Cathy's Cancer Journey

Good Afternoon,

Here we are, well into August and we’ve been lucky enough to enjoy some glorious summer days 🌞.

Lily and I managed another dressage competition, which went pretty well all things considered, another 68% at Advanced Medium! Now it’s time to ramp up the practice and get ready for the championships in October. The new arena is being installed at the Showground, which is very exciting 👍. In theory, that gives me plenty of time to prepare and hopefully get fitter, but I know October will be here before I know it!

Reading back through my last blog, I realised I should give you a quick update on the meds before diving into the fun stuff 🙂 Last time, things didn’t go too well and they actually took me off them altogether, telling me to go and enjoy Sarah and Tony’s wedding, which we absolutely did! It was the most beautiful wedding 💕. Sarah looked stunning, Tony danced like a demon and they couldn’t stop smiling all day.

When I got back, we revisited the meds and tried half a dose in the morning, which worked. Now I’m up to two-thirds of the dose, split between morning and evening, and so far so good 😃.

Alongside that, I’ve been working with Dr. Hari in London on some off-label drugs to complement my current treatment. He describes it as “daily chemo in tablet form” for the next two years, with another tablet to continue for ten years after that. The good news is, I can finally tolerate them.

Part of Dr. Hari’s regime is the keto diet. And for those who know me, yes, this means no more crisps (sorry Belinda!!). Crisps have been my go-to since childhood 👧, so giving them up is quite an achievement for me. The real test came the other night at the Ratls’, where I didn’t touch a single one. I can’t tell you how proud I was of myself 😂. It’s strict no-carb, which I dabbled with about 10 years ago but never fully committed to. This time, I’m taking it seriously and I’m finding it more interesting than I expected.

I’m also trying acupuncture at the moment. My second session was a few days ago. The first left me feeling pretty rough, so I’m not sure if that was “healing” or not, but it did ease some severe neck pain, so I’m giving it another go. Reflexology 🦶 is also on the list.

Anyway, that’s the medical bit over, now onto the usual shenanigans 🙈.

We had a lovely family trip to Herm with Nick, which of course didn’t go without incident 🙂 I jumped in the dinghy (fully dressed!) with Maggie and Evie, and we rowed to the beach. We had a brilliant time playing among “dangerous crocodiles” 🐊 and “dinosaurs” 🦕, until Penny called out from the boat saying she needed the dinghy (As they were stuck on the boat). As I launched it back, a wave hit, the dinghy flew up and landed on my head. Suddenly I was flailing under it 🙃. Thankfully, I managed to flip it off, but not before cutting my leg thanks to my “thin skin.” Luckily, I carry blister plasters everywhere 😂 and even had a full change of clothes in my rucksack. The dolphins didn’t show this year, but we did spot seals 🦭, which made Maggie’s day.

Paul and I also squeezed in a short break at the L’Horizon Hotel in Jersey. Because we booked late, we ended up in the adjoining “kids’ room.” I went to use the loo, sat down expecting the usual height, and kept going… it was child-sized 😳! We eventually moved to a single balcony room, which was much nicer, and waking up to that bay view was just wonderful. We’ll be going back in September, thankfully with more planning. Also managed to catch up with some friends, some very tall friends, or I am shrinking!!

I was up early a few mornings ago writing this, listening to thunder and heavy rain after a 5am storm. The garden needed it, though it’s not ideal timing, as I was meant to be at Port Grat with a Channel TV crew filming a sunny walk with the dogs. Instead, it might turn into me shouting at the dogs while being drenched on camera 😂.

Never a dull moment and nothing ever quite goes to plan.

Until next time, sending lots of love to you all. Sorry if I haven’t been in touch, I seem to need more downtime these days, and I’ve also mastered the art of double-booking (chemo brain 🙈). Please forgive me if I’ve been a bit quiet.

Have a wonderful week.

All the very best,
Cathy xx