change of plan

After a relaxing day yesterday, we have been psyching ourselves up for Steve's CT scan and X-ray tomorrow.  He's not supposed to eat anything for at least two hours before the appointment at 9.00 am, so the big debate this morning was whether to get up and breakfast earlier than usual tomorrow, or have something to eat in hospital afterwards. 


Knowing how bad we are at getting up and what Steve is like when he's hungry, we compromised at setting the alarm for 6.45 am; enough time to eat a cereal bar with his morning coffee in bed, but postponing breakfast until later. 


Soon after sorting this out the phone rang and, as a result, we're now on to Plan B. The phone call was Steve's trial nurse, Martha, who wanted to know how Steve was feeling. It seems that the drug trial protocol does not require a CT scan to be carried out as a matter of course every three months. It's only necessary if a patient feels worse, or if an X-ray indicates that the disease has progressed.  As Steve is feeling OK (other than his tingling extremities which are a side effect of the chemo) she has cancelled tomorrow's hospital appointment. Steve will have now an X-ray before seeing the consultant at the chest clinic next week, and will only need a CT scan if the X-ray indicates any significant increase in Leo's size. So we could have gone away for a few days for Steve's birthday, after all - how frustrating! 


That said, we are both feeling just a little less anxious now, and a little more confident that Steve is holding his own in the battle. Of course, we won't know exactly what's going on until next week, but at least we can have a lie in tomorrow morning, if we feel inclined to do so!


The phone has been hot this morning for other reasons too. First it was the RHS media centre to ask if I am an amateur or a professional photographer. As I earn a living doing something completely different, I am classed as an "amateur" apparently. Hot on the the heels of that call was another from Amateur Photographer magazine, which is featuring the RHS Photography Competition result - it seems that my amateur status makes it more a more appealing story! I understand that the article will probably appear in the issue due to be published on 20 March, and may be on the website. Wish I could remember what I said now - oh dear, it will probably be very embarrassing......