The need for quality support
When it comes to
talking about cancer, I have had the best support from a Cancer Support Nurse
Consultant (CSNC) recommended through support services with my place of work.
We have scheduled monthly meetings where for sometimes more than an hour we can
address all my concerns and issues around dealing with cancer.
Our first meeting
which was via Microsoft Teams, and I insisted on an audiovisual engagement
rather than plain audio, we talked for about two hours, and it involved giving
her a full background on the process to the discovery of cancer and attendant
issues.
Macmillan Cancer Support, the Christie
Hospital, and my GP have been supportive but what I needed most of all was
someone ready to spend time listening, understanding, appreciating, and
recommending how to navigate a cancer diagnosis through treatment and
recuperation.
I dare say my engagement
with Prostate Cancer UK was a
distraction. I was well on the way to having active treatment based on the
diagnosis of malignant prostate cancer, but they thought I should delay
treatment for active
surveillance. While anyone would prefer not to endure surgery or
radiotherapy, I could not postpone treatment for the comfort of normalcy while
cancer was having a gnaw at my prostate gland.
The usefulness of
helpful advice
My CSNC is a
registered nurse and quite knowledgeable about many of the elements around
pelvic area cancers. Most of the progressive solutions I have had to manage the
symptoms and side effects along with after-treatment conditions have come
through our conversations. Everyone else was just at the end of a telephone,
she was there to be seen and heard. It made a whole lot of difference.
In our last meeting
we talked about emerging symptoms and side effects with bowel functions. The
literature suggested with radiotherapy, people have more issues with the bowel
than the urinary or sexual functions. I however had serious urinary problems that
I hardly noticed if bowel movements were regular and working as expected.
She then suggested
the documented side effects are not essentially a textbook expectation, that
side effects can occur at any time during and after treatment in no particular
order along with the fact that for some people, they might not experience some
side effects at all.
Some outstanding
concerns to address
I was recommended to
keep a diary of nutrition and excretion patterns, noting the regularity of
movements to find what might be the issue beyond the healing process from
radiotherapy. While my energy levels are improving, I still find that I tire
easily, my need to use the conveniences intervenes with my comfort, and I need
to sit down after walks.
Much as I want to
believe I am doing well; I am still not where I need to be. I must consider if a
phased return to regular activities is needed. That conversation can wait until
late in January. What I must do now is relax, rest, recuperate, and recover.
Manage the symptoms and side effects as best I can while celebrating the gift
of life.
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