My oncologist, Dr Tran at the Christie Hospital in Manchester, gave me two options of chemotherapy. The first, PCV (Procarbazine CCNU Lomustine Vincristine), is the more toxic of the two. The three names are three different types of chemo. Vincristine is a 15minute IV drip (intravenous drip), Procarbazine is a tablet for 10 consecutive days, and CCNU (Lomustine) is one tablet. This would be repeated every 6 weeks, for 6 rounds, over a 9 month period. The second option, Temozolomide, is less toxic and consists of 5 tablets a month (every 28 days), on consecutive days. This is newer approach to treating brain tumours, and the original chemo drug that I am on the clinical trial for.

I spoke with my neuro surgeon, Dr Karabatsou, and my oncologist, Dr Tran, about my options and decisions. I would start my chemo in the UK, under the care of Dr Tran and the amazing staff at the Christie Hospital, then as previously planned I would head home to Sydney, Australia, at the end of June.

See further details of the chemo are on the Treatment Page (still to be updated) page under My Experience.

I was lucky enough to be invited to the ‘soft opening’ of the new Manchester Cancer Research Centre (MCRC), a collaboration between University of Manchester, Cancer Research UK and the Christie Hospital. Apparently, I’m a ‘cancer blogger’. I thought of my blog as a means to tell my story, a means to inspire people to live better lives. But in doing so, I guess yes, I am a ‘cancer blogger’.

The new MCRC is 500 metres from where I live in the UK. I’ve seen the construction from the ground up – and today it’s exciting to be there for the ‘soft opening’. There is no research currently being conducted, just yet. The building has just been finished. The research facilities and team of around 300 staff are about to move in. 5 state of the art labs will all work on curing different types of cancer. The benefits for cancer patients, and possible cures, will be developed in these facilities over the next 5-20 years!!!

The first impression of the building is, WOW! Its unique and modern design allows for a positive feel to the structure. A lot of natural light makes its way in. There are large designated social or meeting areas to the open feel of the building encourages collaboration, bringing together great research minds to find cures for cancer!

The plan is to target the molecular profile of cancer to treat cancer, to better understand cancer, and to create cures for cancer. In the 1970s, 1 in 4 people survived cancer. Now, 1 in 2 people survive cancer.

Other stats in the UK include:

– 35,000 people are diagnosed with cancer each year

– 18,500 die each year in the North West

– The top killers are breast, lung, bowel and prostate cancer

These are just some of the statistics we were given on our tour of the facilities. For more information on cancer statistics in the UK, see cancerresearchuk.org.

Curing cancer is c. 125,000,000,000 times more complicated than landing a man on the moon. I hold in high regard the staff and all that are involved with the Centre, what they are currently doing, and what they will continue to do in the new facilities at the MCRC!!!

Thank You team!!

As bad/good as it could have been, I’m sitting in Manchester International Airport content with how the last week has turned out. One of the worst things a cancer patient can hear is that what they thought was their dormant tumour has started growing again, as I heard last Thursday 28^th May 2015.

After speaking with my neurosurgeon last night, Dr Karabatsou, and with my oncologists today, Dr Tran and Dr Pinkham, I’m in a much clearer head space. ‘Prepare for the worst and hope for the best’ was a piece of advice Julian Huxley gave me last year. Julian is another brain tumour patient and a former professional rugby player. This mentality has prepared me well for this week.

Dr Karabatsou recommended against having brain surgery again, stating the risk was too high for such minimal gains as she resected much of the tumour in April 2014.

As I’ve already had 6.5 weeks of radiotherapy, the human body cannot take more so that is no longer an option.

Dr Tran and Dr Pinkham advised me of several chemotherapy options. Some more toxic than others, but all as effective as each other. They ran me through everything, what to expect from each type of chemo, how long they would go for, how I could travel and most importantly – Enjoy Life!! As there was not much difference in how effective they thought each of the drugs would be, we settled with Temozolomide. A tablet I will take once a day, for 5 days each month, for 6-12 months.

I can start treatment in the UK, and continue it in Australia when I get back in 3 weeks. One good thing is that they cleared me to fly to Portugal tonight, which I arranged months ago. I will be able to see a few good friends for the last time on this side of the world, before I jet-set back to Australia to settle down again!

No matter what life throws at you, prepare for the worst, hope for the best and take it all in your stride as life is all just one big adventure!! I’ll close this blog with a quote from Abraham Lincoln:

In the end,

It’s not the years in your life that count,

It’s the life in your years…

My fourth scan, and the wait between my scan and the results never gets easier. It is always a nervous time!

In the past 3 months, I’ve had more headaches and speech problems than usual even though my body has been feeling good. I’ve been eating well, exercising most days, travelling around and enjoying life. Still living my life 3 months at a time. My scan on Tuesday was a nervous one as always. Waiting with my good friend, Becky James, today at Christie Hospital wasn’t as bad, having a joke, catching up and a good chat. I’ve received a lot of messages and support from everyone on all forms of technology to fill me with good vibes and inspiration.

But besides all this, it was not enough to keep the science of cancer at bay. The oncologist told me that the Tuesdays scans, it looks like the brain tumour has started to grow back. Becky said she thought all day to stay strong, and she did. Becky stayed strong standing next to me while the doctor delivered the news. I think the initial diagnosis and constantly dealing with the issue head on has made me a stronger person. I really don’t know where this strength has come from but I just stood there, thinking, then come out with a list of questions for the doctor. She answered them all the best she could. The scans are below and I will describe what you are look at.

The scans on the left are of a previous scan, from February 2015. You can see the remnants of the tumour and brain surgery on the bottom right of each image.

The scans on the right are the current scans, from Tuesday 26th May 2015. When you look on the bottom right of each of these photos, you can see there are patches of white forming. This is what the doctors believe is the cancer growing back. Im sharing such details so people know what cancer patients go through. How a black and white image can change someones life!

February 2015          |          May 2015

My scans will got to the MDT on Tuesday. The MDT is a Multi Disciplinary Team of several oncologists, neurosurgeons, medical imaging specialists and other medical professionals. They will then go through my case (along with other people’s cases for the week) and get back to me with their final diagnosis. Because of this, my future, my holidays, my life plans, and treatment options are all in limbo until next week.

Keep an eye out for the results next week. This makes is much easier for everyone to know what is going on with my cancer than having to repeat myself over and over which can be a very tiring and emotional drain giving the depth of the conversation. But in saying this, I am very grateful for everybody’s support. I have great family and friends pushing me on, encouraging and supporting my fight against cancer and keeping my spirits high with a smile on my face. I can’t say enough how much this means to me – THANK YOU!!!!!

 Mex – Leadership attributes: positivity (BLOG 3 part 1)

This blog is the third of three in this series on leadership attributes. Please see the first and second blogs if you haven’t already before reading this one.

I once read: You’re going to go through tough times – that’s life. But I say, ‘Nothing happens to you, it happens for you’. See the positive in negative events – Joel Osteen.

Michael Jordan once said something similar: Always turn a negative situation into a positive situation.

Now there is definitely a difference between being positive just to put on a face (while ignoring your problems and weaknesses); and being positive whilst having dealt with your problems and overcoming them. Being ignorant of your problems and weaknesses could cause them to snowball and get worse. I dealt with each of my injuries and situations arising from my cancer before putting it to the back of my mind then continuing on to enjoy my life.

All this is definitely easier said than done!! Although I have been given a bad diagnosis, it has given me the opportunity to spend more treasured time with my family and friends, help other patients through their troubles, I was able to travel around Europe for 3-4 months and met a lot of great people. But the biggest thing I take away from this negative situation is that by confronting it head on, dealing with the fact that I will probably only have a few years left to live and moving forward with my life, I now approach life with a lot more appreciation, meaningfulness and positivity. After all – In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count, it’s the life in your years – Abraham Lincoln.

Confronting fears and then putting them to the side to continue living is a much more positive approach to life. You let your concern out once in a while to confront them and deal with them, ensuring you don’t just be ignorant of them. But never let them take over the joy and love in your life.

Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it’s less good than the one you had before. You can fight it, you can do nothing but scream about what you’ve lost, or you can accept that and try to put together something that’s good ― Elizabeth Edwards

To cement this ideology, I always come back to a beautiful phrase I have always lived by: Aproveita a Vida – Enjoy Life!

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Catseye Development – Thank you to Mex! (BLOG 3 part 2)

Over the last month we have all been lucky enough to hear Mex sharing his thoughts and experiences on the leadership attributes of resilience and positivity.  His own demonstration and application of these qualities bear testament to his bravery and the inspiration he provides to others. To do him credit there are a couple of things you can do. Firstly – be even better! Look for day-to-day opportunities to be a leader to those around you.  Secondly, share his story!  Give it some legs so as many people as possible can be inspired.  To find out more about Mex and how to support him then please visit his website www.cancercanwait.com