18. From January to present and future.
Phase 5 between January 2002 and beyond
And just when we thought 'out' to be my husband "neuralgia". Pains, again around the pelvic area, which now were there then anywhere else. Where no more pain medication to helping, not even morphine. Sleep did not last and also difficulty eating. A period of six weeks laboriously wade through and not know what to do about it. You get desperate and powerless. The pains are, we know now, chemotherapy-related and are probably due to the fact that there is not adequate enough water can be discharged. Physiotherapy, swallowing vitamins prescribed by the German professor and a temporary patch with a kind of morphine to help the pain well manageable. Physiotherapy will be long but it certainly put through effects. Also learned to make it back to keep thinking and trying things out. That way we ourselves have decided to physical therapy to begin.
You do not understand where the pain suddenly come now that the cancer would be under reasonable control. But we now become clear that the treatment of cancer, at least working with chemotherapy and radiation, destroying much. Shows very clearly that we are very grateful that these manipulations have affected, so is my husband now where he is. But there will be a lot to be built, physically, by which those treatments, the gravity and intensity, broken off. And we now become aware, as we now have the opportunity for us to deepen it and learn how we integrate into our lives. We were doing this purely to get underneath the cancer, with whatever means qualifying! Now we build and see what still can be restored. Slowly you become conscious that he will never be the same who he was and how he felt before he became ill.
In January 2002, so the scans showed that my husband is clean. This means that there are (currently) no visible concentration of cancer anymore. That does not mean they are gone. That does not mean that nothing is done. We're not there yet. But the first step is put.
From now on we'll hopefully in a different way. No more later, having found that something is going on and respond. No, on the front. In the forefront, and dependent on preventing something arises which need a response. What we do not know exactly, that we will soon discuss with the German professor. He specializes in immunotherapy and where we want to go. The bio-vaccine, my husband has several times been and now we continue on that road, looking for boundaries and doing everything they to make sure we get through 2002 without the cancer is active. If we can achieve, we achieved a great deal. Together!
We are very grateful that we, more than 15 months after initial diagnosis and treatment, stand here and got to here. Only we never saved, and unfortunately, sorry to say, if we had stayed in the Netherlands either.
Tips
Again it is difficult to give advice because we are the middle and it's always easier to retrofit, contemplative, to give advice. But still:
· Realize that your life has changed. It'll never be the same. Not only will your life have to deal with controls and the fear that the disease has raised its head again, your partner will be a long treatment should follow.
· Also physically things have changed. And that may have implications for both, both the patient and his partner. You have to talk about. Certain hobbies can not for example, maybe you and / or your partner no longer work. And it takes at least one time, if your partner has been awarded, to the body to work and rebuild and to recover, if it is still possible. And some physical issues / features will never be the old, restore!
General Information
I am 39 years and myself have two children, now 5 and 8 years who live with us. I was manager and am now "unemployed". Last year we were married but living together about two years.
My husband Bert was 48 years, will soon be 49 and is currently also "unemployed". He himself has five children, the oldest nearly 30 and the youngest almost 10. The youngest was a few days a week 'resident'.
