Organisation is key right?

Pill boxes and daily tablets before the age of 30? This is life now guys 😂. When you feel such a lack of control in anything in life, not just cancer, you have to try clutch at something and keep things as organised and structured as you can (slightly impossible with different apts all the time and a 2 year old). My little colourful pill box makes my morning that little bit easier and made me smile so all the best Rach haha.

Shall I tell you the dramas and how I ended up with my new accessories box? Buckle up, let’s give it a go.

After a few weeks of uncertainty and not much plan going forward (we’re not out of the woods yet) this week started off with (finally) some better news and what should be the start of my treatment plan! On Thursday I start my course of radiotherapy to ‘hopefully’ keep these little pesky spinal tumours dormant and non-symptomatic woohoo.

When they found my Sarcoma had spread to a few little areas at the top of my spine, they suggested a simple but effective short course of radiotherapy to ease any pain they may cause and to shrink them enough that they shouldn’t cause me any issues (not that I bloody knew they were there anyway 🤦🏻‍♀️). So they booked me in for a standard MRI to find out exactly where to target them precisely before my treatment... however, this is where shit hit in the fan as I never ever like to make life easy for anyone.

Around August last year I started with some neck pain. My GP assumed I had a trapped nerve/swollen muscle and my iron was low. I started some tablets for this however the pain never eased (it was a longgggggg few months)

(when you look back i’m just like how did none of this ever add up but I suppose you never think at 26 you’d have incurable cancer haha)

Anyway, this MRI actually made them realise I have a large soft tissue Sarcoma sitting on top of my spinal cord in my neck (hence the rush and sexy neck brace and not being able to move on a hospital bed for hours, do you know how hard it is to eat a chicken sandwich or drink through a non bendy straw and not get water in your eye lying down. Don’t try at home kids). They shovelled so many different steroids and tablets down my throat (which I now have to take daily for the foreseeable) in an emergency to try take down any inflammation and booked me to see two spinal surgeons in Salford and Birmingham within the space of 48 hours (madness I know)....

After lots of conversations, yesterday, the very lovely surgeon has reassured me that he thinks that Christie’s should successfully be able to deal with this without surgery and a long course of radiotherapy should shrink it enough to keep me ‘healthy’ and happy. All so crazy right?! So this is the plan. Let’s do this shit 💪🏻

I also wanted to make a point to you all, if you have a problem and your GP says it nothing, please, please go back, even 4/5 times. You know your own body, trust your gut and get answers. Nothing is ever too much.

This week brings the start of hopefully a very successful but long ride of treatment to eradicate these spinal bastards and keep things at bay for another 3 months ✨

‘When life throws you a curveball, you either learn to swerve them or hit them like there’s no tomorrow’