I went to see my surgeon, Mr Robert Carpenter, on Friday. It was the first time I’d seen him since my initial diagnosis, since when he’d left me in the capable hands of oncologist Dr Alison Jones. It was time for a check on my progress and to have a bit more of a discussion about my surgery.
I was not really expecting to hear anything that I did not already know. I have been having consultations with Dr Jones every two weeks and all seemed to be going to plan. Pieced together from the initial conversations I’d had with Mr Carpenter, I had begun to think, or rather hope, that he would be able to perform a double mastectomy plus reconstruction all in one operation. That operation, I thought, would be done about three weeks after I finished chemo, therefore toward the end of April.
I must admit I wasn’t sure whether all that, plus the removal of lymph nodes, could or would actually be done in a single operation. But I could hope. Yesterday though, after examining me, Mr Carpenter declared himself unhappy with the condition of the skin on the affected breast. There was an oedema, fluid under the skin, that he was not happy with. If this does not improve significantly with the next couple of treatments, he will not be happy to do a reconstruction at the same time as the mastectomy since he would have to use my own skin in the rebuild.
His suggestion therefore was that he’d do a single mastectomy plus the lymph node removal in April and then wait three months before removing the other breast and doing the reconstruction. I must admit my initial reaction was disappointment. That would mean at least July before the big stuff was over. Martin was with me and I think he was equally concerned.
The removal of the right breast is a decision Mr C appears to want to leave up to me. It is, after all, a preventative measure. When he originally talked to me about it though, he explained that since they believe my cancer was caused by the radiotherapy I had at 18, both breasts would have been equally exposed to the radiation and therefore both were equally at risk. I can’t therefore see that I have much choice and anyway, from an aesthetic point of view, I’d have thought I’d be better off with a matching pair!!
Before leaving 145 Harley Street I had to go in to Mr C’s secretary to book a follow up appointment with him after my next two treatments. She also pencilled us in for the first operation on 20th April. That brought it home. We left in silence. Then Martin pointed out that in the scheme of things two or three months was nothing. There were more important things to worry about, like getting through this. He was right, and anyway, we were never sure it would be only one operation.
I walked him to the taxi and returned to number 95 Harley Street, the Leaders in Oncology Care (LOC) clinic where I have the chemo, to have a blood test. I think Dr Jones needed to check my blood count after I’d started the second drug, Taxol.
Luckily, the girl who did my blood test was good and managed to get my vein first time. I was not in the mood for being prodded and poked. I needed cheering up and luckily my old friend Lesley, who lives not far away in Camden, had offered to meet me after my appointments.
I made my way to Marylebone High Street and to my favourite little cafe for a coffee and some toast. From there I texted Lesley and we agreed to meet in another cafe/deil, Natural Kitchen, just acros the road from where I was.
I’ve known Lesley since we lived next door each other as young children and although we have seen very little of each other over our adult life, it was so easy to talk to her and very therapeutic. We had a drink and a long chat. While we were nattering I spotted Martha Lane Fox come in. Martha was co-founder of lastminute.com. I met her and co-founder Brent Hoberman before lastminute was well known and was highly impressed with their professionalism, enthusiasm and belief in themselves. I joined Citywire in February 2000, about six weeks before lastminute floated on the stock market at a hugely inflated price that even Martha and Brent thought was ridiculous and followed the incredible hooha surrounding the flotation, which marked the beginning of the end of the dotcom boom.
Despite the subsequent dotcom crash, I always stuck with lastminute, recommending the shares because I knew Martha and Brent were more than five-minute wonders. Sadly, Martha had a very serious car crash, or rather jeep crash during a holiday in Morocco in 2004 and she still walks with a stick and looked pretty frail the other day. It hasn’t stopped her having a busy and I’m sure fulfilling life and this won’t stop me either!
After lunch with Lesley in Carluccio’s, I headed home. I was trying to focus on work and really wanted to get a story out, but I may have been a bit hard on myself. I had a lot to take in and frankly I just couldn’t concentrate on the story I was hoping to work on. In the end I gave up and met up with Martin and friends John and Ross for a pre-dinner drink at Camino’s on the river. We then had a pleasant dinner at friends Dawn and Martin, where were joined by four other neighbours and friends.
I’m glad that I am seeing my oncologist, Dr Alison Jones, on Tuesday before my next chemo session. I need to talk this latest development through with her. I suspect her take on it will be less negative than the impression I got from Mr C. We’ll see.
In the meantime I enjoyed the weekend down in Ramsgate, spending time with stepson Mat, daughter-in-law Claire and granddaughter Olivia on Saturday — a real tonic– and enjoying a nice meal with friends at Age & Sons on Saturday evening. The sun was shining, spring was in the air, and all will be well!
