The side effects continued, mainly the hands and skin peeling, which had improved by the end of the week, thankfully. The overall impact of overdoing the DIY the previous Saturday, was a reminder that I am suffering from a terminal illness and one that is impacting my physical state. Not a nice realisation, but one that I am having to adjust to and one that Sandra and I discussed later in the week; the need to slow down is clearly there, as much as I hate that reality.

The pre-chemo bloods took place this week, another ‘routine’ that is now part of life.

Besides those, the assessment of chemo cycle No. 2 has been notably better than the first one. Less physical impact and more ability to behave normally, most of the physical impact being driven by myself and my desire to complete the DIY project. The thoughts turned to chemo No. 3 and what that may bring and how much ‘routine’ may come, as I work through all 6 sessions.

The next notable difference was the publishing of this actual Blog. Something I have been working on from the outset, but for a variety of reasons and unfolding impacts, have held off on sharing. The time was right and it was finally ‘out there’ on the Sunday evening, with most people seeing it from Monday morning onwards.

I have two main profiles on social media, one covering my military history friends and connections, which are global, the other is the non-military history contacts (wider family, school and earlier life friends and a large group of former work colleagues from Holiday Extras). I have shared the link to the Blog to both groups and I have been blown away by the levels of interest in what I have decided to share. What is very humbling is the consistency of the comments, in what people remember about you and what each personal connection means. It has been emotional to read every single comment and many of them have been very heartfelt in their content. I appreciate every one of you, who have taken the time to comment and re-affirm what our personal contact means to you. They continue to pour in (now with friends of friends becoming part of the group who have signed up) and they remain an emotional and enjoyable read; thank you all.  

To complete coverage of the Blog, it is not a financial assistance call. It is not a call to donate to a charity (there are enough well established and excellent organisations out there already). It is simply an awareness campaign and information sharing exercise to help others who are going through similar situations. From some of the comments, it looks like that heightened awareness is working, with some of you booking your PSA bloods tests as a result.

Thanks for continuing to read and take the time out of your day. I will continue to aim to make it as honest and insightful as possible, which will hopefully continue to make it readable for each of you.