Rugby Saved My Life - So my team mate claims anyway ....

Something I decided I wanted to after my treatment was to do something to say Thank You to The Royal Marsden for everything they have done.  The treatment, the support, the care they provided to me will be something I will never forget. So like thousands of others, I decided that I wanted to do The Marsden March - to try and raise a few hundred quid..  I was quickly told by Nat and the Boys that they wanted to join me.  So we all signed up and were offered a place.   So in typical Dan preparation - about two weeks before I decided to have a practice walk - I went out and did a quick walk.  Hour and a half later - I had covered 6 miles and my legs were throbbing.  I decided that was enough and saved all the rest of the practice walks for the main event ! We were fortunate enough that the snow melted before the Walk and the forecast was cold and a bit wet.  Lewis and myself got the coach from the RM in Sutton to the RM at Chelsea and finished ...

So then - 2018 - the start of a New Year, leaving behind the bad things and taking some memories forward.   So last week (end of Jan), I went back into the Marsden for a CT Scan, Chest X-Ray and the regular blood tests. The weird thing is, I then had to leave and that feeling of 'not knowing' lurked around for a week....   So in the week leading up to results and appointment day, I thought I would start to prepare myself for the Marsden March. So I went for a short walk to blow the cobwebs out.  OK - so that walk ended up being a 6 mile power walk around the local roads and park !  I felt really good at the end of it, so was really pleased. That was yesterday - today I feel like my legs are about to fall off !  Aching shins are the main issue - but still happy I managed to knock 6 miles out.  I'm sure I will get another walk or two in before the day - will take Lewis next time to get him ready - and for me to prepare for him moaning his legs...

As you can imagine, I'm looking forward to forgetting 2017. It's not really been the year I want to remember in a hurry - but with some reflection, it's also a year I do want to remember. Obviously, the diagnosis of testicular cancer in February and the subsequent treatment and everything that went along with it would make anyone want to write off the year. But what really sticks in my mind, are the good things from 2017.  Yes it all went a bit wrong at the start, however, to discover the love and support from family and friends has just simply been amazing.  Friends I haven't spoken to for years, old school mates getting in touch to say hello and to see how I am.  Seriously - it's been amazing.  The support of my family has just been unreal.  The support of our employers, amazing.  Away from "Me" - the Boys have worked really hard at school and fortunately, there seems to have been little impact of what I've been going through on them. Academica...

So this week started off with a phone call from the appointments team, confirming my Urology appointment for Friday.  It's that phone call that remind me of what happened to me this year. It's that phone call that suddenly makes me inwardly worry....... The reason why - it's back to The Marsden week.  The week when I have to go back, have blood tests and whatever else they decide to do.  It's the only time I really think about what has happened to me and the massive looming question of "What are the tests going to say" - hence the reasons behind my worry. So as usual - I rock up at The Marsden for my bloods after doing the school run and meet up with Gethyn - #ChemoFriend - in the bloods room.  By change (only because he buggered his dates up), he's also back in today. So we have our bloods taken and we head off to the canteen for a breakfast and a bloody great catchup.  I spoken via text over the past couple of months but today we got to properly ch...

So, today I achieved what I set out to do right at the beginning of all of this....... I played my first full 80 minutes of rugby. It was a target I set myself on Round 1, Day 1 of chemo - "preseason training starts today".  I had a run out a few weeks ago in a pre-season tournament - but that was only a couple of 20 minute halves.  So on Saturday - I played the full game - not an ideal situation - I wanted to start with maybe just a half -  but hey - it can't be that bad right ?! So - we played a very strong side - I play for our social team - we played the opposition 2nd team !   Aching and bruised but I absolutely loved it ! Happy doesn't come close to describing how I feel right now. If I look back at what my energy levels were like - it seems hard to imagine I would be doing this today. Looking forwards, match fitness is the next target and more games and training to help that happen.  To add to the desire to get fit - we've decided to give...

So today was the first visit back to The Marsden since the end of June. I had my bloods taken early in preparation for my late morning appointment.   Was weird being back there, a mix of emotions and suddenly that feeling of worry I might be told something bad - no idea why - I just did . The thought of - "what if it's come back?" - I mentally slapped myself! Not going to happen ! Eventually I got to see the the main man, Professor Huddart. He checked me over and told me he was really pleased with my progress. Impressed my hair had grown back dark, not grey and that I was training again. He was more pleased with the last set of test results and scans and that in short the plan had come together and we were seeing the expected results. The results being that the cancer has gone. I was sent for a routine chest X-ray and afterwards I popped up to see the staff on Kennaway ward. Was lovely to see them again and they all wanted to know how I was and were delighted...

So I was told that your hair does weird things when it comes back. So far - it's not ginger - it's either grey or brown - so nothing much different from before - although a lot more grey seems to have appeared !  It's not gone curly either - to be fair - it would never get long enough to go curly ! What is weird, is that my hair is soooo soft - I feel like if I leave it I could do an advert for Johnsons Baby Shampoo !  I'm sure it will change again as I will keep on trimming it. My beard growth is back to normal - if anything it's growing a lot thicker than before and I'm pretty much back to a daily shave Still working away at rugby training.  Last two weeks have been killer - but no pain no gain.  The season is approaching - so need to prepare - OK - so going to France for a couple of weeks isn't going to help - but hey - sometimes you just need to relax and have fun !