TREATMENT COMPLETE!

I'm sorry that it's taken me a while to update this...

I'm glad to say that the SIRT treatment (Selective Internal Radiation Treatment) all went ahead smoothly last Tuesday. As far as I know it all went to plan, but they gave me a higher dose of sedatives this time and I was very sleepy and woozy throughout most of it (which I was quite happy about! - as with the first part four weeks ago, I spent around two hours on the operating table and then another hour having scans to check all was as it should be, so dozing my way through it was very welcome.)

I spent a further night in the Marsden and was discharged on Wednesday afternoon. I'm on some follow-up medication - steroids, to prevent inflammation in the liver, guard against any allergic reaction to the beads, and give the immune system a bit of a boost; antacids to protect the stomach and gut from any adverse effects; and a drug to prevent any irritation to the gall bladder (which can get inflamed if any of the radioactive beads get into it) - and will have regular blood tests over the next couple of months to monitor how things are going. There'll be a scan done in 3 months and from that they'll be able to see what the impact of the SIRT has been. It feels a big relief to have some time without as much intensive contact with hospitals as I've had recently.

In the meantime I'm feeling better than I'd expected (or feared) - tired, and not wanting to do much, but thankfully no nausea or pain. Over the first couple of days I felt some sensations of discomfort at times in my liver, but nothing major, and it was kind of reassuring to feel that the radioactive beads were doing something. The radiation wears off within a week or so, and I'm glad to say no-one treated me as if I was contagious!

Close friends and family have been wonderful in setting up a rota of daily visits, to help out with shopping and cooking, and to provide moral support and company while I'm recovering, and that's boosted my mood immeasurably. Resting and doing very little can be good physically but can also feel quite depressing and limiting, as I found out in the week before the procedure - there's definitely a balance to strike. So I feel lucky to have such good support around me, and very relieved that so far I seem to be tolerating it pretty well. 

The challenges of the last few weeks have forced me to question where I'm at and  how I go on from here, so there may be a couple of more reflective posts coming up at some stage, but I'll leave it here for now. Thank you all again for your messages of support and good wishes - it means a great deal to me.