The countdown is on…

Radiation starts on Monday for 5 days. The first session will take 4 hours. The rest will take around an hour/hour and a half each. I will be travelling straight after each session to the Wellness Lab in Knightsbridge for hyperbaric oxygen for 90 minutes of high pressure O2 to try and help minimise toxicity and damage to other surrounding cells. I have IV vitamin C on Wednesday also, so I’m feeling what I’ve set up in addition is comprehensive, supportive, but admittedly rather busy!

The best bit is on Friday I will have the last cyberknife treatment and then head straight to the airport to go to Marbella for holidays. Crazy busy! How has the last two weeks of summer holidays rolled around so fast?

As time has gone on the grumpy old psychiatrist’s advice, not to go into detail with the kids, has proven to be nonsense. A few weeks back I happened to randomly see some contrasting advice from Dr Becky at Good Inside (who I follow on instagram for parenting tips)…. she said, it’s not information that is scary, but LACK of information that is scary. This resonated and got me thinking.

We had told them I was having lots of “skeleton checks” which they were fine about but as time went on, they started asking more and more questions about it. After one night with lots of existential emotions about death and dying bubbling up from them, we realised it was indeed time to come clean. And, they are MUCH happier for it. They are now busy making me affirmation posters and checklists for me to tick off the days of treatment. I couldn’t have hoped for a better reaction to be honest. As my sister’s friend told her, it wasn’t that her Mum’s breast cancer was scary as such, it was just something that had to be dealt with, and that was part of their reality… and I guess that is how we will deal with it from here.

We are currently having a lovely break in the Witterings and I hope that wherever you are this Summer, you are having a great time. While the planet may be going to pot, I am happy that the vitamin D is being generated thick and fast in this weather which is perfect prep for treatment too.

The final part of this update is that after much consideration, I will be going directly to a clinic in Germany for 2 weeks after Spain. This will be to help me recover after the radiotherapy and to begin an intensive start on mistletoe treatment. It is going to mean things are a little hectic at home as Hannah has dyslexia tutoring, Alice has rehearsals and 11+, but thankfully Alan has been able to negotiate with work to take time off to allow it to happen. I’m beyond grateful to him, the kids and everyone who helps our family that I can take this much needed time to invest in my healing. The chemotherapy and injections I had during 2016 seem to have impacted my ability to generate normal levels of immune cells, so the mistletoe should, with any luck, help with that. At the very least I’ve heard it can help with energy levels and quality of life – so let’s do it.

And there we are – I’m bracing myself a little for next week – but am hoping I can relax once it begins and all will go smoothly and as planned, with a wonderful holiday to follow. Keep your fingers and toes crossed for me!

Sending love to you all. xxx