Good Evening all,
As promised, I'm writing another post following my latest visit to QE Birmingham. Pleased to report that all is well, there are no visual signs of any recurrence and we negotiated a further review in another 12 months with the caveat that if I felt there might be a problem, I can contact Mr Parmar and arrange an earlier consultation. That gives me a lot of confidence.
My social life continues apace - cricket season has finished, golf presentations were very satisfying and my visits to watch my favourite football team ( Lincoln City) are currently very pleasurable after years in the doldrums.
Still struggling to get HANCUK up and running whilst I am trying to get my head around all the different organisations involved in various aspects of this type of cancer. The 2016 Make Sense Campaign, which is pan-European, featured many more British participants this year ( made a nice pleasant change not to be the only Brit ) but there were no major British initiatives during the week which is a little disappointing but I can understand the reasoning and confusion with so many related projects taking place around October and November.
I will continue to update this blog from time to time but I wish you all good health and happiness.
Best wishes to you all
Chris
Thursday 27 October 2016
Sunday 28 August 2016
Coming up to five years
Good Evening Friends and welcome to any new visitors.
I appreciate that it is over four months since my last post but I am fortunate to have a very busy life and ,whilst it fills my time, it might not be very interesting to most of you.
On the medical front, I have very little to report.Due to a series of cancellations, I haven't been back to QEHS, Birmingham as a patient for over a year but I have seen my Consultant, Mr Parmar ,on several occasions as we try to get HANCUK ( Head and Neck Cancers United Kingdom) up and running. There are lots of hoops to negotiate to make sure that it is set up to create maximum impact and dovetails nicely with existing groups. The September launch date looks unlikely, I was hoping to launch during Head and Neck Cancer Awareness week across Europe which is co-ordinated by the Make Sense Campaign but it is better to get it right rather than rush it out. Mr Parmar is always available if I have any concerns and I am due to see him as a patient in October.
My bridge was removed at the new Birmingham Dental Hospital in April. I must confess that I was not looking forward to it, but , apart from the ridiculously early start and a few injections, it turned out surprisingly painless. The screws came out relatively easily considering they had not been touched for over 3 years and ,when the bridge was removed and deep cleaned, the Dentist remarked that it was in very good condition- considering the time I spend each morning cleaning it in situ, I wasn't too surprised. I spent an hour with Kate looking at options for her studies after my visit - hope it comes to fruition.
Perhaps one of the more challenging dates came in late April. I was asked to speak to a group of dentists about my experiences. A twenty minute speech to 150 newly qualified dentists was not as daunting as I was anticipating, given that it was almost 5 years since I spoke in front of that number of people. It was a little concerning to be introduced and, whilst walking to the front of the room , noticing an extremely large picture of myself laid out in theatre with all of my lower jaw missing but it didn't take too long to compose myself and get on with the job. I received a lot of very positive feedback after the speech.
Socially, life goes on apace. The family are all well - both sons and their partners have new jobs and my grand-daughter,who is now twenty months old, came to stay last week- visits to the seaside and the local horses home brought back memories of our own children. We have had holidays in North Wales, Portsmouth, Minehead and Durham so far. Golf is going fairly well. I got my first 'hole in one' in early August - costly exercise that; and had a couple of wins in our weekly competitions. Cricket is also going well, umpiring at most levels throughout the county and enjoying the banter. Football season has started again with the usual level of optimism.
I'll close now but I'll blog again after my next visit to QE.
Enjoy the rest of the summer.
Very best wishes
Chris
I appreciate that it is over four months since my last post but I am fortunate to have a very busy life and ,whilst it fills my time, it might not be very interesting to most of you.
On the medical front, I have very little to report.Due to a series of cancellations, I haven't been back to QEHS, Birmingham as a patient for over a year but I have seen my Consultant, Mr Parmar ,on several occasions as we try to get HANCUK ( Head and Neck Cancers United Kingdom) up and running. There are lots of hoops to negotiate to make sure that it is set up to create maximum impact and dovetails nicely with existing groups. The September launch date looks unlikely, I was hoping to launch during Head and Neck Cancer Awareness week across Europe which is co-ordinated by the Make Sense Campaign but it is better to get it right rather than rush it out. Mr Parmar is always available if I have any concerns and I am due to see him as a patient in October.
My bridge was removed at the new Birmingham Dental Hospital in April. I must confess that I was not looking forward to it, but , apart from the ridiculously early start and a few injections, it turned out surprisingly painless. The screws came out relatively easily considering they had not been touched for over 3 years and ,when the bridge was removed and deep cleaned, the Dentist remarked that it was in very good condition- considering the time I spend each morning cleaning it in situ, I wasn't too surprised. I spent an hour with Kate looking at options for her studies after my visit - hope it comes to fruition.
Perhaps one of the more challenging dates came in late April. I was asked to speak to a group of dentists about my experiences. A twenty minute speech to 150 newly qualified dentists was not as daunting as I was anticipating, given that it was almost 5 years since I spoke in front of that number of people. It was a little concerning to be introduced and, whilst walking to the front of the room , noticing an extremely large picture of myself laid out in theatre with all of my lower jaw missing but it didn't take too long to compose myself and get on with the job. I received a lot of very positive feedback after the speech.
Socially, life goes on apace. The family are all well - both sons and their partners have new jobs and my grand-daughter,who is now twenty months old, came to stay last week- visits to the seaside and the local horses home brought back memories of our own children. We have had holidays in North Wales, Portsmouth, Minehead and Durham so far. Golf is going fairly well. I got my first 'hole in one' in early August - costly exercise that; and had a couple of wins in our weekly competitions. Cricket is also going well, umpiring at most levels throughout the county and enjoying the banter. Football season has started again with the usual level of optimism.
I'll close now but I'll blog again after my next visit to QE.
Enjoy the rest of the summer.
Very best wishes
Chris
Wednesday 6 April 2016
Looking forward to summer.
Good Morning to you all, and welcome to any new readers;
I trust that those of you from the Northern Hemisphere have survived the winter without mishap and my antipodean friends have not baked too much over your summer. And so, another year is well on its way.
I know that 3 months have passed since my last blog and some of you may think I've either passed away or decided to stop blogging. The truth is that I still wake up in the mornings breathing ( which is always the best way to start the day ) and I have been very busy over the winter months. I had a relatively long list of things I intended to do during the cold winter period, including updating this blog. However, we didn't get a cold winter . Yes, it was a bit wet but not sufficiently bad to encourage me to stay inside ( I'm a country boy and prefer to be outdoors ). Consequently, things on the list didn't get done.
Medically, there is nothing to report. A visit to my Dentist, who found my sarcoma in the first place but despite having no natural teeth ( or jaw) in the lower half of my face, still wont give me a discount - NHS rules,I guess. This was followed by my annual visit to Birmingham Dental hospital , who designed and fitted the bridge ( false teeth) to the steel pillars which Mr.Parmar installed in July 2012. The Dental Consultant responsible for the original design, Mr Geoff Bateman, has left to pursue other avenues in the Dental trade so I have been allocated to a new young Dentist, who sent me for X-rays and subsequently has decided to take out the bridge and give it an 'MOT'. I must confess that I'm not looking forward to that. Partly because I fear that disturbing the screws might loosen the steel pillars and partly because he wants to see me at 9am, which, as most of you who know me will realize ,is around the time I normally crawl out of bed - I'm more of a night owl- so a 3 hour trip to Birmingham means getting up around 5.30 ( I used to come home at that time ).
In mid-February, I was asked to participate in a BBC television documentary featuring the prosthetic s work at Queen Elizabeths, Birmingham. I agreed but knew what I was getting in to. The documentary was intended to feature the work of the Hospital and the mental effect on patients. As a relatively successful survivor, I was asked to go to Birmingham ( 6 hour round trip) to speak to Emma, a young lady who had undergone treatment, having a substantial and prominent part of her face removed and fitted with a prosthetic replacement. She was finding reintegration difficult, being very self conscious of the prosthetic, but wanted to be filmed talking to me. I think she found me slightly different to what she expected and told the producer that she had got a lot out of it. A week later, the BBC turned up at my door (by arrangement, I might add) and interviewed me for almost 2 hours on camera. I guess I didn't turn out to be as interesting as they had hoped. When the programme was broadcast ' Inside-Out' BBC West Midlands Monday 7th March, I was featured for all of 90 seconds. But, if I helped someone and highlighted the phenomenal work being done at QE, Birmingham, it was well worth it.
In January, I, along with a small group of other patients attended a meeting in QE to discuss the whole spectrum of Head and Neck Cancers, from diagnosis, through treatment and on to recovery. There were folk from across the UK and many had similar experiences. On the back of that meeting, it was agreed to set up a group to raise awareness of the incidence of Head and Neck Cancer, the sixth most common cancer in the world, a sort of advocacy group trying not to tread on the toes of the local support groups ( not that I knew they existed prior to this meeting). It is not easy setting up these things when delegates live across the UK and many seem unprepared to commit to anything other than the idea but I have found a chap who is similarly passionate so this thing will get off the ground.Looking to launch in September.
I'm also helping a Doctor from Birmingham University who is undertaking a study of ways of improving the patient 'experience'. Its a little theoretical at this stage , particularly for my more practical mind, but I can see the potential benefits from her research.
On the social side, life goes on. The village pantomime was successful, my part as Boris the bad didn't receive as much abuse as I expected but another £1300+ was raised for the Village Hall. The golf is still patchy, my beloved Lincoln City FC are still lurching from failure to success to failure ( Manager gave notice yesterday). I've been to see Tottenham again, probably for the last time in that stadium and I've watched Gainsborough Trinity a couple of times. We've been out and about for our weekly visits and had a few meals with friends and former colleagues; so now we are looking forward to summer. Cricket season starts in a fortnight ( I'm doing another season umpiring) and our first Holiday is mid-May.
Hears hoping for a good summer.
Best wishes to you all.
Chris
I trust that those of you from the Northern Hemisphere have survived the winter without mishap and my antipodean friends have not baked too much over your summer. And so, another year is well on its way.
I know that 3 months have passed since my last blog and some of you may think I've either passed away or decided to stop blogging. The truth is that I still wake up in the mornings breathing ( which is always the best way to start the day ) and I have been very busy over the winter months. I had a relatively long list of things I intended to do during the cold winter period, including updating this blog. However, we didn't get a cold winter . Yes, it was a bit wet but not sufficiently bad to encourage me to stay inside ( I'm a country boy and prefer to be outdoors ). Consequently, things on the list didn't get done.
Medically, there is nothing to report. A visit to my Dentist, who found my sarcoma in the first place but despite having no natural teeth ( or jaw) in the lower half of my face, still wont give me a discount - NHS rules,I guess. This was followed by my annual visit to Birmingham Dental hospital , who designed and fitted the bridge ( false teeth) to the steel pillars which Mr.Parmar installed in July 2012. The Dental Consultant responsible for the original design, Mr Geoff Bateman, has left to pursue other avenues in the Dental trade so I have been allocated to a new young Dentist, who sent me for X-rays and subsequently has decided to take out the bridge and give it an 'MOT'. I must confess that I'm not looking forward to that. Partly because I fear that disturbing the screws might loosen the steel pillars and partly because he wants to see me at 9am, which, as most of you who know me will realize ,is around the time I normally crawl out of bed - I'm more of a night owl- so a 3 hour trip to Birmingham means getting up around 5.30 ( I used to come home at that time ).
In mid-February, I was asked to participate in a BBC television documentary featuring the prosthetic s work at Queen Elizabeths, Birmingham. I agreed but knew what I was getting in to. The documentary was intended to feature the work of the Hospital and the mental effect on patients. As a relatively successful survivor, I was asked to go to Birmingham ( 6 hour round trip) to speak to Emma, a young lady who had undergone treatment, having a substantial and prominent part of her face removed and fitted with a prosthetic replacement. She was finding reintegration difficult, being very self conscious of the prosthetic, but wanted to be filmed talking to me. I think she found me slightly different to what she expected and told the producer that she had got a lot out of it. A week later, the BBC turned up at my door (by arrangement, I might add) and interviewed me for almost 2 hours on camera. I guess I didn't turn out to be as interesting as they had hoped. When the programme was broadcast ' Inside-Out' BBC West Midlands Monday 7th March, I was featured for all of 90 seconds. But, if I helped someone and highlighted the phenomenal work being done at QE, Birmingham, it was well worth it.
In January, I, along with a small group of other patients attended a meeting in QE to discuss the whole spectrum of Head and Neck Cancers, from diagnosis, through treatment and on to recovery. There were folk from across the UK and many had similar experiences. On the back of that meeting, it was agreed to set up a group to raise awareness of the incidence of Head and Neck Cancer, the sixth most common cancer in the world, a sort of advocacy group trying not to tread on the toes of the local support groups ( not that I knew they existed prior to this meeting). It is not easy setting up these things when delegates live across the UK and many seem unprepared to commit to anything other than the idea but I have found a chap who is similarly passionate so this thing will get off the ground.Looking to launch in September.
I'm also helping a Doctor from Birmingham University who is undertaking a study of ways of improving the patient 'experience'. Its a little theoretical at this stage , particularly for my more practical mind, but I can see the potential benefits from her research.
On the social side, life goes on. The village pantomime was successful, my part as Boris the bad didn't receive as much abuse as I expected but another £1300+ was raised for the Village Hall. The golf is still patchy, my beloved Lincoln City FC are still lurching from failure to success to failure ( Manager gave notice yesterday). I've been to see Tottenham again, probably for the last time in that stadium and I've watched Gainsborough Trinity a couple of times. We've been out and about for our weekly visits and had a few meals with friends and former colleagues; so now we are looking forward to summer. Cricket season starts in a fortnight ( I'm doing another season umpiring) and our first Holiday is mid-May.
Hears hoping for a good summer.
Best wishes to you all.
Chris
Friday 1 January 2016
Happy New Year
Good day to you all and my very best wishes for 2016.
Without the efforts of Mr Parmar and his team,I would have been dead for four years. But as I think I've still got some living to do, I'm going to try to stay around for some time yet - hopefully.
2015 was yet another excellent year for me and my family. The retirement, coupled with the jobs I have taken on give me just the right balance of leisure time whilst retaining sufficient time to stretch the brain and further increase my confidence - maybe too much ?
Family are doing well, my grand daughter was one yesterday and is growing daily.Dan and Han have coped really well, despite lack of sleep.Simon is just a few months away from piloting you to Europe and back;and Becky is really good sorting out head of household problems whilst he is away.
I took part in the Head and Neck awareness campaign over the summer but was not overly impressed with the editing.But, I suppose if you stick your head over the precipice, you half expect some bright spark to try and make a fool out of you. If it achieves the aim, I really dont care too much, I'm past worrying about public perception of me or my actions - I guess when you've spent some time as a panto dame, there is not much that fazes you.I'll wait and see what the proposals are for the next campaign. I did learn a lot during the campaign , I didn't know that Head and Neck cancer is the sixth most prevalent cancer and the chances of recovery are very limited unless it is diagnosed early. I am a very lucky boy.
We are about to sort out our Holidays for 2016.We'll probably go for another six between May and October.My golfing exploits are beginning to get me a reputation.Having won the weekly competition three times in five weeks during October/November,I've noticed a number of references to big hats and guns and other bandit references-if you dont play golf you'll not understand the significance.Broad shoulders are required.This years panto rehearsals are going well, I play an escaped prisoner this year so plenty of booing I suppose - Broad shoulders !Trips to see Lincoln football club are much better than previous years. There's usually a more than even chance they wont lose.I got involved in the resurrection of the Supporters Trust, which owns a large percentage of the club.That was really difficult but the working party is well on the way to sorting it out.Had a trip to see Tottenham play Monaco just before Christmas with Simon, but not had chance to see Gainsborough Trinity yet due to fixture clashes.
As far as medical matters are concerned, my 5 monthly appointment has spread to 10 so ,I guess I'm not considered to be much of a problem these days.
Well thats as much as I can tell you now, as you can see its no longer interesting, I'm just getting on with life.It still amazes me how many people read my ramblings - over 14000 now.
Very best wishes
Chris
Without the efforts of Mr Parmar and his team,I would have been dead for four years. But as I think I've still got some living to do, I'm going to try to stay around for some time yet - hopefully.
2015 was yet another excellent year for me and my family. The retirement, coupled with the jobs I have taken on give me just the right balance of leisure time whilst retaining sufficient time to stretch the brain and further increase my confidence - maybe too much ?
Family are doing well, my grand daughter was one yesterday and is growing daily.Dan and Han have coped really well, despite lack of sleep.Simon is just a few months away from piloting you to Europe and back;and Becky is really good sorting out head of household problems whilst he is away.
I took part in the Head and Neck awareness campaign over the summer but was not overly impressed with the editing.But, I suppose if you stick your head over the precipice, you half expect some bright spark to try and make a fool out of you. If it achieves the aim, I really dont care too much, I'm past worrying about public perception of me or my actions - I guess when you've spent some time as a panto dame, there is not much that fazes you.I'll wait and see what the proposals are for the next campaign. I did learn a lot during the campaign , I didn't know that Head and Neck cancer is the sixth most prevalent cancer and the chances of recovery are very limited unless it is diagnosed early. I am a very lucky boy.
We are about to sort out our Holidays for 2016.We'll probably go for another six between May and October.My golfing exploits are beginning to get me a reputation.Having won the weekly competition three times in five weeks during October/November,I've noticed a number of references to big hats and guns and other bandit references-if you dont play golf you'll not understand the significance.Broad shoulders are required.This years panto rehearsals are going well, I play an escaped prisoner this year so plenty of booing I suppose - Broad shoulders !Trips to see Lincoln football club are much better than previous years. There's usually a more than even chance they wont lose.I got involved in the resurrection of the Supporters Trust, which owns a large percentage of the club.That was really difficult but the working party is well on the way to sorting it out.Had a trip to see Tottenham play Monaco just before Christmas with Simon, but not had chance to see Gainsborough Trinity yet due to fixture clashes.
As far as medical matters are concerned, my 5 monthly appointment has spread to 10 so ,I guess I'm not considered to be much of a problem these days.
Well thats as much as I can tell you now, as you can see its no longer interesting, I'm just getting on with life.It still amazes me how many people read my ramblings - over 14000 now.
Very best wishes
Chris
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