Hi Butterfly, It's good to hear from you, hope your keeping well. The numbness in your hand from chemo?. Wazz was told he may have numbness in his finger tips from cisplatin. His index finger on his left hand always feels cold, the tip of his finger has gone the colour of blue/purple. The day he had his mild stroke he was complaining that his left hand was really cold, he kept his left hand in his pocket to keep it warm. The rest of his body was of normal temperature. I don't know if the chemo caused the mild stroke?. It was his left arm & left hand that was affected. Who knows?. I'll ask more questions tomorrow when Wazz has his double chemo. I don't expect any answers, just a smile and a roll of the eyes. Take care, Merkel ... View more

Hi Sailor, WOW! ... View more

The Johansen family. Our prayers are with Josh. Merkel & Wazza ... View more

Has your cancer returned? Your beautiful young woman, I hope not. Tell us more if your up to it. I've been off line for a while, I'm sorry if I missed any of your other postings. ... View more

Hi Sailor, How are you going, haven't heard from you for a while. I hope you didn't wear yourself out on your last sailing trip. Hope all's well with you. Merkel ... View more

Hi Bev & Tom, How did you go at the Gyno,what's happening with your liver, do you have any results yet. That's great news about Kelly. Merkel ... View more

Hi All, Wazza started his second cycle of chemo last week,with 25% less Cisplatin & Gemcitabine, he was a bit better this time round.Yesterday he had only gemcitabine. Driving into the hospital we had to stop a few times so he could be sick. He's been able to eat more this time round, still weak, losing weight & the feeling of nausea really gets him down. We don't think it's the cancer affecting him as much as the chemo is taking it's toll. We can't wait to have a CT scan to see if the chemo is doing any good. It's so hard to see a man fading away who was so big & fit, he was at the gym three times a week. Some good news, were going to be grandparents again for the 5th time, the baby is due on my birthday. Take care all, Merkel & Wazza ... View more

Hi All, I would like to run something past you all. When Wazza had bleeding from his neobladder, his GP sent him for an ultrasound. While having his ultrasound this was how the conversation went between Wazza & the ultrasound operator. After a few minutes of the ultrasound going over his abdomen. Wazza said to the ultrasound operator. Wazza: How does it look in there. Operator: Kidneys look good, your new bladder looks OK, your prostate looks good. Wazza: I don't have prostate. Operator: What am I looking at then. Operator calls doctor in, they probe a little more. Doctor books Wazza in for a CT scan. Wazza has a CT scan some days later. CT scan report says. 38mm x 37mm x 36mm mass in the right hemipelvis between the created bladder and the rectum is consistent with tumour recurrence of metastatic lymphadenopathy. The tumour has grown bigger since that CT scan. A CT scan he had six months earlier said, all clear. Was that because they thought he had a prostate? Do they ever read the forms you fill out before you have scans saying what operations you've had & what bits are missing. If Wazza hadn't asked the ultrasound operator how it was in there, he would have received an all clear again. By the time it was realised it was a tumour not his prostate, Wazza's tumour had penetrated through his new neobladder. Could this have been avoided if they realised he didn't have a prostate earlier? These questions & a lot more will haunt me. If his tumour had of been picked up earlier, it certainly would have given him a lot more time with treatment. Not that he would have been cured. Another one falls through the cracks. We know you can be clear of cancer one day & all over you the next. What's done is done. Moving on. Take care Merkel ... View more

Hi Butterfly, That's a beautiful picture on your Blog. Merkel ... View more

Hi Sailor, We hope your travelling OK & all's well with you. Is that your yacht in your photo. It looks very impressive. Wazza would like to thank you for your email. We appreciated the information you sent, it was a great help. I apologise for Wazza not answering you personally, he's still not up to it. He's starting to eat more which is a good sign. Take Care, Merkel & Wazza ... View more