Cancer Surgery

Monday, 18th May 2020 (date written)
After the operation on my right lung at St George's Hospital in London last August, I found I could only run about 20 yards  or run upstairs without getting hopelessly out of breath. Apart from  that minor irritation, (which I suppose is not surprising considering Dr Nimako removed one third of half of my breathing apparatus) I feel fine.I can and do still ride my (electric) bike and I take walks now and then. Some weeks after the lung op I had an appointment with an oncologist. She told me radiotherapy in my case was not necessary, but I should consider chemotherapy, “to be on the safe side,” she said. She spent some time explaining what it could do, went through the side-effects, and ended by saying the percentage of people’s condition being improved in this way was around 5%(!) I declined  and here I am almost a year later and I don’t regret that decision in the slightest. I’d heard too many negative stories about that treatment to risk it and had spoken to a couple of people who had endured it, and
both said I had done the right thing. Even Sandra (one of the Macmillan nurses assigned to me, more of later) agreed.
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