I was wondering if anyone had any useful tips on how to avoid costipation due the drugs? So far I've been using senna, lactlose, drinking a huge amount water, eating lots pears and drinking pear juice and using full cream milk (which I don't usually as it tends to give me the runs). I've also tried accupunture and accupressure as well as seeing the doctor to switch to non-codeine based pain relief. The doc also gave me an enema to administer. So far no joy. I am trying to eat as per usual but knowing that things are backing up doesn't help the cause. At this point in time (4 days) I am starting to get concerned that the waste that is being retained is not doing my system any good. Any advice will be most greatfully accepted. take care all, Tim ... View more

It was my chemo today and it almost didn't happen. My liver markers up way up and they were worried that it might not cope with the chemo. For some they had increased over the past week. I can't help but wonder if diet had anything to do with it as I was a little silly over the week. Another blood test this morning showed that things were starting to come down. I was eternally thankful to hear that news. So the chemo went ahead. The only worry is now along the lines of how good my liver is. I am determined not to let things go yet. I have far too much to get done. But with my temp climbing (but still under the max I am- 38.5) over the past few hours I can't help but worry about things. To be honest, it all kind of sux big time. It's just not fair. A month ago all was good. It should be good now. ... View more

Just thought I would share how great it has been to have had a couple of ordinary days in a row. My wife thought so as well. It has been fantastic to get out and do normal things such as go to the shopping mall and wander around, go out for coffee or for lunch and just veg around the house when it got too hot. The only minor inconvenience was having to have blood take on Thursday, but still that didn't take too long. Am very slowly starting to get an idea of what I can do and can't do with my new energy levels, but I still tend to push myself a little more than I should (although I'm not sure that that's a bad thing as long as I don't over do it). Looking forward to getting a nice day sometime soon so that we can get the kayaks out on the water again, any day other than a Thursday and Friday would be good (chemo on Thurs and don't want to push myself too hard on Friday). All in all, these simple days which are so ordinary are just so wonderful. A minor inconvenience again on Monday (more blood) so we can still have a few more of them. Am hoping to finish the second coat on the house before chemo starts up again. Take care all Tim ... View more

Had my weekly visit with the oncologist today and the news (all things considering) was good. After my week in hospital where it was discovered that my bile duct was closed and causing all sorts of problems (including causing all the blood markers to sky rocket), everything is now returning back down to normal. There's still a couple of markers that are high, but they are much lower than what they were a week ago. The oncologist seemed very happy with things and, despite me losing roughly 2 kg's, seemed to think that things were progressing well, or as well as they can be when you have stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Keeping my fingers crossed, and still staying positive, that things will settle and become stable so that the time ahead is me is going to be as long as is possible and beat the statistics. Take care everyone, Tim ... View more