Update

I might as well start posting... hopefully more frequently.

The last couple of weeks have been quiet, with no contact with the medical profession :) - the lull before the storm perhaps. Prior to that I had a PET Scan on my torso and a CT scan of my chest & abdomen. My GP contacted the hospital who informed him that PET scan had revealed that the cancer had not spread from the leg to my torso. (No mention of my neck however, where lymph nodes persist - the rest of my body was not scanned either.) I haven't received any information on the results of the CT scan. I am assuming that it was negative or I would have been told... I hope :)

Today I have a planning meeting at the radio-oncology clinic to plan my radiation therapy. Hopefully I will have a clearer picture of what lies ahead.

One of the radiation nurses did provide an answer to my questions over the phone last week. I have 5 weeks of radiotherapy starting on 8th of August. This is to make it easier for the surgeons to remove the tumour as the radio therapy more clearly defines the tumour. The RT also kills the periphery of the tumour, hopefully to make re-occurance less likely. It is a large mass, approximately 15cm according to one of the reports.

Following the 5 weeks of RT, I have been told I will have a 3 week break to recover prior to surgery. I have been told I will be in hospital from anywhere between a few days to 3 weeks. Then will follow 2 months of recovery & rehabilitation. It's the latter part that really worries given that I live by myself on Macleay where healthcare facilities are not as good as on the mainland. It will probably be late December or early January before I am able to return to work.

I'll post a bit more in the next couple of days after the planning session.