Yes, I am extremely thankful for my beautiful family & recognise how blessed I am to have such great support from them. A few people we came across during treatment were not so fortunate & got treated really quite badly by their dismissive partners, so again it causes you to take stock.   We're from the NSW north coast & spend most of our year housesitting in this region as well as south east QLD. We have a little shack at the beach which is our base when we're not out & about. One of he earliest fires in the season at Shark Creek came within a few kms of our little town, but the fires stayed north of us thankfully. Where abouts are you located?   Wow S! What a huge journey for you. It's wonderful to hear you are cancer free so far - congrats! 🙂 My colorectal surgeon who I had my initial colonoscopy through has warned us that if my treatment does not clear all the cancer then I will need a resection resulting in a colostomy bag. They initially detected my cancer literally just inside the anus, but there was also a lemon sized growth pushing against the colon & vaginal wall. I can't feel that discomfort anymore which is wonderful, so we're hoping & praying the treatment has been successful. But even if I do end up having to have the surgery, I'll be thankful just to be alive! I have a lovely friend who is a clinic nurse & she said I need not fear having a bag if necessary as they've come such a long way with them, & many people have them but you'd never know. I hope you don't mind me asking, but how are coping with it all S? Was it a difficult transition for you, or relieving to have alleviated a lot of your risk?   Thanks SO much for chatting - I really appreciate it.   Heids 🙂 ... View more

Thanks SO much for your warm welcome Kate - it's greatly appreciated, bless you!   Cheers,   Heids 🙂 ... View more

Thanks SO much S for replying - it's lovely of you to take the time to message me. And thank you for your empathy. Are you also a cancer sufferer, or have been?   I am doing very well thank you. My treatment of 6wks radiotherapy with a 96hr chemo pump in weeks 1 & 5 finished on December 13th. I don't know if you're familiar with pelvic radiotherapy, but my beautiful nurses revealed to me at the end of my treatment that it's basically the worst radiotherapy a woman can endure - it's pretty horrendous, & I really struggled physically through the two weeks post treatment. I'm still doing two small dressings on a few stubborn spots, but the majority of my skin has healed very well, thankfully. Internally is another story... still very red & swollen, & I don't have great bowel control yet, if I ever will?! & trying to reintroduce certain foods seems to be proving very slow going with regular 'upsets'! But mentally I'm very strong & at complete peace with it all.   My hubby & sons have been truly amazing & an incredible support. They are also very strong & extremely encouraging & caring. The whole process has certainly made us count our blessings & be thankful for every day. Besides the first week of treatment we stayed in accommodation on the hospital campus for the rest, & it was a beautiful opportunity to connect with others going through various cancer treatments as well as hospital procedures, etc. We shed tears, laughed & hugged people we may never see again, some of whom lost everything in the bushfires & then we're facing serious procedures. So it may sound a little odd, but we are all hugely thankful for our journey so far, & thankful for the opportunities it's brought to be able to help others in ways that otherwise would not have been possible.   So now we await a PET scan some time in April, then a biopsy in June to determine whether any surgery is required.    Thanks again for your concern,   Heids 🙂   What is your journey S??? ... View more

Hi Jules2, I'm new here & am 8wks post pelvic chemoradiotherapy treatment for T4 anal cancer. Am still doing small dressings on a few stubborn spots in my 'crevices' & applying pure sorbelline cream to the newly healed skin as this is all I've been 'prescribed' by the radiotherapy nurses. I am intrigued to know whether you used the Manuka honey throughout your entire treatment & recovery, & if you used anything else like MooGoo? Thanks. 🙂 ... View more