Wednesday the 4th of February and it oncology review day. My partner goes to see her mother after bringing me a hot water and leaves me to get up, shower, have breakfast and settle down to await my phone call, expected anytime between 10:45 and 13:45. Only the NHS could give themselves a three hour slot and think that it is reasonable. Its the price I pay for not insisting that I have a face to face appointment. So after toast and orange juice I settle down on my end of the sofa, now illuminated by my new reading lamp, to read Dante’s Divine Comedy. So I spend my morning sinking down the pits of hell meeting the sinners of the world and witnessing the various punishments that Dante could think up.

I am still reading Dante when my partner returns home and makes me beans on toast for lunch. I am still ploughing my way through hell at 3 o’clock when I finally get a call from the oncologist. I go through my list of things, blood results good, the PSA has stopped rising, my haematuria has not shown up since 10th January, and I am still vertical. I ask if its normal to loose my sense of taste and I am assured that it is but I am advised that fizzy drinks sometimes does the trick, including lager. “Including lager” was a bit of a surprise but I now have medical grounds for giving it a go. I wonder if Guinness is good. The outcome is that I am good to go for chemo on Friday but they will give me an injection pre chemo to make sure I do not have an allergic reaction again. Result! Post call I start to draft the blog. In doing so I discover that in my tired state last night I did not post the blog I wrote yesterday, I take this as a warning sign to pay attention to my fatigue levels and to get myself to bed earlier of a night.

By 4 o’clock I am faced with the fact that I’ve done bugger all except read and wait for a telephone call so I head for the garden and go through my rituals of filling the bird feeders and perusing the flower beds to see what is coming up and what needs to be done. Its almost time to be blood and bone spreading to feed the beds and to root out some of the self sown flowering raspberries that are galloping about all over the garden. I note I am feeling better today. I still have a sore lump in my midriff from Mondays 28 day injection but I know that will ease over the next couple of days. I am hoping I am up to speed for this Saturday when I have a theatre treat to attend and then I have a week to start to do some exercise before we have visitors at the weekend. It feels like there is a way forward with good things in it.

This is a tricky time, the six nations rugby starts tomorrow as do the Winter Olympics including ice hockey, I predict being ensnared by curling.