Remembering the song from 1965, a hit in both US and UK by Hedgehoppers Anonymous, one of the many pseudonyms of producer turned paedophile Jonathan King. That aside, the song title is appropriate for the upswing things have taken, particularly for Eileen and her battle with cancer. Those following the saga may have noticed a lack of posts having anything to do with that situation when I had promised many that I would keep them aware via FB. The reason for that was there was nothing positive to report, and it was her wish that I keep mum about it for the time being. Last Friday, the oncologist gave us the bad news that the PET scan revealed that the cancer had spread throughout her body to the point that chemo alone wasn’t going to have any effect. Without any treatmentl, it wasn’t likely she’d make it to Christmas.  

                  Many tears were shed upon hearing that news, but the oncologist (a truly wonderful woman named Pauline Leonard) had one other trick up her sleeve. She prescribed a regimen of steroids, which if they did what they were supposed to, would shrink the tumour and allow chemotherapy to go ahead and do its job. We noticed positive signs through the week. Her appetite increased, and her energy was up enough that on Wednesday, we were able to walk to the cornershop, buy food, and carry it back. That’s a total distance of maybe 200 metres, but by far the furthest she’d ever walked since the operation. On Thursday, we took public transit to return from the Marie Curie Centre just to spite the rip-off cab company that tried to overcharge her just because the centre was in a posh part of London, and they assumed the bloated fare would be nothing to us, the bastards! Anyway, we made that journey, even changed buses once, and she was fine with it. So by the time we were to visit again this morning with Dr. Leonard (again taking public transit), I was pretty confident the steroids had worked. We got the official go-ahead, and Eileen’s first round of chemo will start this coming Tuesday!

                  It’s going to be a tedious process, with the chemo being administered every three weeks over a 12-week period. Dr. Leonard has made no guarantees, only to say that her experience has shown only about one in ten patients completely don’t respond to treatment. Best news I heard is that she won’t lose her hair, as chemo for colon cancer doesn’t affect the body that way. So I guess I won’t be nicknaming her “Curly” “Kojak” or “Sinead” anytime soon. I’d like to believe that by September, when the final chemo has been administered, we can talk about taking some sort of holiday, though any trips outside England will have to wait until we get the all clear.

                   All that, plus The San Francisco Giants haven’t given up a run since last Sunday, totally annihilating the rival L.A. Dodgers and taking over first place in the division after shutting out another first-place team, the Cincinnati Reds. Truly good news week, though I imagine if I were a Dodger fan, at least the Eileen news would compensate. Oh yeah, and wonder of wonders, I have a gig tonight!