The diagnosis

Another clear scan!

2012-01-17T09:53:00.003Z

If this were a renovations blog, I could have been posting most days. But it's not.. It was created to update everyone on Quent's fight with cancer.

Another round to Quentin. He had another scan yesterday and it was clear. He also had totally normal blood results which Prof says he doesn't see very often. Amazing. I mean amazing that Quent has ever had a result calling him "totally normal".

Prof seems very optimistic in terms of keeping the cancer at bay and doesn't need to see Quent again until September - nine months away!

We remain totally indebted to Prof Hawkins and his team, to Dr Savage for leading us to Prof and to all of you for supporting us through it.

HAPPY new year!

Fragility of life

2011-07-19T13:50:00.005+01:00

Yesterday we went to Manchester for Quent's scan. On the M6 we saw a near accident happen just a few cars in front of us. A car reversed up the grass verge backwards, then roared across into the outside lane. There it came to a stop, complete with grass caught in the lights & under-carriage and a very shocked-looking couple in their sixties. We later saw them at the services and they were totally unhurt - it was amazing that no-one had crashed into them or vice versa. Then we passed the emergency services attending a totally burned out car on the hard shoulder - it seems hard to imagine the driver of that car was as lucky.

Back to the scan. It was six months since we had last been and they have been busy transforming Nathan House into a swish new outpatients unit. It seemed to put the old ward and our experiences there firmly in the past - and given it's all but 3 years since Quent finished his Christie's treatment, I guess that's where they belong. Quent's scan was clear again, so we certainly won't be back this side of Christmas.

Talking of which, Quent's great news was tinged with sadness as Prof told us that Mr Christmas has recently died. Long term readers of this blog will remember that Mr Christmas expertly removed Quentin's kidney complete with 1.5 kg tumour, in October 2006. We don't know the circumstances of his death but we know he would have been about 55 years old and that he had a 4 year old little boy. He is a great loss to the kidney cancer world - he was an eminent physician and very nice person... the sort of Father Christmas who delivers the gift of life, rather than the sort who delivers the gift of Lego. We like every type of FC, but this one was particularly special and our thoughts are with his wife and son.

And on Friday, Quent will attend the funeral of his Scouting friend Dave Long, who ran Explorer Scouts with Quent for several years and continued to work tirelessly for Batchworth Sea Scouts until his sudden death. Once again, he was one of the good guys and will be sorely missed for both his work and his company. Once again, he was far too young to die.

All of which has reminded us of the fragility of life and of our amazing fortune. Carpe diem - and may you all survive the grass verges of life!

Winning the battle...

2011-06-13T23:29:00.005+01:00

This blog was set up to update everyone on Quent's battle with cancer and we are happily having a truce at the moment, so I won't apologise for the lack of recent posts. It's nearly five months since we last went to Manchester and it's still another month before we go again.

But tonight we got great news from Philip, worth sharing with you. He had a scan today and it was clear - three months after his tough open heart surgery.

And last week our friends Ben and Miranda came for dinner and told us that their son Alex, 3, is doing amazingly well, fighting his neuroblastomy. Alex is currently having immunotherapy (and all that it entails) although not IL-2. He might have had IL-2 alongside everything else he's being given, but he wasn't allocated onto that part of the trial.

Two other family members, both recently diagnosed with prostate cancer, also seem to be doing well.

A cancer diagnosis is a real body blow but it seems the Doctors are making great progress. Philip and Quent discussed the decoration in the new wing at the Christie more than their health this evening. Isn't that uplifting?

Philip is recovering well

2011-03-23T21:41:00.002Z

Sorry for the long delay in posting. We've been rather busy. I am writing this from Scotland, where I am press passing my book.

Philip is recovering well and was out for a walk when I called earlier today. They have taken out his 59 stitches and aside a bit of a weepy wound, all seems to be well.

Thanks for all your concern. Philip will be so touched when I tell him how many people have been asking after him.

All your loving...

2011-03-03T20:51:00.002Z

We are so very grateful that Quentin has had two years without treatment. But our dear friend Philip (who first shuffled down the corridor mid-IL2, to encourage us with his story) has not been quite so lucky.

Philip's cancer returned a few months ago and, after a course of Sutent, he is due into hospital on Monday to have the offending tumour removed. It has attached itself to his aorta, so he has two surgeons working on him - one of whom is called Professor Brunette or something similar. (We have to explain here that Philip is a hairdresser, so that might just be his interpretation of the name).

His surgery is booked for Monday and will take 8 hours. Which beats anything that Quent has been through. As Philip said, "If you're still writing the blog, please tell everyone that I am much more ill than Quentin has ever been." If humour gets you through these things, he'll be fine.

I feel for Philip's lovely wife, Sue. It's not easy waiting around while the man you love is under the knife and eight hours of tenter hooks doesn't bear thinking about. Still, I am sure it's all small fry to the cardiothoracic surgeons who do heart transplants with their eyes shut these days. (Hopefully not literally).

All our thoughts will be with Philip and Sue on Monday and we'd like to ask you to send him some of the loving that got Quentin such great results.

Red letter day

2011-02-02T23:50:00.003Z

Quentin's full results have come through with "no new metastases are seen" and "no recurrent disease is seen".

And Oakley collected his hamster, Tiddles. As I tucked him (Oakley) into bed, he told me he'd been wanting a pet for 7 years.

Days don't come much better than that.

Recycling the diaries.

2011-02-01T00:00:00.003Z

Each year since Quent has been diagnosed, I have bought a "health" diary. If we have appointments, we write the notes from the meeting on the relevant page. When Quent was having his IL-2 treatment, I noted drugs, rigors, side effects and became a little database of trends over the various sessions.

Last year's diary was a blissful waste of money. I didn't write in it once. Who needs to write "everything looks fine" in a book? That's the sort of thing to shout from the rooftops, not put in a journal.

So I am recycling the diary this year. Today we had our first hospital visit of 2011. Although we haven't had the full results yet, Quent's lungs and abdomen are cancer free. They are the riskiest areas and Prof fully expects the rest to be clear too. He's signed us off until July and the diary remains empty. (Hooray!)

So what happens if we still don't write in the diary this year?

Well, now, here's the clever bit. At this point, I enter it into the Turner Prize as a piece of art entitled "Miracle" or "Trial" or something - and the blank pages tell the most amazing story of hope, determination, discovery, faith, kindness and luck. Pickled calf. Dirty bed. Empty diary. I reckon it's got a good chance.

So, dear blog reader, keep your fingers crossed for Quent's lungs and modern art in the making.

Another scan

2011-01-30T22:19:00.002Z

That four months went really quickly. Here we are again, off to Manchester tomorrow to have a scan. If it's clear, the next one is not for 6 months, so it's a bit of a milestone. Fingers crossed.

Sick bay

2010-12-03T12:51:00.002Z

Oakley was sent home from school yesterday, feeling unwell. Sure enough he proceeded to be sick a couple of times. Like his father, he doesn't seem to want illness to interrupt his normal life. He was determined to go to Beavers last night and couldn't understand why having been sick 10 minutes before should stop him. This morning was Dress Rehearsal day for the school performance so again, he was keen to go.

I have just interrupted CBBC to ask whether he'd like a dry biscuit or a piece of dry toast. "Can I have a dry square of Dairy Milk?" he asked. As I say, he's just like his father.

Anniversaries

2010-11-18T23:46:00.007Z

Exactly a year ago, our new kitchen was fitted. We’re still delighted with it and I thought I would show you some pictures. Sadly the underfloor heating doesn't show up in the image.

Here's the before and after (the 'before' taken in daylight and the 'after' taken just now, 00.30)...

...And a special one taken "through the hatch" for those familiar with how the house used to be.

Meanwhile, I am reminded how lucky we are to be looking back and seeing such trivial things as kitchens. Two years ago, they found a new cancer spot on Quent's lung and we plunged back into the world of uncertainty and concern.

Which is where the Sharps are this year. Today is a crucial day for Alex, the 3 year old son of a friend of Quentin’s. He has a neuroblastoma and has been having treatment in Oxford, almost daily since May. He needs an operation to survive and today he had a scan to see whether his spots have shrunk enough for them to operate. His father, Ben, writes a fantastic blog which puts this one to shame. www.alexsharpsblog.wordpress.com Our thoughts are with them today and we have everything crossed for the results next week.

This Christmas will be our fifth since Quent was diagnosed, a near impossibility according to the medics at the time. As Alex and his family approach their first 'Christmas with Cancer', we truly hope they will be happily posting pictures of kitchen units on their blog in 2014.

We're (not) going to be millionaires, Rodney

2010-10-14T09:48:00.003+01:00

Did anyone see the piece on the BBC News at Ten on Tuesday night about the Man Booker Prize? I was watching it while working on my book. Apparently, authors earn an average of £4,000 a year in the UK. Given JK Rowlings et al must be way above that figure, I guess I'll be lucky if my earnings come in note form.

Back to the drawing board on how to pay for the garage.

The lottery of life.

2010-10-05T13:07:00.004+01:00

Unusually, we bought a lottery ticket at the weekend. Not one of our numbers came up. But all the numbers which matter came up yesterday when Quent's scan was clear.

Sadly our friend Philip (IL-2 friend) has not had such great news. His cancer has returned and he is having a couple of courses of Sutent, to try to shrink the tumour before surgery. He gets his results in November and we have everything crossed for him.

Meanwhile, Prof Hawkins is publishing his IL-2 research later this month. We will let you know when. Not that we think he will need the coverage our little blog can give him - we anticipate his results will hit the headlines in more esteemed publications. Still, PR is a lottery, as they say, so we'll do all we can to spread the word.

We're all going on a .....

2010-10-03T21:14:00.010+01:00

As seasoned wet weather campers, we set off camping this weekend as a "pre-scan" break. A little scarred from our last experience, I was taking no chances and came up with a cunning plan to ensure our sleeping bags didn't get wet this time:

.

We took an old (well 6 year old) friend of Oakley's - the gorgeous James Wiley, who is a day younger than Oakley and has been a best friend for most of Oakley's life. He has to be the world's most excitable Monopoly player and a great time was had by all.

James told Oakley he was lucky not to have a younger sibling because they prevent your parents playing with you. Oakley told James he was lucky not to live in an old house because it has the same effect. ;o)

We toasted marshmallows in the rain, collected (and then lit) methane from the river bed in the rain, collected acorns in the rain and put up zipwires in the rain.

.

So, after a weekend's training for the Mancunian climate, we are ready for another scan. Prof, with his usual attention to detail, has organised Quent and Philip's appointments on the same day, so we are meeting Philip (fellow IL-2 veteran) and Sue for lunch beforehand.

We're optimistic but we know a scan is no holiday.

Happy holidays

2010-09-20T22:23:00.010+01:00

We've just about dried out from our camping holiday. What on earth was I thinking of? We live in a building site. We needed comfort, pampering, luxury. I know about posh holidays. In fact, I spent years selling the things. How did I book a rainy week in Devon? This Scout Master's wife thing is getting out of hand.

Quent and some fellow campers dug a canal (and chipped through the curbstone) to take some of the water away from our tent. The rest we bailed regularly, in between games of Monopoly. Oakley told me "At least there's no snow" and some friends arrived with a book called "The tent, the bucket and me" (A very funny book about camping disasters, which is crying out for a sequel.) At least Nathan House ward was dry.

While everyone else was determinedly chirpy, I took solace in wine and chocolate and I'm just about drying out from that too.

Still, my patience was rewarded. At the end of our trip, we went to stay with some friends. Suddenly life was full of fast cars, speedboats, a comfortable bed, lunch at Rick Stein's restaurant and sun, sun, sun. Oh and fit, good looking 28 year olds - the Scout Master's wife thing does have its upsides. ;o)

"The lads" in the speedboat

Fun in the sun

Barnsley, Slough, Ilfracombe

2010-08-13T22:58:00.003+01:00

A quick catch up with our news as I haven't updated the blog for ages.

On the kidney cancer front, Quent's next scan is 4th October. I mentioned that our friend Philip had had another cycle of IL-2. It was not without its complications and he ended up in intensive care for a few days. His next scan is next week and we sincerely hope it's good news.

Quent, meanwhile, has completed his 13 week back to work plan and is now working 3.5 days a week. Actually he is often still working quite late at night which is, I guess, a sign that he's enjoying it again. That's great news because he found it really hard to start with.

I have transferred from working on a project in Barnsley to working on a project in Slough. I'm a classy bird. I am still doing work for other clients and trying to juggle the wife, mother, gardener roles, so my admin is in its usual state of disarray. I was also offered a publishing deal the other day for a book I wrote years ago. It was quite random, but it's exciting as I have been meaning to dust it down for ages. I'll tell you more as it progresses, although I am not quite sure how it will progress, given we never seem to get to bed before midnight as it is.

And in the "work" category I can't overlook Oakley,whose school report started "Oakley is a delight to teach and an asset to the class." What more could you ask for? (Handwriting springs to mind, but I mustn't be picky.)

Progress on the house continues at a snail's pace. Now the foreman is back at work (see above) and Archie, our fabulous "do everything" man has put his back out trimming our beech hedge. It's not great news. This morning, Quentin had Oakley crawling behind the thermal store to put some insulation in. Quent says it's a job for a small person, but I reckon he sees the school holidays as an opportunity to boost our workforce.

Still, it's not all work. We're off camping near Ilfracombe soon. As I said, I'm a classy bird.

Vuvuzelas at the ready

2010-06-23T23:52:00.002+01:00

We were delighted that so many people crowded together in South Africa to celebrate Quent's latest (clear) scan result. We didn't know the blog had such a strong following over there. A few were so delighted they ran excitedly around the field for an hour and a half. It was even on the tele. They had really loud trumpets - but then it is big news. And tonight the pubs of England were full of people continuing the praise of Christie's. So many of them had thought to wear a red cross, as a tribute to the nursing profession. It's touching, it really is.

Is that my boy?

2010-05-11T20:17:00.006+01:00

Apparently, years ago, Quent's mum proclaimed loudly "Is that my boy?" at some Scout event - and it became a family catch phrase.

And now it's my turn....

Is that my boy - complete with flag and loads of badges?

Nine months on...

2010-05-10T21:45:00.002+01:00

We are back in the kitchen and I am loving it! We have had electricians, decorators, plumbers, heating engineers and plasterers here over the past couple of weeks. The coal shed now looks like a utility room, complete with shower room, a pulley for the washing and an internal door through to Quent’s workshop. The kitchen has funky ovens and even funkier lights. The dining room has a new woodburner and an amazing “thermal store”, which looks like an alien. It will manage the solid fuel, the solar (once we get it), the gas and the electricity. I admit we have quite a bit of “snagging” to do before the kitchen end is complete (think hot water, plastering the dining room etc), but the end is in sight.

The garden is starting to look a bit different too. I won’t say better yet, but it has less bindweed, ground elder, celandine and comfrey. The lilac, wisteria, fruit trees, kerria, broom and bluebells are all in bloom and the rhododendron won’t be far behind. I have put my pieris in the ground. It was given to me by a French nursery owner just before I acquired my first garden. It’s been in a series of pots ever since (13 years!) and now it finally gets to bury its roots as deep as it likes.

First thing in the morning, I put the kettle on and then lean over the stable door admiring the plants, the birdsong and the smell of the dew. Bliss.

Back to work, back to reality

2010-05-05T22:35:00.002+01:00

Quent is back at work. He is on a “back to work plan” which means he builds up the number and length of days gradually. He’s on two short days this week, one at home and one in the office (Swindon).

This is a good time to say how grateful we are to Allied Telesis for their support and patience over the past 3.5 years. Canada Life, the income protection insurance company, has also been brilliant. Their representative, Katy Wright, first visited Quentin in December last year, when he had recently returned to work after his lung operation. It was a dark time for us, as we had just found out that his cancer had returned. Katy arrived like Mary Poppins. She told Quent he had gone back to work too quickly and for too many hours. Quent and I were quite drained afterwards – we hadn’t really realised how much we were struggling until the professional outsider came and took a look. Katy has drawn up the back to work plan for the next 13 weeks and we feel we are in good hands.

In many ways, Quent is looking forward to being back at work – and of course it’s a real sign of recovery – but nonetheless, it’s a bit of a shock to the system.

Oakley has started one day a week with a childminder as a result – she has three dogs and also looks after Anna Sophia, his friend from school, so he’s delighted.

We did have some bad news last week. Philip, our IL-2 friend has a cancerous lymph node again. He starts another course of IL-2 later this month, three years after the first lot. He’s absolutely dreading it and we can understand why, but it’s good stuff and we hope it does the trick again.

Oh it all makes work for the working man to do

2010-03-18T22:31:00.006Z

We are going to Watford General twice a week at the moment. Not for Quentin, but for physiotherapy on my shoulder, which is taking an age to mend. I have to attempt Nazi-style salutes 3 times a day as exercise (amongst other things) and am desperate to do a good Hitler impersonation - only when I can get my hand above waist height for more than a minute, will I be able to drive again.

Fortunately Quent is being very undemanding on the health front. I forgot to tell you the end of the "blood in urine" episode. The Prof tested his urine and suddenly all the blood had gone away. Which means that Frances (my Doctor sister) was right - it had been a small infection and the blood was just taking a while to disappear. Either that or Prof can just look at your wee and make it behave.

We thought Quent had a meeting today about returning to work, but it was cancelled so we're awaiting another one.

Life at home continues along a "building site" theme. We have finally moved out of Oakley's bedroom, which is a great treat. Small things, like being able to turn the light on and not stepping on 4 pieces of lego before getting into bed are almost as exciting as the extra privacy.

Don't be fooled - we are still not back in the kitchen. Instead, most activity seems to be in the ensuite at the moment. The ensuite is above the dining room, so its floor has to be done before the dining room ceiling. The dining room has to be done before we can move back into the kitchen. There's a hole in my bucket.

Oakley's favourite song at the moment is another golden oldie - "When the gasman cometh" by Flanders and Swann. It's terrible having old parents. Quent had played it to him when he had to learn to spell the days of the week and it seems to have stuck. Strangely I seem to have a sense of humour failure with anything to do with gasmen, electricians, decorators etc these days and find it hard giggling with the boys when they play it for the umpteenth time.

Now, play me a funny song about a physiotherapist and I might just raise a smile.

Another clear scan!

2010-02-28T23:12:00.003Z

Quent had another scan on Wednesday in Manchester. He drove up via Barnsley to pick me up and we had a very pretty drive across the Pennines. The scan was clear - for the fourth time in a row. Three cheers for IL-2, the Christie and the Prof.

Prof had timed the scan so that we could go to the opening of the new Cellular Therapeutic Unit - the new epicentre of T-Cell treatment. Manchester is collaborating with a few other centres in the world (Amsterday, Tel Aviv, Washington) to develop the science behind this new treatment. Although early days, the trials are looking promising.

How it works (maybe!): If I have understood correctly, they take cancerous cells from your body. They identify the cells which are fighting the cancer - but are not numerous enough to kill it. They then grow loads of these cells and put them back into your body. No problem with the body rejecting the new cells as they are clones of your own. (I hope I am getting this right. I have a habit of getting science wildly wrong and Quent often has to gently correct my version of events for Oakley.) And when I say "loads", I mean loads - 10 billion cells are returned to the patient.

Prof also updated us on the IL-2 trials he has done. He hasn't yet published the results so I'd better not blurt them out on this blog, but they were very impressive. Great "complete response" rates. On the way back to Barnsley, my main concern was how they are going to cope with demand as soon as they publish. Not everyone will qualify for treatment (in terms of fitness / histology etc) but I reckon the Christie will need extra staff just to deal with the enquiries.

So, a great trip north all round. Although we hope and pray that every one of Quent's scans is clear from now on, it is also very, very reassuring to hear how quickly other treatments are being trialed. And it's lovely to know that the money raised by the boys' p*** up round Europe has gone to such a worthy cause.

Am I in Lego Star Wars?

2010-01-27T21:21:00.003Z

I was trying to fathom out my current predicament last night and came up with 2 theories:

1. I have been chosen to test the real life version of some computer game:

Level 1. Player's central heating is removed. In summer. Easy.
Level 2. Player's kitchen is removed.
Level 3. Player's bedroom is removed.
Level 4. Player's water is cut off and piped in through an open window.
Level 5. Conditions change. It's snowing. Still no heating and afore-mentioned pipe freezes.
Level 6. Player's electricity goes off without warning, about once a day, usually after dark.
Level 7. Weird things start happening. Inanimate objects, aimed at player's head, fly through the air while player is travelling at speed. Quick thinking is required.
Level 8. The game picks up pace. Use of player's right arm is removed.
etc...

2. I have said "I can cope with anything if Quent stays healthy" just once too often and someone is having a laugh.

Mrs Bean

2010-01-26T20:31:00.002Z

Quent's birthday was busy. We did a lovely 7.5m walk together in the morning, ending in the fabulous Cafe in the Park for lunch. Then off to Hemel Hemstead hospital for a cystoscopy for Quent. He has blood in his urine again and they are trying to find out why. It was clear, which rules out bladder cancer and we're still hoping it's something minor.

We went to the Crazy Bear for dinner and rushed home, full of ideas for decorating the spare room - currently a shell with dry linings off and several floorboards up...

One minute I was envisaging the room in full glory, the next I was dangling with my right leg in the dining room and the rest of me upstairs. I persuaded Quent to ring for an ambulance. Never one to exaggerate a medical situation, he told them his wife had fallen over and banged her elbow.

The A&E team at Watford General did not manage to sort out the dislocated shoulder, but the orthopaedic team finally relocated it at 6am, with the help of some "date-rape" style drugs. That seemed a lengthy enough recovery period (try not to dislocate your shoulder; it's really painful), but the broken arm will take even longer to mend. I am typing this with my left hand and cannot drive for six weeks.

Earlier in the week, a rock had shattered my windscreen, while I was driving in the outside lane of the M1- but that's a different episode.

speshl dlivire.

2010-01-21T08:09:00.002Z

There was a card on the kitchen table this morning, addressed to Mr Q.Webb. It said speshl dlivire, so we knew it was important. Anyone would think it was his birthday.

Quent saw all but 3 weeks of the 60s, the 70s, the 80s, the 90s and the noughties... and now we're ready for the next 50 years!

Here's a picture of the early days. Quent's mum calls this "slum child pose". I call it "So Quent did once own a comb".

A batchworth beaver

2010-01-14T19:48:00.002Z

Tonight Oakley started at Batchworth Beavers. This was probably an even bigger event in Quentin's life than in Oakley's. In the 1960s, they didn't have Beavers, but Quent started as a cub in the same group and the same hall - the hall which his father had helped build a year or so earlier. Batchworth is Quent's second family and he has dreamed of taking his son there ever since Oakley was born (or maybe even before). The dream required surviving cancer and persuading his wife to move to Rickmansworth, so it was no foregone conclusion.

Fortunately, Oakley had a good time. His first words to Quent when we got home were "Dad, can you get me the uniform please, because I want to stay a Beaver?" Phew!

Forgive the slush. Moments like this are extra precious when you thought they might never happen.

Escape from ItzCold

2010-01-12T21:23:00.002Z

Before Christmas I was offered a part time job in Barnsley for three months. Now, most people might not be too keen on a 3 hour commute, but a cold house and an empty bank balance can give you a funny perspective on life*. When my contact suggested the overnight stay might not be compatable with family life, my only answer was "Is the hotel heated?"

Like all good escape plans, my first attempt was thwarted. I set out last Tuesday before dawn and made it to Sheffield before having to turn back, due to the most amazing amount of white stuff falling from the sky. Eight hours of radio 4 later, I arrived home again.

This week was easier. My plan to construct a glider in the attic failed - Oakley and Quent were using all the spare wood to build a sledge - and my hope of digging a tunnel under the M1 was dashed as we'd lent the shovel to a neighbour for the snow. In the end, I went for a Volvo, a bag of sweets and a thermos - and it worked a treat. Here I am in the warmth of the Ramada Encore, tapping away and watching the telly.

For those of you hoping for any sensible updates on our progress, the summary is as follows:

Work has practically stopped on the house as roofers don't work in the snow and the plasterer reckons he's still snowed in.
We had a lovely Christmas and New Year and now I should be back at Weightwatchers, but the meetings clash with my regular night of hotel living.
Oakley's school was only open one day in the first week back. The home-made sledges were great.
Quent has to see a urologist as he has blood in his urine. The Prof thinks it's unlikely to be kidney cancer related, so we're trying to stay calm.

We hope 2010 is happy and healthy for you all and that everyone else's building projects are going faster than ours.

*Top tip: If your husband suggests having the central heating removed in the summer, do ask when the replacement will arrive.

On the seventh day of Christmas....

2009-12-06T17:49:00.003Z

Is that Oakley auditioning for a part in Swan Lake? No, just Quent’s rather majestic nativity costume (note the pliers, crucial to all costumiers).

Is that a picture of the swans in the aquadrome? No it’s a picture of several hundred Santas running on the other side of the lake (look carefully or click on the image to enlarge it)

Is that Christmas gone crazy? No, it’swan big charity event (groan)

Is that two swans outside our front door? Yes! Of course it is.

The birds keep coming round. They swan around (!) as if they own the place and check out the builders’ progress. I am beginning to wonder if the Conservation Officers have been the victim of some cruel pantomime curse.

I think we might have lost touch with reality. I’ll let you know if the drummers, pipers, lords and the ladies turn up.

That's my boy

2009-12-01T12:10:00.003Z

Quent was listening to Oakley read the other day and Oakley was struggling with the word "pharaoh" (Fair enough really - he is only five). Quent was working through "PH = F" with him.

Q: "Like in Philip. Do we know any Philips?" (we know several)
O: "Philip screwdriver?"

You can just imagine Quent's pride.

A day out in Manchester

2009-11-03T11:37:00.003Z

When I was moaning on Sunday that the house project seems to dominate our time / discussions, Quent said "Never mind, we've got a day out tomorrow".

And so we drove up to Manchester in the rain, Quent had his scan and we drove back again. We even had some hospital food and a cup of tea in the services on the way home. He knows how to treat a woman, my husband.

Still, what could be better than hearing that the scan was clear again? We remain in the "high risk" zone, but the results are as good as they come. There is still a lot of scarring from all the ops Quent has had, but even this looks better than last time, apparently. Slowly but surely, Quent's body is on the mend.

There's a bed in the bathroom

2009-10-12T14:39:00.002+01:00

What am I going to do?...

In fact there's stuff everywhere. The builders are just working on the kitchen / dining room for the moment, to minimise the disruption. Some of the old kitchen is still in our bedroom. In order to feed wires through to the kitchen, they have taken up the floorboards in the spare room and dressing room. So the original contents of those three rooms (plus the rest of the old kitchen and the dining room) are strewn around the rest of the house in a random fashion. Getting dressed involves going to Oakley's bedroom for underwear, down to the lounge for a top and into the attic for anything that's on a coat hanger. I'm glad we went down the minimal disruption route. Otherwise I guess we'd be racing round the garden in the morning, looking for our pants.

We are sleeping on a matress on the floor of Oakley's room. He's delighted. And, as Quentin remarked last night, anything is better than a hospital bed. Talking of which, we heard this morning that Quent's next scan is confirmed as Monday 2nd November.

I never thought I'd say this, but a rat in the kitchen seems like quite a reasonable option now.

One year on

2009-09-19T22:36:00.008+01:00

A year ago today, we moved into the Priory, full of hope that Quent was clear of cancer. This year, after the recurrence in November and two more major operations for Quentin, we are, once again, full of hope. Quentin is still recovering from all that the past 2 to 3 years has thrown at him, but he's doing really well and we have everything crossed for a third clear scan at the end of next month.

I thought some of you might like to see a few "before" and "after" shots of the house. Rather disappointingly, in spite of my best chivvying efforts, the builders have not finished painting / linseed oiling the front of the house for the occasion - although they promise it will be finished on Monday / Tuesday next week.

The front of the house. Strangely the best shot for comparison was taken in January. The cement on the beam above the ground floor has gone. The windows have been releaded. We have uncovered the carvings on the gables and of course repainted and repointed. Once the finishing touches have been made to paint and beams, it should be looking great. (The middle shot is from a month or so ago, when the work was being done)

Back lobby and coalshed, 2008 vs 2009.

Kitchen, 2008 vs 2009.

I am hoping that the kitchen will be fitted before the next anniversary and, who knows, we may even have a new boiler by then.

Back to school

2009-09-02T21:52:00.005+01:00

Back to school tomorrow and back to work for me. We've had a great time in August, with a very enjoyable holiday to France. I can't resist a couple of snaps of the boys...

Oakley on the high ropes course.

Oakley and Quentin sharing a joke.

The rest of the time was spent exploring Hertfordshire. Oakley can now cycle several miles at a time and Quent has treated himself to a new bike. "New" being a relative term. A few years ago, Quent had a reasonable, second-hand bike. This was swapped for a worn out, uncomfortable contraption, by the burglars who raided our garage in 2003. This reject getaway bike served Quentin until last weekend when he upgraded to a blue one with excellent gears - £5 from the dump.

The house is progressing. The scaffolding is down and the roof came off the kitchen while we were in France (deliberately removed by builders, not blown off because it was so old). We are very pleased with the work to date. You know you have craftsmen on the job when they take tea with no sugar and listen to radio 4. The outside of the house is looking great, with nearly all the painting and repointing done and most of the old, single glazed Victorian leaded windows replaced with new, single glazed, Victorian leaded windows. (Actually most of them repaired, not replaced, as per the Conservationist's handbook.) You can tell which ones have been done because you can see through them. I know it's a lot of money, but window cleaners are hard to come by these days, so I am delighted.

Quent continues on the road towards recovery and seems to be taking a new drug called ebay. Antique windows for the garage we can't afford to build, floodlights which are too big for the house and even some useful stuff the builders have asked him to source. Another day, another package...

Save the radio!

2009-07-31T09:33:00.003+01:00

Quentin has asked me to post the following on the blog. He's no luddite and embraces everything digital, but says it's a nonsense to turn off analogue. Which is good news for my little radio in the bathroom, which he usually threatens to replace with a Sonos unit.

Please take the time to read the article by Libby Purves (which has nothing to do with cancer):

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/libby_purves/article6549533.ece

If you are concerned, you can sign the e petition here:

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/AM-FM-Radio/

Thanks to Ben for the tip off.

One week late...

2009-07-28T17:03:00.003+01:00

It was my birthday last Monday and I had some fantastic presents, but of course the best was Quentin's clear scan result, hand delivered by an eminent Professor last night.

He said the scan was completely clear and that things "couldn't be better". He did admit that the chances of the cancer returning at some point were at least 60 - 70%, but says he still has treatment ideas up his sleeve if it comes to that.

I don't want to give anyone the wrong impression. Guys, if you don't have cancer, then flowers, jewelry, pamper days etc are still the order of the day. "I'm healthy" may not go down so well with women who expected nothing else.

Fundraising

2009-07-08T21:04:00.003+01:00

On Thursday we went to Wigan.

Philip was organising a concert in aid of Prof's work and we didn't want to miss it. We'd first met Philip when he staggered down the corridor to see us, during the first week of the first round of Quent's treatment. Philip was already on his top up and gave us enormous hope as he told us it was all worth it. (We called him "Philip-the-success-story" in those days). He is a lovely man and we've become great friends with him and his equally lovely wife Sue. There's a special bond between us that we don't (and hopefully won't ever) share with any of our other friends. Not exactly John McCarthy and Brian Keenan, but certainly a shared experience of some of the less pleasant moments in life.

The concert was fantastic - Wigan Jazz Youth Orchestra - and worth the 6 hour drive up the M6. (Why are there always accidents between J19 and 21?) Prof was there with his wife, Helen - it was great to meet Helen and to see Prof outside the Christie. I urged him to have a glass of red wine and he took his medicine well - he was probably hoping I would show his talent for encouraging extra doses. Angela, one of the nurses from Nathan House, was also there and greeted Quentin with a cheery "You were the worst IL-2 patient we ever had". (In terms of bizarre side effects.)

The week before, we had been to another Christie's do. In London this time. The hospital wanted to show the medical trust funds that they were a national centre of excellence, worthy of large research grants. We agreed to speak - a "customer voice", telling the story of someone who preferred the Christie to the Marsden. The fact that the treatment was so successful and that Quent had raised money himself for the cause was a bonus - as was the cute, blond toddler in the slideshow. We mixed the family shots with a few gruesome ones of Quent mid-treatment to ensure we tugged on a range of emotional heartstrings.

The draw for the wealthy patrons was an audience with Jenni Murray and Alan Bennett - and so I found myself doing a monologue before the great man himself. It went OK, but I don't think Thora Hurd ever got choked mid-performance, so we're not expecting the phone to ring.

Diggerland

2009-06-24T10:10:00.003+01:00

What a day! Oakley woke up this morning to find we had three diggers at the house. One to move the soil into a pile, one to lift it over the back wall into the lorry and another delivering bricks. Small boy heaven. In fact, big boy heaven too. They both lept out of bed to watch the goings on, while I had a bit of a lie in. There's a lot to be said for diggers.

Oakley is on a school trip all day and then we're doing the Year 6 party. How's that for a good day? We haven't quite decided what to do with the ten year olds yet. Maybe tea on the scaffolding followed by a spot of blindfolded "dodge the digger". That donkey's tail is so last century.

Quent's scan is now set for 27th July - still about four weeks away, yet.

Must go. I have a meeting in town and need to do my builders' teamaking duties first.

Nature trail.

2009-06-19T17:14:00.003+01:00

I have just walked home with Oakley and Anna Sophia, his latest flame. We took a detour past the river (stopping for a paddle), the rabbits (we saw 12) and the canal. Oakley and Anna Sophia (apparently, only "Oaks" is allowed to call her "Anna") chirpily told me they were pretending I wasn't there and that they were a bit older and allowed to walk home alone.

I trailed along behind them, carrying book bags, packed lunch kit and a plethora of discarded feathers, sticks and stones. I am sure Sherpa Tenzing wasn't as sulky, but I had really hoped to be accepted as a one of the adventurers.

And the answer is...

2009-06-15T00:11:00.005+01:00

I realise I haven't confirmed which of us is responsible enough to have joined the Council.

Yes, of course, it's Oakley, who was appointed to the School Council at the beginning of the Summer Term. Here he is, sporting his special badge.

I don't think they've decided much yet - they're still working through their expenses.

Happy anniversaries.

2009-06-11T22:55:00.013+01:00

Exactly a year after our offer on the Priory was accepted (3rd June 2008), our Listed Building Consent application was approved. So we're getting quotes on scaffolding and we're raring to go. The first bit is the old house equivalent of getting your shoes reheeled. It seems very expensive and there's not much to show for it, aside a bit of lime plaster in between the bricks. But once we have "secured the envelope" of the building, we can start on the exciting part - the kitchen!

There have been more anniversaries this week. Our wedding anniversary, on Monday. No seven year itch, unlike last year when Quent was itching like a good 'un - but thankfully only because of the IL-2 treatment.

Neither of which match up to a Centenary event - the Sea Scout party went very well. Over 250 people from through the ages. The HQ looked like a corporate function venue with marquees and bunting, the most fantastic hog roast, a great band and clean windows. Quent had a slideshow running of photos through the ages. When we get around to putting them on some website, we'll post the link, but in the meantime, here's a taster of some of the older ones:

1930. Julie Andrews later stole this composition for a musical.

1952. I'd love to know what they are all looking at.

1954. The kids on the bank are doubled up, laughing - at the guy on the pole or the speedos on the other one?

And Oakley is working hard on his own anniversary party. He's started planning his and Quent's "join up" birthday party. As Quent put Oakley to bed the other night I heard him saying "Yes, but we don't need to decide on the food tonight, because the party isn't until January".

I vote for a hog roast.

Glad news

2009-06-09T09:57:00.002+01:00

The Christie is getting its money back - the government is going to pay back the £6.5m lost in the Icelandic bank collapse. I guess something else gets cut in order for the money to be returned so let's hope it comes from the repaid expenses fund and not the already-stretched NHS budget.

Full details on the BBC website:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/8090617.stm

Sad news

2009-06-03T23:00:00.002+01:00

We have heard this week that Peter, the man we met at Christie's in November, has died after a very brave fight against advanced kidney cancer. His wife Margaret's research put mine to shame - they travelled to Mexico, Turkey and the USA (as well as the Christie Hospital) in search of a cure. Sadly it was not to be. Like Bill, Peter lived for less than 2 years after diagnosis and was in pain for much of that time.

Once again we realise how lucky we have been - and once again we have raised a glass to the memory of one of our "cancer friends". We will remember Peter imparting all they had learned and been through, with kindness and humour - he had a lovely smile, which would spread across his face as he spoke. Our thoughts are with Margaret and the family at this very painful time.

Noisy sex and council meetings

2009-06-02T22:40:00.002+01:00

What happened to May? I haven’t blogged for ages. Or tweeted. Or Linked in or Facebooked. I confess. I have gone the cyber equivalent of deep undercover - and am in danger of becoming a social media pariah.

Well, we’ve been busy. Mainly in the garden, enjoying the warm weather with friends and a glass of Pimms. We’ve had barbecues, sleepovers and children’s parties. We’ve been to York, Whitby and a wedding. We’ve had the May Fair, the Canal Festival - and my grandmother to stay. I can’t count the number of Oakley’s friends who have come round to sit on his platform (a pallet on top of the wall) or to dig for hours in the mud. It seems like ages since we went up to Manchester and it’s still another seven weeks or so before we go again. Bliss.

We are starting (finally) to get organised on the house project. The listed building consent is due any day. We went to the Grand Designs Show and picked up a rainforest of brochures in the eco section. We have a team of conservationists pretty much in place and we hope they will start re-pointing and repairing timbers next week. Not before time. We have heard knocking in Oakley’s bedroom and he’s only five. Apparently it’s probably death watch beetle, which only mate at this time of year – so they give it their all. The noise is the male banging his head against the wood to get the female’s attention. What can I say?

We are told death watch beetle is nothing to panic about. (A bit like the beam not reaching the ground, I guess.) The beetles’ eggs can take up to 10 years to hatch so there’s no point trying to kill them – instead we have to change their environment (eradicate the damp) and hope they go elsewhere for their orgies. A man is coming to have a look tomorrow. It’s not in the budget and I can feel my swanky new bathroom slipping through my hands as I type.

Quent is well and definitely recovering. Every time I think he’s better, he puts on a bit more weight, gains some colour and I realise he still wasn’t 100% before. I guess it will take a long time for his immune system to recover from all the operations and treatment over the past couple of years. At the moment, he’s busy organising a Batchworth Scout reunion this Saturday. Three hundred people all coming to celebrate our wedding anniversary. It’s touching.

Oakley is as gorgeous as ever. He was so kind to Nana when she stayed, rushing to fetch her stick, doing the barn dance with her and offering to sleep in her bed if she was lonely. He had a great half term, full of friends and fun and now he’s planning a party for his year 6 friends before they go off to secondary school. (On the invite list so far are Hattie, Georgina, Michaela, Abbey, Katy, Isobel, Hayley, Shaunie, Kiera and a couple of token boys).

If a short post is a good post, I've failed dismally, but there's been a lot to tell you. And I haven't even mentioned the big news. One of us has joined the council. Bet you can guess who.

What a marathon

2009-04-28T22:19:00.004+01:00

Many of you have made reference to the marathon we've endured. Actually, it wasn't us but Rob Schofield. An ex Venture Scout who ran the marathon this Sunday in aid of Prof Hawkins' research fund. I totally forgot to put it on the blog, which is very silly of me, because I'm sure the odd picture of a tall dark handsome sportsman can only help my readership.

Here he is

and here's the link to his justgiving page (It looks as if we haven't sponsored him, but we did it offline. Honest.)

http://www.justgiving.com/support_robs_marathon

If, like us, this week, you've been thinking how amazing Prof Hawkins is, please "say it with flowers" (well, the Flora marathon, anyway!)

Scan results

2009-04-21T09:22:00.006+01:00

Let me cut to the chase. Quent's scan was CLEAR yesterday.

This is the first time in over 2.5 years that he's had a clear scan result. We saw the Prof after the scan and then he texted when were nearly home to say the radiologist's report was through already. The next scan will be in 3 months' time so no more hospitals until July.

For the medical amongst you, here's the detail:

Findings: Comparison is made with 12/1/09. The scarring in the right lower lobe of the site of resection of the pulmonary nodule has a lobular appearance, but this is not considered represent recurrence. The pattern of scarring limitation the left lung is unchanged. There is no evidence of recurrence in the abdomen and pelvis. The right kidney and right adrenal gland are unremarkable. No lymphadenopathy is present. No new pulmonary or skeletal metastases. Conclusion: Rounded scarring and atelectasis at the site of resection of the right lower lobe nodule. Complete remission.

Complete remission. Those have to be two of the best words in the English language.

We will be going out to celebrate on Friday night, after completing on the Chiswick house.

First prize

2009-04-04T15:41:00.002+01:00

Can you believe it? We entered one daffodil in the Rickmansworth & District Horticultural show and it won! (Section G: Novices' Classes. Daffodil, trumpet one stem, one vase.)

In true Hollywood style, I have to thank the late Mrs Cox (previous house owner, who planted the daffodil), Audrey (who told me what to look for in a prize daffodil), Lorna (who helped me pick it) and Vic (who gave me advice on how to stick it in the vase).

I shall put my winnings (80p) towards the house repair project.

What larks, Pip.

We've exchanged

2009-04-02T16:09:00.002+01:00

We are a shining example of people delighted to have sold right at the bottom of the market! We exchanged contracts this afternoon, and will complete towards the end of the month.

Oakley and I celebrated by going out for a sunny bike ride around the lakes. No stabilisers! (And none for Oakley either.) Now Quentin and I are going to celebrate by a trip to see "I've loved you so long" at the nearby arthouse cinema.

Oh and the planning department says our garage application has been approved.

Let's hope all our April news is as good.

Embracing suburbia

2009-03-31T21:44:00.005+01:00

Well, March seems to have flown by.

We haven't exchanged on the Chiswick house - but we have been gazundered. (Is that how you spell it?) They tell me we may exchange tomorrow... 1st April. Hmm. We are still waiting to hear back on the planning application for the garage (word on the grapevine is that it will be approved, so fingers crossed). We have started clearing some of the plants behind (in front of and on top of) the garage in anticipation of the demolition - "we" being the royal term for some of Quent's very kind ex-Venture Scouts.

The listed building consent application has gone in. That included taking a "dry lining" off the wall in the dining room, in the presence of the conservation officer. Good news: it seems we will be able to knock through a large hatch to the kitchen. Bad news: the timber beam (which is meant to hold up the house) seems to be rotten (by which I mean missing) at the bottom. Stuart, the unflappable surveyor seemed very relaxed about it and said the beams on the Bury (the manor house next door) were in a worse state when they uncovered them. But we've banned sneezing down that end of the house, just in case.

I have done some paid work - though not enough! There's lots in the pipeline, as our Sales Managers used to tell me when they didn't seem to be hitting target.

Other news. Oakley has finally cracked riding his bike without stabilisers. Quent has borrowed a scarifier for the lawn and is becoming obsessive about finding ex-Batchworth Scouts for a reunion. I have planted a herb garden outside the kitchen door. Last week, I embraced middle aged, suburban life by joining Weightwatchers and the Rickmansworth Horticultural Society. There is no 2 for 1 offer, but I am hoping the gardening will help with the weight loss. Interestingly, the RHS costs less for a year than Weightwatchers does for a week - and I know which will give more pleasure.

Next scan is April 20th, but we have Easter to look forward to before that.

Fundraising blow.

2009-03-11T12:34:00.004Z

The fundraising team at Christie's are very upset today as their application to get their Icelandic bank money back has been turned down by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Although it doesn't involve any of the money we have raised (which is ringfenced for the Prof) it does affect £6.5m which would have gone to the research institute at the hospital. The money has been raised by the public, specifically for cancer research at the hospital. When The Christie was advised to invest there, the bank held the highest possible safety rating and offered the best interest rates.

To put it into context, £6.5 million is the equivalent of over 250 mammoth fundraising efforts, the size of the European Odyssey. And given that was an exceptional amount, it's probably more like 5,000+ lost fundraising activities.

The Manchester Evening News has started a petition. Please click here to sign it.

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/TheChristie

The new investment policy for Christie's fundraisers? Who knows - they aren't short of mattresses...

Month end

2009-03-02T23:09:00.003Z

February was a good month. Highlights included:

Selling my car on ebay.
Accepting an offer on our Chiswick house (albeit right at the bottom of the market!)
Putting in the planning application for our new garage.
Putting my work website live (www.webbstrategy.co.uk - still a few glitches but it's 95% there now) and...
Quent coming home from hospital - as far as we know, cancer free.

Add in half term, days off school for sledging, family visitors etc. and I think we can say it was 28 days well spent!

We're looking forward to March - hopefully exchanging on the Chiswick house, putting in plans for the Priory alterations, HW doing some paid work (for a change!) - and going to see Slumdog Millionnaire. Bring it on.

Quent is doing well. He remains in pain and still sleeps a lot, but he saw the doctor today who said it's early days and the scar is healing nicely. The plan is to keep away from hospitals all month. I feel I'm tempting fate even typing that, but it's a great goal and you never know...

Floratherapy

2009-02-25T00:23:00.006Z

As Jen said, nature gave us the best welcome home. Here's a little selection. Little being the operative word. I seem to take more shots of flowers these days than I do of Oakley:

It's amazing really, when this was the scene just the week before we went away:

Oakley? His welcome was just as warm. Full of the joys of spring this week:

And trudging through the snow the week before we went away:

Apologies for the picture overload. Just think yourselves lucky - I've spared you the one of Quentin's shark bite.

Talking of whom (whose blog is this?), he's doing well. We walked up to the High Street (about 3 mins' walk) to watch the pancake race this morning. It was the furthest Quent has been and he could feel it. One lady he knew asked why he wasn't racing. Quent looked a bit bemused, but I presume she didn't know he'd been in hospital.

Spring in our step

2009-02-18T14:14:00.007Z

Quent was discharged on Sunday and we arrived home last night, after a couple of days' R&R with Lorna and Phil (Quent' sister and brother-in-law). They lay on lovely meals, good company, plenty of rest, cousins for Oakley and a heated indoor swimming pool. Very nice.

Quent continues to recover well. His "shark bite" is more 6-7" than 3-4", but it's healing nicely and is now dressing-free. He also has a greenstick fracture of the ribs (they weren't as bendy as they hoped!) which the surgeon said would "add to the discomfort". Quent is asleep more than he is awake, but he's as cheerful as ever when conscious and enjoys reading and resting with Oakley, in front of the fire.

Spring is not so much in our step as in our path - we arrived home to a carpet of crocuses and a magnificent display of snowdrops. There was an owl hooting in the night and the robin was feeding at the table this morning. It's great to be home.

Exercises

2009-02-13T14:58:00.002Z

Thanks for all your comments. I will pass them on.

Quentin's drain is now out and he has taken a walk up the corridor with the physiotherapist. He has exercises to do to start getting mobility back around his chest, arms and lungs. Of course he gets me to do them too, ever confident he will beat me, even after major surgery.

He still has local anaesthetic going into him, permanently. They will take that out tomorrow and I guess it will be a whole lot more painful without it. But I am equally sure Quent will be determined to try some stairs - the next step, if you'll excuse the pun.

We are still hoping to get out on Sunday and we have a film lined up for this afternoon, when Quentin wakes up. Otherwise, life is very calm and the time flies in spite of doing nothing most of the time.

I have given up on the hotel /Costa coffee wifi facilities (I can't get them to work and my help desk is in hospital). Instead, I am now a proud member of Cheadle library, which does just as well.

(I'm) Singing in the pain

2009-02-12T14:22:00.002Z

Quentin's operation went well, yesterday. The tumour was deep in the lung, but they managed to remove it all and off it went to the research unit at Christie's.

Quent seemed on good form at first and managed toast, tea and marmelade very soon after coming out of surgery. But by teatime, his heart rate dropped, as did his SATS (the nurses were impressed by my in-depth knowledge of SATS control!) They did an X-ray and it showed a collapsed lung, due to an air leak along the wound. He already had a drain in to take away the blood, and they have now added another drain for the air, which will stay in for a couple of days while the leak heals.

Interestingly, the air leak would not apparently have caused the drop in heart rate. (But in a way, it's good it dropped because it prompted them to do the X-ray, which revealed the pneumothorax). For the medical amongst you, they've given him atropin. I can't remember why, but it's written in my notes. ;o)

In short, this is a complication, but not an unexpected one and Quentin is still chirpy. When I left him, he was singing - because the nurses had told him that was the best thing to do. Best for him, maybe. I hope the nurses' uniform includes earplugs.

Officially the coldest house in the country

2009-02-04T12:38:00.002Z

A couple of weeks ago (23rd January 2009), Radio 7 broadcast a programme in its Strange Weather days (Forever Freezing) series, about the frost hollow of Rickmansworth.

Apparently, Rickmansworth boasts the largest single day temperature change on record - the temperature swung from 34 °F to 85 °F on 29th August 1936 and such a change has never been recorded since. Due to the valleys, the railway cuttings and all sorts of other things, Rickmansworth has lower night-time temperatures than anywhere else in England and Wales. This makes it the coldest place in the country - and about as cold as the Aberdeenshire plateau. I can't imagine there's any house in the town colder than ours, so I conclude that we officially live in the coldest house in England. No surprises there, then.

The upside (if you like hot weather!) is that Rickmansworth is also "the most continental spot in the UK". It boasts cold nights and hot days in summer, with temperatures regularly over 35° C in April, May and June.

The programme excitedly debated the day when it hit 42°C, the"constant frost" and the associated problems for gardeners. One woman said wrily that estate agents don't mention it when you move here - and it occured to me that Quentin didn't either. He was probably too busy explaining how close we now were to my mother-in-law and his Scout group. ;o)

Ah well. The valleys may make it freezing cold, but they also provide fantastic slopes for sledging - which we thoroughly enjoyed on Monday morning.

Thora who?

2009-01-28T23:10:00.004Z

We saw Mr Jones yesterday and he confirmed he can cut out the new lesion in Quent's right lung. Apparently it is in a deeper, more awkward place so it definitely won't be keyhole surgery. He has to go into the back of the lung this time.

The operation, a thoracotomy, will involved "stretching" the ribs apart (how stretchy are ribs?) and the recovery will be longer and "more sore" than last time. (Or, as Wikipedia puts it, "post operative pain is universal and intense".)

We have to check in on Tuesday 10th Feb, with surgery on Wed 11th. Which means that in two weeks, Quent will be recovering on the intensive care unit. And Valentine's Day will be spent in hospital - again!

I don't have much more to add, so I shall leave you with another little thought from Wikipedia...

"Thoracotomies are thought to be one of the hardest surgical incisions to deal with post-op, because they are exquisitely painful and the pain can prevent the patient from breathing effectively, leading to atelectasis or pneumonia."

Or as Quent would say, "a walk in the park".

Good news

2009-01-19T14:12:00.003Z

Good news! Quent's scan result is "stable" (still the one spot, growing a bit but not much). So it's just another operation to take that section out of Quent's right lung - within the next few weeks. I know major lung surgery is not on everyone's Christmas list, but we are very pleased.

I do have one concern. I'm worried that, when they do the lung surgery, Quent's immune system will turn its attention to repairing the hole and take its eye off splatting the spots. (The last spot appeared sometime between end July and early Nov, when Quent had two operations.) I realise I won't win any Nobel Prizes for such a hypothesis, but we could get ourselves into a bit of a vicious circle if I'm right..."There's a spot in my lung, dear Liza, dear Liza."

And of course, I still have a few questions for Prof, who is a Professor of Patience as well as Medicine. When we saw him on Monday, and I put my theory to him, he didn't dismiss it totally. He said we might be able to do a shot of low dose IL-2, to supercharge the immune system before the surgery (Think Red Bull before a long journey). But then he and Quentin talked themselves out of it - Quent said he thought his immune system felt fine after the surgery (His theories are at least as ridiculous as mine.) I still think it's a great idea and will ask just one more time if they'll give it a go. And there's the German vaccine, raised last year as a possibility, if we do surgery. (They would use the tumour removed from the lung, to create a personalised vaccine, which has had some, albeit few, incidences of success.)

I mention the above to pre-empt questions from those of you studying for Mastermind; Specialist Subject "Quent's blog". And to reassure the rest of you that I am as inquisitive (exasperating) as ever and that we will still pursue every possible avenue / series of avenues, to find a cure for Quent.

Still waiting

2009-01-19T09:27:00.001Z

Quick post just to say that we are still waiting for the radiologist's report. Will let you all know as soon as we hear.

By rights I should be thin

2009-01-12T08:49:00.002Z

Happy New Year to everyone. We had a great Christmas and New Year. Very relaxing family time. Perfect.

Oakley loved the whole Christmas excitement - seeing his grandparents and cousins, opening presents, staying up late, socialising. He even enjoyed doing his thank you letters for a while, although they became "those blooming thank you letters" by the end! And his flirting continued throughout the festive season. He sent a note and some music (!) to one of his Year 6 (10 yr old) girlfriends and suggested to one of our attractive, blond friends (30 yr old) that she might like to sell her husband on ebay. I think he has just a year or two before someone thumps him.

Already 12th January - which means we are off to Manchester this morning for another scan. We won't get the results until the end of the week this time. I read an article saying that partners of cancer patients often lose weight too, due to the stress. I read another article saying that the best way to lose weight is to turn the heating down by one degree, so your body consumes more energy keeping warm. By rights I should be thin. Very thin.

Please keep all your positive thoughts focused on Quent this afternoon. I will let you know as soon as we have some news.

Meanwhile, we hope you are having a very happy, healthy start to 2009.

Christmas preparations

2008-12-23T15:34:00.002Z

Just TWO days to go, as Oakley squealed in my ear this morning.

Which means we've missed the last post and apologise to those of you (most of you!) who didn't get a card this year. I have three (genuine) excuses; please take your pick

1. I left all of "Quent's side" to Quent and they just didn't happen.
2. I spent so much time spelling out the names of Oakley's friends as he ploughed through his, I never seemed to get to my own.
3. Everything happens slowly around here. We have to factor in the "stare" factor. Gazing at the garden, staring into the firelight. We have taken W.H.Davies at his word and are fitting in plenty of standing and staring.

Today, Quent is at work and I am on Christmas preparations. At least I was. I was even cleaning the kitchen floor, when I was tempted away by a 4 year old explorer (he became an explorer when his Mummy went to heaven apparently. Hmm.) He asked me if I'd like to join him on his journey to the Virgin Islands or whether I wanted to stay and do boring jobs. I was immediately tempted. Once I heard the bits about the hammock and sipping coconut milk whilst we sunned ourselves, I was in.

We (Felicity and Jack) set off with our imaginary back packs and had a lovely time. I was very impressed to hear that Jack always carries a tent with a chimney so that Santa can come. And a Christmas tree. And crackers. No wonder that pack felt so heavy. We had a fabulous morning, in spite of our horses nearly being attacked by wolves and one of our hammocks being stolen. It was 3.20pm before I remembered the time-honoured tradition of sticking your children in front of the TV in order to get the jobs done.

We all hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year. Here's a Christmas card in the making, in the form of our front door:

Time pressured, time precious

2008-12-08T21:28:00.007Z

I have finally recovered from writing the last post. We haven’t totally recovered from the news, but each of the last two weeks has been better than the week before. The lingering feeling is one of extreme time pressure, not helped by Quentin’s return to work. I guess that would always have been hard after a year together. But it’s even harder, knowing that we are back to living day by day, unable to plan ahead and not knowing what the future might hold. Even Quent, who is ever-patient and uber-optimistic, has shown signs of frustration and impatience – not to mention extreme tiredness on his days off.

Our two sources of great joy at the moment are the new house (and garden) and Oakley.

We are so pleased we moved. We haven’t yet sold our Chiswick house and that is a bit of a worry, but we haven’t regretted the move for a minute. We can’t quite believe it’s all ours or that we have the town (High Street and London Underground) out of one gate and country (wood and river) out of the other. The house is pretty cold – I had to thaw the olive oil before I cooked last week and Oakley’s new trick is to stick his hands up your back to warm them. But who cares? It’s a very magical, calming place. If I feel sad or stressed I retreat to the garden and instantly feel better. Quent loves pottering about in his workshed or chopping logs. Oakley watches the birds feeding as he eats his breakfast. And we have all become open fire addicts.

The view from my office window (doesn't do it justice).

Ten yards from the back gate.

The fireplace.

Oakley is going through a “couldn’t be more charming” phase and we are loving his company. He has settled really well at school and seems to have a party every week. He is really enjoying learning to read and to ride his bike without stabilisers (though not yet at the same time). And he loves showing people round the house. He seems to be getting a real buzz from so much excitement – he is a chirpy, affectionate bundle of fun and we laugh together all the time. I know that everything with children is "just a phase", but we hope this one lasts as long as possible.

Oakley (very much) at home.

Oakley's room - a rare tidy moment.

We are aware that we can't freeze time, but we can certainly make the most of it.

Plans A-Z

2008-11-20T09:46:00.001Z

We saw Dr Savage on Tuesday and yesterday we saw the Prof in Manchester. In between the two visits, we had a sleepless night as Oakley redecorated the house in vomit. Nice. We had to leave at 7am yesterday so the scene of carnage was still here when we got back.

We now have a plan – or several, in fact. Those of you interested in the detail, prepare for a long read, the rest of you can just hope and pray that Plan A comes off.

Plan A

Wait and see. Re-scan in early January to see if the spot has grown or not and whether it is still alone. Hope that it doesn’t grow and that no more appear. There is even a slim hope that it might have disappeared. This isn’t a likely result, but I am hoping that now Quent’s body has recovered from two major ops, it might just be able to sort out the tumour. They would not treat a small volume, asymptomatic tumour, so unless it grows, or more appear, we’d just keep a watching brief.
As an addition to this plan, Quent is keen to have a trial vaccine. There are several vaccines in trial but it seems they aren’t getting the results people had hoped they might a couple of years ago. There is no downside though, so if his blood qualifies him for the trial, he will have the vaccine, hoping that it might just work on a tiny spot in a young, fit man.

Plan B

If the spot has grown, but is still alone, then it’s back to Mr Jones for surgery to remove it. Then wait and see again. (This should definitely be a flow diagram).
There is another vaccine, developed in Germany, which is apparently getting slightly better results than the UK one and has a longer track record. They take the white (fighting) cells from the tumour they have just removed, grow more and include them in the vaccine, so you are injected with a super dose of your own tumour fighting cells. Prof will see if we can do this vaccine once the tumour is out.

Plan C

If the spot has grown and there are others, surgery is not an option and nor is wait and see. This is when it gets tricky because, although are plenty of things available, most of them are highly experimental:

Biological treatments (Interferon / IL-2): No longer an option as they don’t tend to work second time round and Quent’s had IL-2 already. This was the “best shot” and we got a good result, but not a complete result.

Targeted therapies or TKIs (Sutent / sunitinib, Nexavar / Sorafanib, Torisel / Temsirolimus etc): These are the standard second line treatments, but they do have quite a few side effects and do not offer any hope of a cure. On average, they extend life by about a year. They may be our only option, but we are very keen to explore everything else. Sutent seems to be the drug of choice but there some possibility that high dose sorafanib will get an even better response. Prof will investigate this one further.

Vaccines: Quent will probably have had the available trial vaccines before we get to Plan C. There is still great hope that one day an effective vaccine will be found, but they haven’t got there yet.

Stem cell transplant (often called bone marrow transplant): This is the high risk, high (potential) reward strategy, giving benefit to over a quarter of patients treated and a potential for long term remission in some patients (about 10%). It often works well for people with lung tumours and people who had some benefit from IL-2, so Quent would be a contender. It is the technique used in leukemia treatment, whereby they take T-cells from a sibling (assuming we find a match). They then damp down Quent’s immune system with some strong chemotherapy & radiotherapy – so it doesn’t fight the foreign cells – and then put the sibling’s cells into Quent. The hope is that the cells will be similar enough to be accepted by Quent’s body, but different enough to fight the cancer (graft vs tumour effect). The risk is that they fight other cells (graft vs host disease is reasonably common and can involve chronic problems such as arthritis, Krone’s disease, death etc.). The technology is not new, but its use for kidney cancer is pretty new. It is usually done in the USA by Dr Childs (at the National Institute of Cancer) and if it goes wrong, you can’t go back.

The transplant takes quite a while to get a result (setting it up, doing the chemo, new cells starting to fight tumour). It isn’t something you do too early (because of the risk of damaging quality of life) but you can’t leave it too late either.

We will start to investigate this one as a back up plan. The first stage is to tissue map Quent’s siblings and, if we get a match, then we may go to see Dr Childs in the USA to hear what he has to say. We met a man yesterday in the reception of Christie’s who has been to see Dr Childs and seemed very positive about the stem cell transplant. Sadly, it’s not an option for him, but he would have had it if it had been.

T cell treatments: Many believe this is the future. Dr Childs and Prof are both working to find the specific T cells which recognize the cancer, grow them and use them as a drug treatment. They are starting to trial the technique for melanomas (skin cancer) but, although a possible in the future, it hasn’t been done yet for kidney cancer. The benefit over the transplant is that there would be less risk of graft vs host disease.

Other trials: There is an early antibody trial, linking the antibody to IL-2 (Dr Savage trial). There is also an early trial of T-cell therapy in the USA, (Dr Yang trial) and a trial of NK cells (Dr Childs trial).

We feel better having seen both doctors and we take comfort that there is so much happening in the field. There is still some hope Plan A or Plan B may work and we won’t need the rest, at least for some time, but it’s good to know it’s out there.

So this time, thanks go especially to Bob and Ali, for coming round at 7am to look after Oakley, only to be told the plans had changed, Lorna and Phil for dropping everything to collect Oakley for the day from a layby off the M6, Rob for all his help with the research – and of course our medical experts for showing extreme patience and care every time we see them.

Back to work

2008-11-16T22:59:00.001Z

On Friday it was six weeks since Quent’s last operation so he is able to start lifting things and being more active. He has been really good about taking it easy, helped by all the planning he has been doing for the work on the new house – which we hope to start in the Spring.

A few weeks ago, in anticipation of a clear scan, we arranged to go back to work.

Quent goes back to the office tomorrow for the first time since the start of his IL-2 treatment in July 2007. In the meantime, the office has moved to Swindon, so it’s going to be a long commute. He will be going back part time to start with, while he builds up his strength and will work at least one day a week from home to save on travelling time.

I am also stepping up my work, with Oakley now in full time school and Quent back at Allied Telesis. I will still be working from home, but I aim to achieve a lot more than I've been able to over the past couple of years.

On Friday, Quent and I went out for lunch in celebration of the past year and a bit – when we have had each other’s company more or less 24/7. It has been a wonderful silver lining to a tough period and I will miss him enormously when he heads off to the M25 tomorrow morning. As will Oakley, who has had a perfect playmate, happy to play Lego, Gogos, Playmobil etc. before and after school.

Of course, the scan wasn't clear, so this week we are back to hospital as well as work. We have an appointment with Dr Savage in London on Tuesday and another on Wednesday in Manchester with Prof Hawkins. We will be picking their brains about the options going forward. We know it’s an area with plenty of research happening, so we are hoping to come away with something positive.

I have that “back to school” feeling from years ago, but I guess it’s only a few weeks until Christmas. “Yikes”, as Oakley would say!

While we breathe, we hope

2008-11-08T09:51:00.001Z

On Wednesday, having heard the results of the US elections and with Quentin’s provisional results also very fresh, I drafted an “isn’t life amazing” post. I didn’t want to put it up until we had heard from the radiologist and sadly, I was right to wait. We heard yesterday that there is an abnormality in one of Quent’s lungs which is probably significant. It is very small (6mm), but not where previous lesions have been (ie. It’s not scar tissue). It is not the lung operated on in August.

Prof has spoken to Mr Jones, the surgeon, who is due to look at the scans and give his view. Prof feels the options are either surgery or “wait and see”. The latter would mean a re-scan just after Christmas to see what has happened. His gut feel is to wait, especially given the number of operations Quent has had recently. He doesn’t feel there is merit in any drugs eg. IL-2, at this stage.

Everything else they scanned (liver, bones, other kidney) is fine, for which we are extremely grateful.

As Obama said, “While we breathe, we hope”.

Paphos, not pathos

2008-11-04T10:41:00.003Z

We had a fantastic half term break in Cyprus with all my family. Sun, sea, sand and...

... silence, as I totally lost my voice. Yes, of course, the perfect holiday for Quent. Actually the perfect holiday for all of us. Oakley had a ball with his cousins, a Doctor gave me an injection in my bottom to get my voice back and Quent read "Old Houses Handbook" cover to cover.

Oakley also practised his flirting - his best line was probably "You remind me of my friend's mother, because she's got lovely skin as well". Even Quent admitted he'd never thought of that one. Lock up your daughters. And your wives.

With Oakley and me both on antibiotics, Quent was the fittest of the family - a fact confirmed yesterday when we went to Manchester for a scan. We are still awaiting the official radiologist's report, but Prof said as far as he can see, the scan is clear.

This is amazing news and, once confirmed, will be the first time since diagnosis that Quent is tumour free. Words cannot describe how exciting that is. But right now we can't afford to slow down, or sit back, or let up, for one day, for one minute, for one second. Hmm. Have I heard that somewhere before?

Junior rigor

2008-10-24T23:54:00.003+01:00

Oakley has stepped up his prescription. He had a very restless night last night and at one point woke up, crying out "I need an operation".

This morning the Doctor decided antibiotics would probably do the trick - although she was impressed by his 40.2 degree temperature. He even had a little rigor in the night. As his teeth started chattering and he complained of being cold, I explained that in fact he was so hot his body was reacting. (All medical training, thanks to the Christie). He looked at me as if I was mad. "Mum, I don't do this when I am hot, do I?" he replied. Just like his father, who used to say "Just give me another blanket, will you?"

The weeping wounded

2008-10-23T22:42:00.003+01:00

Sorry for the long silence. I have been lost in the garden. I should be working, doing the housework etc, but I argue that none of those jobs will get hit by frost if I leave them for a week or so.

How is Quent? He is very chirpy and loving the house. After a couple of near misses (Can I do a bit of light digging in the garden? Shall I chop those logs? etc), he has settled into a very sensible routine. The hospital told him to get mobile, so he often walks Oakley to school. Otherwise, he is resting and reading his new book, "Old House Handbook". This seems to be a catalogue of the terrible things people find when they start work on old houses. (We aren't planning to start until next Spring, but it's all good research and it keeps him out of harm's way.) I talk to him about the onslaught of ivy and he talks to me about soil pipes and underfloor heating. It's riveting stuff.

Back to Quent's health. My sister, Frances, saw his scar on Saturday (at his request, so he must have been a tiny bit concerned). She said it's not right. Not terrible, but it's still a bit weepy in the middle and it should have healed by now. We are going back to the surgery tomorrow to see the nurse. In fact we are going to the surgery twice tomorrow as Oakley was sent home sick from school today. I am not sure why we are going to the doctor's for Oakley - he has self-prescribed a cocktail of TV, biscuits and constant attention, as well as the odd slurp of Calpol. What more can the professionals add?

We are also waiting for a date from Christie's for Quentin's next scan, which is due at the end of October. Needless to say we are not looking forward to that, but hopefully all will be clear and Quent can have three months without any treatment.

Money's gone to Iceland

2008-10-16T23:27:00.002+01:00

Some of you may have heard that Christie's Hospital had money invested in the Icelandic banks.

There is a silver lining to this cloud. I received an email this week from Alison in the fundraising office, assuring us that the monies raised on that gruelling trip round Europe('s bars) are all safe. This is because the money in the Icelandic bank was ringfenced for new developments and ours was ringfenced for Prof's research fund.

Christie's are working tirelessly to get their money back and have been assured that they have a good chance of success. We will keep our fingers crossed.

Checking into the Priory

2008-10-07T00:32:00.003+01:00

Sorry for the long delay in posting. Let me explain…

First things first. Quent’s operation went well on Friday. Thankyou for your kind thoughts and concerned texts wondering why I have not updated the blog. He started his “get out quick” campaign as soon as he arrived at Charing Cross. Mr Christmas had told us he would be out on Sunday but at 9.50am on Saturday Quent rang to tell me he was ready to come home. We went back to the Doctor’s yesterday to have the dressing changed and the wound is “weepy”, so we need to go back again today. But overall, it’s been a success and we have no further surgery planned.

The operation was exactly seven weeks after the previous one. During that time we had the bathroom redone, we moved house, Oakley started a new school and I finished a big work project. It’s been a busy time.

If this sounds a bit crazy, you will be amused to hear that the new house is called The Priory. Rickmansworth, not Roehampton. The delightful previous owners lived here for 63 years and described it as a magical place. It’s a 16^th Century listed building - full of character, with a beautiful garden, a garage and a workshop. Everything we dreamed of and more. We keep bumping into people we know who enthusiastically tell us they looked at it – and rejected it as far too much work!

We are loving it. Oakley has created two dens in the garden, learned to climb trees and turned the window seats into pirate ships, with the curtains as sails and our visitors as crew. I potter about in the garden and poor Quent is itching to do all sorts of things if only the Doctors (and his wife) would let him.

We have to start with the basics. Internet access being an obvious one. I think we'd happily swap the (vintage) central heating for broadband, the latter being far more vital to basic survival, in our view.

We will doubtless give you all the gory details of the "project" as it develops. After IL-2, a spot of rewiring and replumbing will be childsplay. (You can quote me on that in a few months' time, when I may well be tempted to leave one Priory to stay at the other!)

(The house)

(The front door)

(The garden & the Church next door)

Operation Overkill

2008-09-09T08:22:00.004+01:00

"Operation overkill" is nothing to do with inner city knife crime and everything to do with how we are feeling.

According to Mr Christmas, Quent has a tear in the muscle leading to the floating rib. He thinks this was almost certainly done during the recent lung operation.

What it needs is another operation (complete with General Anaesthetic) to tie the ribs back together. (Multi reef knots for the Scouts amongst you.) And then six weeks' recovery, with no sport, lifting etc. The date is fixed for Friday 3rd October.

The run up to Christmas

2008-09-06T21:11:00.004+01:00

We have joined the retail trade. It is September and we are getting ready for Christmas....

Last week, Quent was in quite a bit of pain and seemed to have a bone protruding from his old nephrectomy scar - from 2006. We wondered if the floating rib they had to cut when removing the kidney had, well, floated.

He's still in quite a bit of discomfort and finds it hard to sleep at night. I emailed Mr Jones (lung surgeon) to see if he'd maybe had to cut something which could account for it, but his reply was definitely "Not me, Gov". I copied the fabulous Dr Savage, who has spoken to Mr Christmas (who took the kidney out). Mr Christmas wants to see Quent on Monday morning.

According to a medical friend of mine, it is most likely to be a hernia, which is "a protusion of a tissue, structure, or part of an organ through the muscular tissue or the membrane by which it is normally contained". The usual treatment is an operation and several weeks' recovery.

Other than this, Quent seems to be doing well. Another medical friend of ours brought her "stitch picker" home and removed a stitch that had been left in one of his recent scars. These are now all healing very nicely. As ever, we are indebted to the Doctors who agree to be our friends in spite of the "off duty" work it seems to entail. And to the Doctors at Charing Cross who aren't even in our social circles but still go beyond the call of duty for us.

We are looking forward to seeing Father Christmas. It's been nearly two years.

Frequently asked Questions

2008-08-30T20:26:00.003+01:00

Quent has just been called upstairs by Oakley, who has five questions for him. Poor Quent. He could be gone some time... The other day Oakley padded downstairs, having been put to bed some time earlier (fortunately a rare occurance).

Oakley: "Mummy, why is it twaditional for gwown ups to go to bed later than childwen?"
Me: Burbling answer about growing, energy levels etc. but avoiding the key point about peace and quiet.
Quent: "I have a question for you. What are you doing down here?"
Oakley: "I have two questions, Daddy."
Quent: "OK. What is the second question, then?"
Oakley: "Who built the world, because it can't be builders, because they live on it."
Quent: Much more impressive (and long) two-fold answer covering off religion and evolution. I didn't hear all of it. I had to leave the room when Oakley said "whoah, Dad" and challenged some bit about explosions and gases.

News from the Prof

2008-08-30T17:54:00.002+01:00

The Prof has texted us to say that although there is no official report yet, he has spoken to the Pathologist. The lesion was indeed a tumour and it's a good job we had it removed. There was also quite a bit of inflammation - which indicates that Quent's immune system had recognised it and was trying to fight it; a good thing.

They are growing the cells and doing more research stain on the tumour to try to understand why it did not disappear. We won't have the results of that for a few weeks yet, so nothing more to do for the moment than continue the recovery - still going well - and enjoy the hospital free time.

Front page news

2008-08-24T22:51:00.003+01:00

Kidney cancer is in the news a lot at the moment. This week, NICE has decided not to fund four drugs for patients with advanced kidney cancer. Today, 25 cancer specialists (including Prof Hawkins and Prof Gore) have written a letter criticising Nice's decision.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/letters/article4597132.ece

The drugs include those Quent would probably need if he requires further treatment. We may be lucky, given his private medical care, but it does make me very sad, thinking of others in our situation being turned away by the NHS. I can just imagine how desperate they must feel - knowing there is hope, but not being able to access it. It's ironic that there is so much great research going on in Britain, but the UK lags Europe in using the drugs for treatment.

On a more cheerful note, we've been home nearly a week and Quent is doing very well, building up his strength with little walks each day. We even went out for lunch yesterday and his stamina was amazing. He is of course impatient to "do" things, but I am being strict. He's rebuilt my PC while sofa-bound and is even attempting a bit of admin - a surefire way to ensure a relapse. If you get a thank you note for your Odyssey donation, you'll know it won over the tax return - but don't hold your breath on either. (Whilst I am on the subject, many apologies we haven't written to thank you all individually. If it really is "the thought that counts", then we are fine - the intention has certainly been there. If, however, as I suspect, the actual note counts for something, we are in trouble.)

We are still waiting for the results from the pathology lab. The Prof has said he'll chase it this week. When he's not challenging government policy, he's running round after us. He was going to visit Quent at the Alexandra on Monday, till I emailed him we were already home. He's an amazing man.

A weak link to some results we have heard this week - and an even weaker link back to topical news stories. I don't usually use the blog for personal messages, but 12 A* GCSEs is definitely worth an exception. Congratulations, Emily Iredale.

Heading home!

2008-08-17T19:37:00.005+01:00

Less than 48 hours after going to theatre, Quent was discharged. We will go back to London tomorrow, but for the moment we are enjoying R&R at Anita's. We could get used to this.

There was one hiccough while Quent was in ITU. His drip had a dodgy valve and when the bag ran out, it didn't stop pumping. He spotted a pipe full of air just in time and switched off the tap in his hand. The nurses couldn't understand it until Quent pointed out the valve must be faulty. He has always been rather particular about air bubbles (as Nathan House nurses will testify!) and now I know why.

A walk in the park

2008-08-16T19:12:00.004+01:00

I could hardly believe my eyes when I arrived at the hospital this morning. Quent was sitting in a chair with a huge grin on his face. No oxygen mask, no morphine or saline drips. He had had a cooked breakfast and was playing with his new toy - a breathing exercise thing. He was on level 4 already and looked very disappointed when I managed the same level.

By mid morning they had removed his chest drain and kicked him out of ITU. He walked down to the ward and we spent the day watching the Olympics. All being well, he'll be coming out tomorrow - although the surgeon did stress that he needs quite a few weeks' recovery and won't be fully back to strength for three months. Apparently, today may have been a "honeymoon" and Quent might find it a lot tougher, physically and emotionally over the next few days. We will not attempt the drive back down to London tomorrow, but may come as far as Anita's.

Quent kept telling my mum last week that the operation would be a walk in the park. I wouldn't be surprised if he is able to do just that in a few days' time. Bolt's family aren't the only ones feeling very proud this evening.

Through the keyhole

2008-08-16T00:24:00.003+01:00

The operation has gone well. They have taken out a slice of Quent's lung, complete with tumour, half of which was immediately given to Prof's research team for analysis. They managed to do it keyhole and it took about 2 hours all told.

It was actually the second slice they took - they missed the tumour with the first one, apparently, but Mr Jones, the surgeon, assures me that this is not a problem. If you're trying to imagine how this all works, I think it's pretty similar to an exploding pie chart on an excel spreadsheet. (I might be over simplifying cardiothoracic surgery a little here.)

Quent is now on ITU and was snoring loudly when I left. He was awake enough to smile and crack a few jokes ("Where's the kango hammer?" amongst others), but he was basically very drowsy - and surrounded by monitors, drips, drugs, drains etc. Not really my scene, but it was lovely to see him smile when he realised I was there.

I snuck off this evening to celebrate the end of a long week with Anita and Helen Randle - a few tapas, a couple of glasses of wine, a good girlie natter and I am now ready for my bed. For the first time since Quent was diagnosed (and probably several years before that), his body is clear of tumours. Hallelujah and thank you - you've got us this far.

I will be in the hospital all day tomorrow, with no internet access or mobile phone coverage on the intensive care ward. But I will post again tomorrow, hopefully with even more positive news.

Shoes and autre shoes

2008-08-14T09:43:00.004+01:00

We woke up last Saturday morning (having got home from Manchester at gone midnight) and decided to grab a quick holiday while we could. We rebooked our ferry crossing for Sunday morning and set to, cancelling our commitments for the week (don't 4 year olds have busy diaries!) and unpacking, washing and repacking our things. We've had our money's worth from those suitcases!

We had a great week with my parents in Normandy. The forecast was terrible but the actual weather was great. We had 7 days of sun, sea, sand, great food, wine, rest and lie ins. Perfect.

This week has not been quite as jolly. We headed north yesterday afternoon, after my dentist's appointment. This morning we are in Skipton for my godmother's funeral and this afternoon we check into the Alexandra hospital in Manchester for Quent's op, which is at 2pm tomorrow. Once again, I will trouble you for your positive vibes.

We did manage to fit in a bit of shopping before we headed north and I have to share it with the girls out there. I thought I knew a thing or two about buying shoes, until I went out with Oakley. Apparently, the way to choose your shoes is not the fit (as our mothers thought) or the look (as we think), but the sound. Oakley found the noisiest shoes in the shop and declared emphatically "These are the ones". So please, ladies, check the sound before splashing out on your next pair of Manolos. Pump up the volume (groan!).

More tomorrow.

All in a roll of the dice.

2008-08-02T13:36:00.003+01:00

We had been climbing the higher rungs of the snakes and ladders of life, but we've hit a snake.

The unknown, "probably incidental" spot remaining in Quent's lung is growing and hence almost certainly malignant. We have agreed with the surgeon to have it removed asap - ie. the week after next. (The op had been planned for early September.) The Prof and surgeon can't see any new spots, but we are still waiting for the official report from the radiologist.

This came as a body blow for both Quent and myself - we thought we had the cancer on the run and now it turns out the interleuken 2 has only given us a partial (though very good) response. The chance of other spots appearing is now greater.

Getting the last spot out is the priority of course and let's hope that's that. Worrying about the future has not been our approach to date. So, in the spirit of positive thinking, let's hope this snake is a tiny little grass snake that lands us right next to a very tall ladder.

Appointments next week

2008-07-25T12:36:00.004+01:00

Sorry for the long silence. Life has been getting back to "normal" and very pleasant it has been - except for the bad news that Bill died. I have mentioned him on the blog before. He was diagnosed with kidney cancer three months after Quentin and we had really hoped they would both be lucky ones. For a while Bill and Quentin seemed to be having a very similar experience but then Bill's doctor (Prof Gore) found tumours in his brain and his back. Very sadly, the Sutent (sorafanib), several major operations and his brave fight were not enough to overcome this vicious disease. We think often of Alison and their son.

We are going back up to Manchester next Thursday for a scan, an appointment with the Prof and then an appointment with the surgeon the following day. Can it really be three months since the last scan? Oakley is looking forward to having an ice cream in the hospital shop, Quent is ambivalent and I am slightly nervous. The surgeon reckons the remaining spot is definitely growing whereas the Prof thinks that could just be a variance of measurement. I guess we'll find out next week.

Quent is doing very well, recovering from his last round of IL-2. He is now putting on weight and reckons he has a paunch and a double chin. Hardly, but he is looking less skinny.

I am still working quite hard (for me!) - consulting for an educational foundation - and really enjoying it. I am looking forward to the autumn, when Oakley will be in full time school and Quentin will hopefully be through his treatment.

Oakley is enjoying the summer. Latest funny story:

Man on street: Would you like this chocolate for your son?
Me: That's very kind, but we're fine thank you.
Man on street: I totally understand. It's just that it's melting.
Oakley: What did the man ask?
Me: He wanted to give you some chocolate, but we must never take anything from people we don't know.
Oakley (Quick as a flash): I think I've seen him before.

We'll let you know the outcome of the scan as soon as we have it. Meanwhile, have a great sunny weekend - but don't take any sweets from strangers.

Return to normality

2008-06-17T19:34:00.005+01:00

We've been home for two weeks now and are enjoying that "home for a couple of months" feeling. Quent is sleeping lots (though maybe a bit less than usual) and itching lots. He is very thin and his skin is still bright red and itchy-peely. He had terrible toothache last week as the gums seem to take a bashing as well as the skin. Fortunately, that's sorted now. Still, we've had no medical emergencies and haven't been near a hospital for two whole weeks. Bliss. I'm sure it'll take the usual time for Quent to recover fully, but we are old hands at that now. Sleep, food, sleep, food, sleep, food.

Oakley is being totally delightful - chirpy and sunny and just lovely to be around. Quent took him to Legoland last week for a couple of hours while I went to a meeting and they both returned happy but exhausted. I have been working hard for once - time to get back to it, now My "hospital assistant" excuse is running thin and the bank balance is even thinner.

Quent has had a letter from the Ward Manager saying what a great chap he is and how everyone enjoyed treating him. Prof Hawkins has also written saying how pleased they were to get so much thanks. And we've had an email from one of the nurses, saying they've had soooo many lovely cards from our friends and family. Thanks again to everyone who sent them. Apparently the Ward Manager was going to take them all to the Board Meeting.

Our next medical appointment is not till late July, when we return to Manchester for a scan and a meeting with the surgeon.

6 years on...

2008-06-08T10:53:00.002+01:00

On 8th June 2002, many of you helped us celebrate our wedding at Fawley Court. Six years on, we are having a rather quieter day at home. Oakley has just gone out to play and lunch (thanks, Camilla!) and we are going straight back to bed - although not in the traditional wedding anniversary kind of way!

In the early days of treatment, I tried not to organise too much for Oakley the week we came home, thinking he would want to be with us. I quickly realised this was more our interpretation than his. Today I got a really lovely "Thank you, Mummy, for letting me have a playdate" (the "rather than hanging around with you two exhausted old fogeys" was unsaid but we knew what he meant).

We've had six wonderful years of marriage and now we have years more ahead of us. Who could ask for a better present?

No more IL-2

2008-06-06T18:24:00.002+01:00

We've finished. The nurses are pretty sure 65 doses is a record - and also say that Quent has had the worst reactions they've ever seen.

Quentin had a sleep this afternoon and I went to John Lewis to get some presents for the nurses. I started crying almost as soon as I left the hospital - I guess it was relief. I think the shop assistant was a little surprised that buying handcream could be so emotional. On reflection, so was I.

Quent is still feeling as if he's been run over by a truck, but we are both delighted to be through it all safely and successfully. One more little lung operation (!) and we can really start to party.

Really nearly there.

2008-06-06T11:28:00.001+01:00

Thanks to everyone who has sent cards. The post hasn't arrived yet, but I know the nurses will be delighted. Please pass on the word to non blog readers.

Doses 4 and 5 went reasonably smoothly, although Quent is pretty weak. He has sickness and diarrhoea, thrush, sore joints, swelling and blotchy bruises all over. He can barely move his arms - a side effect of the blood pressure cuff rather than the IL-2 itself.

Quent has hit 65 (doses) and is going to retire. We are waiting to tell the Prof - who may well try to persuade Quent to go for another, given this is only the beginning of day 4. Superstition - and memories of Neil Kinnock - prevent me from counting our chickens too early. More later.

Help required, preferably today.

2008-06-05T10:13:00.003+01:00

Quent has just rigored after his fourth dose. We had a pleasant day yesterday after a fairly straightforward second dose. Quent slept quite a bit but seemed much better than he had been on Tuesday.

Last night he had dose 3 at around 6.30pm and at 10.30pm, everything went a bit awry. His SATS fell and wouldn't come back up. His blood pressure remained at about 70 for hours. His heart rate was pretty high and, most worryingly, he lost vision. We played the usual game of "How many medical staff can you fit in a bedroom?" and it was comforting to see everyone pulling together to pull him through. I admit I was scared. When the Critical Care Nurse asked Quent if he was OK, he just said "No", which is pretty different to his usual "I'm great" or "Life couldn't be better".

Anyway, his vision returned reasonably quickly, as did his humour. "Did I miss the Apprentice?" he quipped, right in the middle of it all. He is amazing.

As are the nurses and doctors. We were saying yesterday that we just can't begin to thank them enough. Then I had an idea. Would you help us thank them? (Bear with me. I know I sound like a kid's party entertainer) If everyone who is grateful they have saved Quent's life sent them a postcard or card, they would really see what a difference their work makes.

If you are up for it, please send a postcard thanking them for saving Quent's life and maybe stating your relationship to him. It doesn't have to be more than a sentence. The volume of cards and postcards will make the impact.

Please address it to The Nurses and Doctors of Nathan House, Christie's Hospital, Wilmslow Road, Manchester, M20 4BX.

Sorry not to give you more notice. I am hoping you can all spare 10 mins or so to stick something in the post asap. If you really can't get to it, pls post a message on the blog instead - but the real thing will make much more impact and give them a fantastic vote of thanks.

Crashing the car - again!

2008-06-04T09:44:00.003+01:00

So, here we are in Christie's for the last week of IL-2. Thank goodness for that. Even Oakley was jumping up and down and telling Quent it was the last lot, before we set off. Needless to say, we hadn't told him that but he must have overheard someone saying it to us - or vice versa.

The excitement of the finish is marred by the struggle of the final stretch. Marathon runners will understand, no doubt. I feel churlish saying I can't be excited yet, when we know it's nearly over and that it has given Quent his life back. The only way I can explain it, is like a car crash. Every time we come (in fact pretty much every dose!) is like getting into a car knowing it will crash and Quent will be hurt. We know he'll almost certainly pull through and his injuries will heal quickly, but we also know that it's very tough and the second week's crashes are worse than the first. Watching Quent get back into the car ready for his 61st crash is very hard.

Last night's prang was eventful. We have already had the nurse practitioner round - and the portable ECG machine. I feel we've phoned a friend and done 50/50 in the early stages of the game. Still, eventually Quent settled and he's now sleeping after his second dose & rigor. His urine output is minimal - as it was this time last round. So, we will see how we go. Everyone is saying not to push it too hard - even the Boy Racer Prof.

Once upon a time in the North

2008-06-02T00:10:00.005+01:00

Oakley went to a cowboy party yesterday. He had a particularly large breakfast as he said he needed extra energy. I didn't actually realise it was possible for 4 year old boys to get any more energetic, but he seemed adamant. He then put together his costume, including water pistol and plastic video camera posing as guns. I told him I didn't think cowboys carried teddies. "Mu-um," he replied, his voice heavy with disdain, "That's my cattle." See below for the full effect, including brooding look and "cattle" under his right arm.

He had a great time and came out with a Power Rangers face. It was all very different in John Wayne's day.

We are off to Manchester tomorrow, ready to start treatment on Tuesday. Quent is very calm about it all, but I shall be grilling the Prof on the relationship between IL-2 and blood clots. We know they aren't cowboys at Christie's but I still have a few questions for The (re)Searchers.

Hold the line, please

2008-05-28T11:13:00.003+01:00

Well it turns out my husband is a clot after all. He has a blood clot in his upper arm - and an infection. Quent never does anything by halves.

Apparently the infection is reasonably superficial and should clear up with antibiotics - 5 days worth to be taken four times a day, an hour before meals. This will be a challenge because he hasn't been awake that much, recently!

He also has needles, as he has to inject himself daily with something to thin the blood. For three months. It really does make me feel faint just thinking about it.

They still seem to be talking about Quent having more IL-2 next week. I haven't investigated what impact it might have on the lung operation. One step at a time. And the next step is going back to hospital today to have the line taken out - and resited next Tuesday in Manchester.

We are all a bit tired (and very tired of hospitals!), but otherwise we're fine.

2 a.m eternal

2008-05-27T14:49:00.005+01:00

We got back home from the hospital at 2 a.m. this morning to find Julie, still up and reading her book, having done our washing up. I have said it before, but how we'd get through this without our dear friends and family, I don't know!

Last night, the area around Quentin's PICC line (which stays in for the 3 weeks) was sore and red and hard. We were due to see Dr Savage today anyway but Quent felt it couldn't wait 12 hours and we should go to hospital straight away. If Quent thinks things are worse than I do, I panic. We called Julie, who ran along the road straight away. Then we jumped into the car and got as far as the Hogarth roundabout before coming back again to gather our wits and paperwork.

We consulted the "Taking care of your PICC line" book and it said to go straight to hospital if it was painful, red or swollen. So we set off again (around 10.45pm).

Apparently such symptoms indicate either infection or blood clot. They took bloods from Quent's line and the other arm to compare and contrast. At 1.30am they told us the bloods looked OK so it was probably a clot. They gave him antibiotics and blood thinning drugs and let us go home.

This morning I had to drop Quent off at 9.30am for his special blood clot scan - followed by his appointment with Dr Savage. Oakley and I were going to see Charlie and Lola at the theatre. Although I have attended nearly every appointment with Quentin, none has ever clashed with Charlie and Lola before. Quent lost.

I spent a reasonably stressed morning trying to contact Quent to see how he was. I was getting very concerned by 2pm when Oakley and I got home. But I found an ansafone message from Quent saying I would not be able to contact him as Allied Telesis has switched off his phone. Aha.

All I know at this stage is that he sounded chirpy at 1.35pm when he was waiting to see Dr Savage. He didn't tell me anything else but I will let you know as soon as I hear from him again.

The week that was

2008-05-24T11:00:00.005+01:00

Well, Gordon, you're not alone. Being soundly beaten by the Conservatives - and the media - can't be easy, but at least you haven't had a round of interleuken 2.

Quent looks as if he's had a brush with the Zimbabwean political scene. The Crewe bi-election has forced "blue by injection" out of the headlines, so I thought I'd bring you the full story in pictures below. It's true, it can be grim up north.

Before (taken last Sat at the wedding):

After (taken yesterday, when Q's mouth was too sore to smile):

Here are his "blue by injection" hands, shortly after a rigor - and the bruising on his back, arms and legs (which actually looks much worse in the flesh than on a phone camera).

The good news is that we escaped a day early. Quent was feeling - and looking - really terrible 12 hours after dose 8 and decided against another dose. He felt sick and had bad diarrhoea throughout the night. He has also developed some rather nasty sores on his palms and around his mouth. Apparently, Oakley was asking Lorna why Daddy goes into hospital to get better and comes out looking worse. It's a reasonable question and more pertinent than ever this week.

We haven't seen Oakley yet as he was very excited about his sleepover with Jack and Martha and we weren't about to spoil it. He didn't even want to speak on the phone last night. So we went to bed early and woke naturally at 9.50am, with Quent saying "Was that the best morning ever?"

I imagine Gordon Brown has a fairly tough couple of weeks ahead of him - but at least he knows the bi-election won't be re-run in a week's time, with even worse results.

Eight down, one to go (we hope!)

2008-05-22T11:56:00.002+01:00

Quent has just had his 8th dose and is reading the paper, before the rigors start. He's doing very well - he looks and feels pretty terrible, but is battling on, as ever.

When we came for the scan results I distinctly heard the Prof say we should take it a little easier this time and maybe go for just 9 doses. I think the Prof has selective memory as everyone seems to be talking of 10 again now. We'll have that debate later, no doubt. Last time around, Quent had 10 in the first week, but was very poorly in the second week. Not surprisingly I am favouring a cautious 9.

Either way, he has already had a massive running total of 60 doses. I would not be surprised if that were a record - I'll ask the Prof when we see him.

A day of two halves

2008-05-21T19:21:00.004+01:00

As you know, we are not huge footie fans but even I realise it's only a few minutes to kick-off. In fact, to Quent, Manchester United means the team spirit at Christie's and Chelsea means flower show. Talk of Wed's team tactics and he'll think you mean The Apprentice.

Still, the Nurses have been Russian around all day and Red (blotchy) Squares have been breaking out all over Quent's legs, so we do realise something is happening.

It has been a busy day. We have seen the Nurse Practitioner today (one step away from Critical Care) as Quent's stats have been a little worrying - though by no means the worst we've seen. Quent is feeling pretty rotten at the moment and is having to sit bolt upright in bed (to help his breathing) with an oxygen mask.

However, he had a lovely massage this morning and he did manage a little lunch. He would have been up to a film earlier, but the DVD was missing from the box. I went to a very interesting speech Prof gave about his research and I might even be able to explain the basics on another post.

We have more than one injured player on our team today - Oakley fell at school today and is now limping (though this may be due to 4 year old dramatics, rather than medical condition). He (and we) seems to think we are into extra time already - "Why did you make this week so long, Mummy" he said to me, this evening. I know how he feels.

That exhausts my corny jokes - and the news for the day. Keep everything crossed for us overnight. By the time the match is over, Quent will be nearly due another dose.

I wish good luck to all footie fans, but admit I am saving all my positive vibes for my own star player.

What IS that noise?

2008-05-20T13:45:00.004+01:00

Quent is sleeping soundly after dose / rigor 3. His snoring is causing some hilarity amongst the nurses. In fact, if you listen carefully, you can probably hear it yourselves.

He was very sick yesterday, but he managed breakfast and a sit in the chair this morning. I am hoping he will be up to watching a film when he wakes this afternoon.

Chequing in to Christie's

2008-05-19T18:41:00.007+01:00

We had a great cousin-filled weekend. We came up north early to go to Quent's first cousin's wedding. It was a lovely day and Oakley had great fun with all Quent's cousins' children. Yesterday, Quent and I went to my first cousin's baby's (first) birthday party, while Oakley headed back to London, via a play with one of his first cousin's sons, who are 3 and 1.5. Oakley may be an only child, but he'd give Rabbit a run for his money on "friends and relations".

Now we are back in Christie's and Quent has had his first dose - and rigor. He also managed to fit in a photo call with the Prof this morning, handing over a cheque for £24,500. Thank you to everyone for your amazing generosity. The Prof and the Fundraising team were delighted - the Fundraising team want to clone Quent and, with Prof's t-cell research gathering pace, I guess anything is possible.

The great escape

2008-05-13T13:03:00.003+01:00

Full of ant-icipation, Oakley and I ran downstairs yesterday morning to check the pets. I noticed straight away that there seemed to be fewer of them. Just 10 in fact. Then Oakley noticed one on the outside of the container and another squeezing its way out of the tiny airhole at the top. I hope Nasa space shuttles are more secure than their ant habitats.

Having watched both Nemo and A Bug's Life, it didn't seem right to put them back in, after they'd made their escape. Those Disney / Pixar people have got a lot to answer for.

So now there are 10. They are digging and meeting, but I can't help feeling they are missing their friends. I know, it's ridiculous! They look as if they lack purpose compared to Sunday (risk assessment was obviously route planning). Quent tells me I tread on 30 a day without even knowing it, but somehow, I feel a bit cruel now, keeping 10 of them trapped on and in the gel. The whole thing has been a terrible ant-i climax.

Now, back to packing and sorting childcare. We head north on Friday.

Pets, pirates, pancakes.

2008-05-12T00:15:00.005+01:00

It goes without saying that we've had a good week or two. Once we stopped humming "So lung, farewell.." that is. We are not looking forward to the next bout of treatment, however. A week today we'll be back in Manchester. I know it's the last lot, but somehow that isn't helping. It gets worse each time and last time was already very bad.

Meanwhile, we have been enjoying the sunshine. Having come back from Manchester on Tuesday, we went sailing for the day on Thursday, with Robin, Gill and Helen Taunt. What a wonderful day. Rain was forecast and there was certainly plenty of wind, but the weather was impeccable as we bounced across the waves. On Friday, we went to Devon to spend the Bank Holiday with Ros (Quent's sister) and Ian. Again, we had good weather. Again, we had great fun. It was a tiring week, with a lot of driving, but every trip was worth it.

Oakley is a bundle of laughs at the moment. He gave me an appraisal the other morning at 7.30am. Out of the blue. "Mummy, can you try to be a little bit more like Camilla?" Camilla is slim, blond and Scandinavian and has long been a object of Oakley's affection, but apparently it was her pancake-making which put her on the pedestal this time. I am sure that Camilla (being perfect) would have been more gracious than I was about such honest feedback. As I told Oakley at the time, we are all different - and all lovely in our way.

This weekend, we went to the Scout Summer Fair. The Odyssey team had taken the BMW and the Jag down and were doing a fundraising "Guess the number of balloons in the cars". Oakley, who is increasingly becoming Quent's "mini me", was bold, decisive - and wildly over optimistic. "One million", he said. I asked him if he thought a few hundred might be a better guess (it was my fiver, after all). "No", he said emphatically. Sadly, he didn't win.

He's not totally like Quent yet, though. When I heard Quent asking Oakley if he wanted to climb on the roof* with him this afternoon, I was relieved that Oakley had said no, before I vetoed it. "Quent, he's four. That's a ridiculous idea", I shouted up the stairs. "I agwee, Mummy", came the only other voice of reason in the house at the time. I have spent (quite a large!) part of this week completing a risk assessment for a school tug of war. Goodness knows what Adam from Hounslow Council would have made of Quent's idea.

Instead, we pruned the pirate counter (pyracantha). It seemed quite tame in comparison. Oakley has had pirates on the brain since the May Fair, when he won a cutless, hook and eyepatch - all of which are in bed with him now.

We have also finally given in to Oakley's requests for a pet. We have got him no fewer than 18 .... ants! This afternoon, we transferred them from the front path to their NASA style ant farm. No mean feat. One goes in, one escapes - and one gets squashed as Quent slams the lid on. Anyway, hours later we seem to have 18 survivors. They are very prone to "meetings"- or maybe they are risk assessing their new environment. Every now and then, they leave the huddle and burrow into the gel for a while. It's very exciting.

* Yes, our roof! Quent was adjusting the DAB aerial

Filling up in Stafford Services

2008-05-01T22:02:00.003+01:00

We stopped off on the way home from Manchester for petrol and cup of tea. I wanted to tell everyone our fabulous news - so I told the lady behind the till at Roadchef! She said she was delighted and, as she wished Quentin a fantastic life, her eyes filled with tears. That set me off and before we knew it we were half-laughing and half-crying while Quent looked on, slightly perplexed.

She then re-appeared, while we were drinking our tea, with a chocolate muffin for Quentin, which she and her colleague had just iced with “All the best”. Which set us all off again - even Quent filled up this time.

If you are passing Stafford services, please stop in and tell Trish that you’re a friend of the cancer survivor and that you’ve read about her on his blog. We didn’t tell her our names (or even that Quent has a blog), so she may be a little surprised, but I’m sure she’ll remember us. And we will always remember her. Throughout this journey (and I don't mean the M40), the kindness of everyone around us has been very touching.

Here's a photo of Quent, with his cake - and wannabe Muffin muncher.

Song titles

2008-04-29T18:36:00.001+01:00

We saw the Prof today for the results of Quent’s scans. He told us that all the tumours we have been tracking have now GONE. Quent needs another 2 weeks’ treatment in May / June (to be sure, to be sure) and that should be the last IL-2 he has. We can hardly believe it. (Well, I can’t. Quent, of course, was expecting nothing less!)

However, there is a caveat. (There always seems to be a caveat). There is something else on one of Quentin’s lungs, which looks “odd”. (Official term; a nodule in the ingula.) Apparently it doesn’t look like a classic metastases. Looking back over previous CT scans, it has been there throughout Quent’s treatment and has barely changed in size. This suggests it’s not cancer (which would either shrink or grow). However, we can’t be sure.

One (the safest) option is to remove it, surgically - something they could not have considered with several spots on both lungs. The operation would be major surgery, although it would not be complicated, as the nodule is very close to the outside of the lung.

The Prof is going to get a second opinion from the surgeon to see if they think it’s best to operate or not. The operation would probably be in September, once Quentin has recovered from his next round of IL-2.

Meanwhile, we can celebrate the disappearance of the spots. I didn’t know whether to name this post “Who let the spots out”, “Ding, dong the spots are dead” or “I will survive”. So I thought I’d go for a spot (a’hem) of audience participation. In “Sorry, I haven’t got a clue” style, can you please suggest song titles for getting rid of cancer spots?

Our friends in the North

2008-04-29T18:35:00.000+01:00

We saw Philip and Sue for lunch yesterday, before Quentin’s scan. (Many of you will remember that Philip was the guy we met during Quent’s first round of treatment. His spots had already gone and he became our IL-2 inspiration). Philip’s scans are still clear – great news, as he has had a persistent cough for several weeks and he was rather worried the cancer might have returned.

Philip knows he’s been mentioned on the blog, so he asked me to say hello to you all and to tell you that he’s still here!

In the evening we went out for dinner with Anita, before cadging another night’s stay in her lovely barn conversion.

All in all, it was a very pleasant day out. I felt a little guilty that others were doing our childcare while we made our way round the restaurants of the north (and, in between time, I sat reading Hello! magazine in the hospital waiting room)!

From van to scan

2008-04-23T13:42:00.007+01:00

The last couple of weeks have gone faster than a Chevy van.

Quent and the boys had a great time in Europe. Plenty of stories and plenty of sponsorship. An amazing amount, in fact. They are set to top £22,500. Sadly they lost the van, but otherwise they seem to have pulled off a great holiday for a good cause. For details of their trip, see Ed's excellent blog on http://www.oneweekineurope.blogspot.com/.

Here are the boys arriving home (plus small extra) and the amazing cake Brita made complete with names, dates, the countries they visited and the sponsorship total (at that point of time).

Meanwhile, Oakley and I went to my sister's and then to Jenny's. Oakley had playmates in both places and I had some good girlie time. In fact, if only I had thought to do a sponsored "chat", I could have raised a lot of money.

Last week it was back to school / work, with a slight cloud hanging over Ashbourne Grove. Oakley climbed into bed one morning saying he was sad. "Why are you sad, darling?", I enquired. "Chevy", he replied.

Before we knew it, we were on the road again, as we headed back to Manchester for Quent's latest scan and results.

..but we love holidays even more

2008-04-11T21:14:00.004+01:00

We've had a great first week of the Easter holidays. Lots of lazing around in our pyjamas and having breakfast late. Also sledging, a trip to my parents' with Oakley's friend James Wiley, a visit to a steam fair, a family day canoeing etc.

And tonight we went to see off the boys on their big adventure. Oakley cried on the way home because he didn't want Quent to go (or, more to the point, he wanted to go too). I think he's waved Quent off one too many times over the past year.

In spite of themselves, the guys seemed pretty well organised by the time they left. And they looked great in their Christie's t-shirts (ignoring the passing resemblance to "4 poofs and a piano") . Even Cliff Richard's crowd didn't have matching t-shirts.

Since they left, I have done a bit of mental maths. 3000 miles. 7 days. Top speed for the Chevy of 60mph. I make that over 7 hours' driving daily at top speed. Which of course they won't do all the time. So let's say 10 - 12 hours' driving each day, excluding breakdowns (which Quent says are inevitable!). I've just realised this isn't just a good excuse for a boys' holiday, this really is quite a challenge.

Thanks so much to everyone for sponsoring the teams. To follow their progress, see www.oneweekineurope.blogspot.com