Day of the Big Run

Today Jon Lawrence, my friend and colleague ran the Great South Run and beat his record time. As Jon would say 'Strong!'

He has raised nearly £3,500 for Leukemia and Lymphoma Research, an amount that EA will match. The man should be very proud of himself!

He even made it to be fund raiser of the month. I am very touched by his commitment and effort to raise much needed funds and many thanks to all those people who sponsored him.

In other news, we all went to a Halloween and Fireworks party on Friday night. The kids loved it and we had a really nice time eating and drinking outside at the country club as it was such a mild night.

End of the half term holidays today. Its been a tough one what with it being treatment week but the good news is only 2 weeks until the final round of chemo.

On Tuesday my consultant took me through the steps thereafter:

I will get a scan on 1st of December to assess how well treatment has gone then starting 10th Jan I will get what's called maintenance treatment every 8 weeks for 2 yrs to keep the cancer in remission. At least that's the theory and in most cases what happens.

So looking forward to Xmas now. Starting to get some aches and pains as usual for this stage but nothing too troublesome yet.

Prestige

Not a bad week despite having a cold. Been busy at work and home with the baby. Feeling a bit sore tonight but I think that's just tiredness from the busy week.

After months of play when I could get time I have finally hit Prestige on Call of Duty modern warfare 2 (rank 70+). Clare is happy cos i have been playing for a while and playing this game online winds me up.

Gaming season has very much begun with a new big hitter out every Friday. Now if only I had more time to play!

Quiet weekend planned this weekend. Lots of nice fAmily time before round 7 of chemo on tues.

Clan Gathering

Had my parents, sister and brother in law visit until Sunday which was busy but really nice. Unfortunately I now have a cold so dealing with that and hoping it does not get any worse.

Was nice to see the family, take them out for a lovely lunch and get some time out with Clare.

Week 2, traditionally the 'achy back week' was less severe that my last cycle but still slowed me down a bit.

Lily doing well. Over a month already and full of smiles for daddy - result!

Getting into the groove of week 3 with added sniffles.

One more week then its cycle 7 - the penultimate one. Feels like the end is getting closer. Can't wait to feel healthy again!

Family time

Had my brother visit over the weekend which was busy but nice. I felt pretty good over the weekend so we managed to go for a walk and take the kids swimming. This week my parents, sister and brother in law visit which I am looking forward to. I have even been uber organised and sorted out Xmas presents for them to take home with them.

Unfortunately the aches and pains have set in again so I am not sleeping or functioning as well as I would like. Hoping pains subside so I have energy to do family stuff.

My friend Jon, who is running the Great South Run has managed to get a piece about his run and I in the lymphoma association newsletter and website so I have been writing my contribution for this about my diagnosis and experience with cancer. All good publicity to hopefully raise more money and awareness.

Number 6. 2 to go!

My third week on cycle 3 was great. After the pain and frustration of week 2 I felt almost normal. I felt focussed at work and in good spirits. What a roller coaster! Was also nice to see my Bro at the weekend.

Go round 6 chemo yesterday and feel not too bad so far but week 2 is the one to watch. Got my detailed results from scan and all pretty good. Swollen lymph nodes all heading down and termed as 'partially reduced'. Doc happy with this so hopefully they will keep shrinking as much as possible. I will get a scan at end of chemo then another 1 yr into my maintanence therapy.

My niece and nephew did the Cumbrian run this weekend to raise funds for lymphoma research. Very proud of them!
My friend jon also does the great south run at the end of the month.

Lily, clare and kids doing well. Clare dealing with lily still at nights so I can rest. My wife needs some kind of medal! She is great!

Parents, sister and bro in law visiting next week which is great so hoping week 2 more forgiving than the last time!