Brown freckles or marks on the iris are very common and rarely become cancerous. But it is worth keeping note of any you may have, just as you would for moles and freckles on your skin, so that any changes can be checked out. And wear sunglasses!
Friday 31 July 2009
What Does My Cancer Look Like?
Brown freckles or marks on the iris are very common and rarely become cancerous. But it is worth keeping note of any you may have, just as you would for moles and freckles on your skin, so that any changes can be checked out. And wear sunglasses!
Secondary Cancer
Before I can have treatment for the eye tumor, secondary cancer and other nastie's have to be eliminated. London did a chest x-ray whilst I was there and collected enough blood to fill a vampires bar I think! The nurses took a swab to check for MRSA, and I met my cancer nurse who kindly but with great strength, gave me her mobile and pager numbers with STRICT instructions to call her for anything, anytime. I entered her into my mobile under ICE, (in case of emergency contact...), just in case:/
Yesterday I went back to our 'not-so-local' remaining hospital to have a mammogram. I was extremely anxious about this, having heard some well meaning but none-the-less nerve racking tales of how much it would hurt, on top of being just plain scared of what the doctors might find!
I'm pleased to say that it didn't hurt at all and nothing more sinister than a small cyst was found in the left breast. This will need watching as a matter of caution for a few months but I'm reassured it's unlikely to develop into anything else.
Next week I'm due to return yet again, (they'll be sick of the sight of me very soon), to the same not-so-local hospital for a couple of scans, one upper body and one lower body. I'm not at all sure how that works, but will keep you posted.
Yesterday I went back to our 'not-so-local' remaining hospital to have a mammogram. I was extremely anxious about this, having heard some well meaning but none-the-less nerve racking tales of how much it would hurt, on top of being just plain scared of what the doctors might find!
I'm pleased to say that it didn't hurt at all and nothing more sinister than a small cyst was found in the left breast. This will need watching as a matter of caution for a few months but I'm reassured it's unlikely to develop into anything else.
Next week I'm due to return yet again, (they'll be sick of the sight of me very soon), to the same not-so-local hospital for a couple of scans, one upper body and one lower body. I'm not at all sure how that works, but will keep you posted.
Treatment
Radioactive Plaque
I'll be having an operation to stitch a radioactive, small, metal disc directly onto my eyeball over the tumor which will keep the radiation localized to just that area.
This will stay in place for a few days and then I'll have another, quicker operation, to remove it. I can opt to have the plaque removed under a local anaesthetic but I'm afraid I won't be able to handle that, so will be opting for a general anaesthetic again!!
Once the disc is removed I should be able to return home, and, all being well, safe in the knowledge that my tumor will be loosing the battle:)
I'll be able to have visitors whilst in isolation, but not young children or pregnant friends, and visits will be timed for safety and so as not to tire the poor patient out! I'm hoping I'll be sleeping for most of my stay! Use of a Geiger counter will no doubt entertain me a lot.
I'll be having an operation to stitch a radioactive, small, metal disc directly onto my eyeball over the tumor which will keep the radiation localized to just that area.
This will stay in place for a few days and then I'll have another, quicker operation, to remove it. I can opt to have the plaque removed under a local anaesthetic but I'm afraid I won't be able to handle that, so will be opting for a general anaesthetic again!!
Once the disc is removed I should be able to return home, and, all being well, safe in the knowledge that my tumor will be loosing the battle:)
I'll be able to have visitors whilst in isolation, but not young children or pregnant friends, and visits will be timed for safety and so as not to tire the poor patient out! I'm hoping I'll be sleeping for most of my stay! Use of a Geiger counter will no doubt entertain me a lot.
What Happened Next
When the second attack hit I asked my middle daughter, (Bear), if she could photograph what she could see in my eye, a sort of dark line in the lower part of the iris. Above is one of the photo's, the red bit at the bottom of the iris is the blood slowly filling the lower part of the iris.
Bear got some good close-ups and when I went to see my GP, by which time my eye was again back to normal, he could see 'something', but was baffled as to what. Light reflecting off my eye and his glasses didn't make his job any easier, but Bear's photo's helped and he made a call to the hospital and referred me there and then.
At the hospital, one of the eye specialist team numbed my eyes with drops, dilated them and had a good look. He took detailed photos and gently explained I had a very rare cancer called iris melanoma. His boss had a good look and agreed, and I was referred to a London hospital for an even more detailed look and 'plan of action'.
London was a day trip to the hospital, the staff in Ocular Oncology were fantastic and I met some amazing patients in the waiting room. Most of us were very bored as well as anxious, we couldn't use things such as mp3's, mobiles etc due to medical equipment and none of us could read as we'd had our eyes dilated. My sister decided that a game of I-spy was in order, it certainly broke some ice!
I had my eye examined with ultrasound, (totally painless), but came up with nothing in my case. I found it impossibly hard to look up, down, etc, with my eyes closed!
Various pictures were taken from both the front and behind the eye, using all sorts of machines, all painless.
Happily my tumor is not behind my eye in the socket or anywhere else. Only the iris is so far affected.
Bear got some good close-ups and when I went to see my GP, by which time my eye was again back to normal, he could see 'something', but was baffled as to what. Light reflecting off my eye and his glasses didn't make his job any easier, but Bear's photo's helped and he made a call to the hospital and referred me there and then.
At the hospital, one of the eye specialist team numbed my eyes with drops, dilated them and had a good look. He took detailed photos and gently explained I had a very rare cancer called iris melanoma. His boss had a good look and agreed, and I was referred to a London hospital for an even more detailed look and 'plan of action'.
London was a day trip to the hospital, the staff in Ocular Oncology were fantastic and I met some amazing patients in the waiting room. Most of us were very bored as well as anxious, we couldn't use things such as mp3's, mobiles etc due to medical equipment and none of us could read as we'd had our eyes dilated. My sister decided that a game of I-spy was in order, it certainly broke some ice!
I had my eye examined with ultrasound, (totally painless), but came up with nothing in my case. I found it impossibly hard to look up, down, etc, with my eyes closed!
Various pictures were taken from both the front and behind the eye, using all sorts of machines, all painless.
Happily my tumor is not behind my eye in the socket or anywhere else. Only the iris is so far affected.
My Symptoms
Absolutely NO pain!
Temporary hyphema, (bleeding), in the iris of my left eye.
Temporary sight loss in the left eye.
The above symptoms lasted for about 12 hours in the first attack, (bank holiday at the beginning of May), and about 60 hours for the 2nd attack, (bank holiday at the end of May)!
The optician noted that my pupil was slightly misshapen, (instead of being all round it had what looked like a small v shape protruding from it). He wrote to my GP.
Temporary hyphema, (bleeding), in the iris of my left eye.
Temporary sight loss in the left eye.
The above symptoms lasted for about 12 hours in the first attack, (bank holiday at the beginning of May), and about 60 hours for the 2nd attack, (bank holiday at the end of May)!
The optician noted that my pupil was slightly misshapen, (instead of being all round it had what looked like a small v shape protruding from it). He wrote to my GP.
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