Signing off; the end of chemo

It's the final few days of drugs and we have been having fun and getting out and about despite some nasty side effects. The fuzzy hair look will be going as soon as I can get an appointment at the hairdressers.

Sarah has been doing far more than me (this weekend it was the 47km Motatapu ride followed by 30km cycle home, whereas I just managed a 60km round trip) We both enjoy the scenery and the post ride drinks and nibbles on the balcony with our guests: Phil and Paul.

Lunch in Arrowtown.
Sarah's idea of sandwich turned into blue rice with ginger and yoghurt.

I succumbed and bought a new ebike. Here she is:

a Merida One Sixty (complete with Hello Kitty bell, Thule rack and Blackburn saddle bag for touring) we have named Bertha. You can whizz up Queenstown Hill on it on 'Boost' as opposed to pushing a bike up the hill or testing out your leg and lung capacity.

Bertha is helping me get back to some level of fitness. Cycling on the Queenstown trails has never been so enjoyable.


A wine blending day at Gibbston Valley with Diane Hart, proved to be educational as well as delicious.






Starting with bubbles at 10:30 (a shock for Sarah) our task for the day was to blend our very own members reserve pinot noir 2017 and to taste wine pre and post lunch.








We were met by the wine makers, Christopher Keys, Sascha Herbert and Matt Swirtz who talked up the merits of the barrel they were promoting for the blend.

Not sure the proportional representation voting system works with wine but we will try the blend when available.  A great day out.

It is starting to turn from summer to autumn; the tomatoes are having bad hair days too and are almost over.

I've made green tomato chutney (brown sugar makes it this colour)

and a breakfast quiche with them.

Sarah has made lots of mugs at her pottery lessons.

If you are lucky you may get a mug for Christmas.

Mushrooms are popping up under the trees (Not always edible)

and we get the occasional wet and windy atmospheric day when you cannot see the other side of the lake or the tops of the Remarkable mountain range.

Time to wrap up warm then and get under the possum rug.

Luckily, horrible days are always followed by glorious blue skies and fresh snow on the tops. Golf is fab in this weather and luckily Sarah is always keen to play.

We squeezed in a round at Millbrook before the NZ Open Golf and enjoyed some fabulous shots;
the greens were slick but not fast enough for the pros according to the rumours.

We were volunteers at the NZ Open for 4 days as walker scorers. I followed Daniel Nisbet on Day 1 (the eventual winner) He gave me his signed used glove as a memento of the occasion. I am still wondering why?

The sunrise and sunsets are also spectacular after bad weather.

We never get tired of this view.

Finally, after over a year of drugs, the end is in sight. Two more days of Thalidomide then I can start reducing all the other drugs. One month more of blood thinners and anti shingles pills then free from it all. Well apart from the monthly blood tests and bone strengthening infusions until Feb 2019. A small price to pay.

The consultant nurse visit was a bit of an anti-climax as my para-proteins (indicators of how much cancer is left in my blood) have not reduced to zero but remain less than 1ml per litre of blood. They may never go to zero.

The view of the nurses is that there is not much to be gained by getting more cycles of chemo, steroids and thalidomide as the side effects of these drugs are causing me more harm than good and are no longer being effective in treating the myeloma as it has plateaued at less than one.



It is a relief to know that I won't have to go through another chemo cycle as the third has been tough and I have suffered several days per week feeling rubbish. I was fully prepared to continue if it was effective, but I prefer not to feel so lethargic, muddled, fuzzy headed and tired all the time.

We estimate it will take me approximately 1 month to get back to feeling "normal" after so much time on strong drugs, but I'm hopeful for a quicker response. After all, I live with a fabulously fit and energetic person who always is encouraging and up for some fun. How can I not get back to fitness soon?

This is my last blog in the series. I started writing this to share and to keep a record of what I have experienced. Now, the chemo is over, the drugs are almost finished, it is time to move on. We will still have many adventures, but hopefully less medical and hospital related in the immediate future.

If I write again, it means the cancer will have come back. I've learnt that you can't beat myeloma, but you can recover enough to be in remission and to enjoy yourself and do as much as you physically can in the time you have. We will be cramming in activities. Nothing new there but perhaps at a more leisurely pace, to savour as well as to experience. As the consultant said, the range for return of myeloma is 1-20 years post stem cell transplant, but the average return is between 2-5 years. No one can predict when it will be back as the cause and the cure are still unknown; hopefully it will be back later rather than sooner.

Meanwhile, we will get on with living life and not dwelling on small stuff that is not important. Life is precious; we are fragile and time is short. You just never realise how short it can be until something happens to bring that fact into consciousness.

Thank you for following the blog.
Signing off on a sunny day.
Jo
xxx