It's A Family Thing

I'd like to start with an apology. I've been horrendously busy the past few months with work and a bit of a health problem in the family. It's this health problem in the family which I'm going to be writing this post on. I've been kind of putting off writing about it for some reason but I might as well take the plunge. The health problem concerns my 79 year old Grandad who was diagnosed with both bowel cancer and lung cancer in October. He just had to go one better than my and get not one, but two cancer didn't he?

Having carefully explained to him what a blog was (Grandparents ey....) I asked his permission to write about him and he gladly gave it. It started off with unusual pains in his lower stomach and after visiting the doctor and going for a scan it showed he had a tumour in his bowel. Following this they decided to scan his lungs, which showed another tumour. They decided to biopsy the tumour in his lungs and it showed that he also had a type of slow growing lung cancer. Having been diagnosed he was already competing with me in a game of cancer-one-upmanship! Further tests showed that the cancer in his lungs had spread to his lymph nodes.

With both cancers being diagnosed, it was decided that the best course of action would be to treat the bowel cancer with a course of radiotherapy. The idea of this would be to reduce the side effects of the bowel cancer and bring it under control. He wasn't given a high dose of radiotherapy, but because of being somewhat older (I say this but he still acts young!)  it had a worse side effects. I went to see him last weekend and he's a bit better but he's lost over a stone in weight and has only just begun eating again. I was able to give him a few hints and tips about what to try so I hope I was some use!

I've just heard that he's started putting on a bit more weight which means that he will be starting chemotherapy in the next few weeks! Given him a few tips on what to do when the chemo kicks in and everything he eats tastes like cardboard!

As for my health I'm currently doing okay, I'm still very very thin on top (small problem but an annoying one) but I can think of worse problems if I'm honest. I have to go to Leeds again in a few weeks, to the fertility hospital to see if I'm still firing blanks. According to my Dad I'm going to have to put in a stand up performance....With comments like that I'm going to leave my parents at home when I go this time. Fingers crossed!