Video update – 13 December

Video Update – 13 December from Spiros Kotsialos on Vimeo.

Video Update 28 November

Video Update on Cancer – 16 November

Video update.

Well I am just about to start my 3^rd week of radiation. So far it has not been too bad I have been able to continue to put on weight (about 5 kilos now) and get around and do a few things.

Since about Wednesday last week I am starting to feel the radiation take hold a bit and every day am feeling a little more pain and more lethargic. At the moment it is not that bad so hopefully it won’t get much worse, but the doctors advise me otherwise.

I did feel extremely good between 2am and 4am on Sunday morning while my cousin Benson and I sat and watched a great All Blacks victory and felt pretty good later in the morning when the Knicks had a win which is also a great start to the season.

There is not much else to say, hopefully it stays that way and all stays good.

52 days to go…

2nd Video update.

Sorry for not doing an update over the last few days.The news since my last update has been good.

This of course is obvious after such a great game by the All Blacks against the French. After watching a game that Australia did not deserve to win I am feeling pretty good about a cup victory however previous world cup experience tells me that I should not be too confident!  
On my front things continue to progress well and I am now eating a good 2000 – 3000 calories a day so am gaining weight and am in general feeling a lot better. The main issues at the moment is intermittent nerve pain and bouts of feeling very tired.

Today was the next stage in my treatment with the start of seven weeks of radiation. The nurses and doctors tell me that I won’t really feel the negative effects of it for a couple of weeks which is great.

The actual treatment for those that are interested is quick, efficient and painless. It works like this:

• Turn up to the clinic and scan your card just like you would at a gym 
• They call you into the room where they use the mould created previously to lock you down to the table. This is tight and uncomfortable but not too bad. 
• They do a quick mini CT scan to check everything lines up and then they start the machine 
• The machine is like an X-ray things rotate around you for about 5 minutes 
• They lower the table down and your done 

till the next time… 

Video blog today.

Things are on the improve over the past few days and feel like I am getting more food into me. I still having a few issues with the stomach but that is also starting to feel a lot better. The doctor is unsure of what is causing the stomach pains after the x-ray I had on Monday, so further blood tests have been taken.

Yesterday I went for orientation for my Radiation where they took a cast of my face, gave me a CT scan and took me through the process. The cast is to make sure I am in the same spot for each one of my treatments. The process of getting it is not painful but was awkward for me as when they lay me down I couldn’t help but fill up with phlegm that made it hard to breath.

The process from here as I understand it is they take the new CT scan, the previous PET scan overlay them and create my radiation treatment plan. The actual treatments will be every weekday for seven weeks starting on Tuesday next week. I will meet with the doctor every Thursday to review progress. I will also continue to meet occasionally with the throat surgeon.

It’s also been really good to have a few friends visiting over the past few days and lifts the spirits.

Not much to post today except that there has been a continued problem with the stomach which is stopping me from eating much, giving me a sore stomach and other things related to poo that I won’t go into. Anyway upshot is off to hospital tomorrow for some stomach x-rays. My surgeon is pretty confident as to what is causing it so hopefully that will be confirmed and a fix will be forthcoming.  

To be honest the weight thing is really starting to get to me now, its hard to believe that it was only a few months ago when I was afraid I was going to hit the big 90 kilos and today I am hoping to get back to 75 kilos.

I am also a little worried after watching the All Blacks and Australia play this weekend. Australia look like they actually have a team that could win and the All Blacks need some serious improvement quickly!!

On a more positive note at least I am now in a position where I can eat more and my throat is feeling a lot better and the pain is much better. I even chewed some lamb yesterday!

And while on that positive note its been exciting to see how quickly Lexi Lambroni is already starting to have a personality all of her own and Zoe continues to amaze me with how she manages to be so smart and cute all at the same time.

Looking forward to a good week ahead.