank’s UK assets.
Anyway, it is just after 7am here, so I am just about to have my beetroot juice to set me up for the day???
As they say – have a great one!
Ron
Thanks all for your encouragement and support. The cut off platelet count is 100 but they sid they would have gone ahead with the chemo had I been above 90. According to my GP, the angina medication will not have affected the platelet reading since it affects the stickiness of the platelets whereas for the chemo they are looking at the number of platelets. Anyway, my wife has got her own way at last and I have agreed to start drinking freshly juiced beetroot with apples, strawberries and pears. It’s alright…………… yes, it’s alright. I was pleasantly surprised to find Gatorade in our local store as I had only ever had it in Florida before. BIG difference in the price. So, see what happens next week.
I am now feeling like I am back to my usual self. Most of the discomfort has gone and I have a lot more energy. Perhaps it has been the chemo I have had or perhaps all the financial shenanigans in Iceland have focused my mind (and bile) on something else for a change. Kris, the Icelandic government announced last night that they were going to renege on their commitments under the deposit guarantee scheme, which would have left each depositor losing up to
