Happy New Year - and good riddance to 2006

I hope festivities were happy all round. I can't complain as such - I was stuck in bed for the bulk of it but only because of fatigue and not because of pain or other side-effects.

I had chemo yesterday, which turned out to be quite a long day. I was happy as the blood tests I had last Wednesday, when I went to see my oncologist, showed that my blood count was high enough so that no blood test was required yesterday. I naively assumed that it meant I wouldn't be spending ages in the chemo uni but of course things are never as straightforwad as this. Because I ususally get chemo on Mondays, and that Monday was a Bank Holiday, they added the bulk of the Monday patients to the Tuesday clinic, effectively doubling the number of patients in the process. I think this would've been manageable if they hadn't been having problems in the pharmacy, not least with people calling in sick. My appointment was for 1.30pm but I only got my chemo after 5pm. Ah well, just one of those things I guess.

I'm not having any side-effects at the moment. If the last lot is anything to go by I will start getting pain tomorrow and this will quickly get worse. I'll be starting the injections on Saturday and I suspect I will react again, making the pain worse and getting a high temperature. The oncologist has already prescribed me some antibiotics as well as some strong painkillers so hopefully these will help and save me having to go into hospital for further tests again. I have to admit that the fatigue is a huge problem at the moment. I have lost a lot of strength. A slight hill or stairs make me completely breathless and I get quite bad muscle pain which leads to shaking. Which means I basically have to walk very slowly whenever I venture outdoors - which is only when I have to go to hospital thankfully. I struggled quite badly last week as I had to go in to see my oncologist and get a blood test on Wednesday. I then got a phone call in the evening to let me know I needed to go back as the tests revealed once again that my potassium levels were high. However, once again, it was a false reading. To be honest, if this happens next time, I will tell them that it's not good enough because it takes a lot out of me.

I'm not quite sure what 2007 has in store for me - I guess nobody does. I should technically get my last chemo cycle around 12-13 February. Then I suspect I'll have another MRI scan before surgery, but I don't know how much of a break I'll be getting. Radiotherapy is an option but not a certainty. Finally it'll be Herceptin and hormone therapy. On the good side, whenever I have a wee window of opportunity to plan things - about five days every three weeks - I can start making plans. So far this is what's looking very probable:

1. Going to Lymm to meet my nephew Theo and catch up with Justin (and Fiona and Patrick, of course).

2. Going to Dorset to a cottage we rented last year and we absolutely loved - the Cartshed. It is owned by an organic farmer who has access to a private beach (part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site) which we can of course use.

3. Attending three football games - two at Anfield, thanks to the Willow Foundation and my friend Hazel, and one at Craven Cottage as our greengrocers are Fulham supporters and have offered to get me a ticket.

Then, depending on finances and health, I would like:

1. One week in the Peak District - it's an area I really don't know well but would love to visit. I've driven through it with my brother-in-law Patrick when we went to Castleton and some areas looked fantastic.

2. Two weeks on the North Coast of Cornwall - those who know me know that I'm a bit obsessed with Cornwall and would love to move there.

3. I have to admit that there are a lot of places I'd like to go but I know it's not quite an option but who knows? Because of climate change I've made the decision not to fly anymore unless an emergency occurs. I might, just might, bend this rule to go to Madeira as it's been recommended to me several times - apparently the flora is extraordinary there.

Other plans I have include:

1. Reclaiming a plot of contaminated land - Now this is really only an extremely vague plan. The idea is to find some metal-contaminated plot and use plants to remove the contaminants. The dissertation I wrote as part of my degree included a similar idea. I looked at how efficient two varieties of ryegrass were at removing lead from soils. In the project I'd like to carry now I'm thinking more along the lines of garden design, using, depending on the contaminants present, species such as willow from which a variety of objects could be weaved. At this point in time I have no idea if anything will come of this but it should at least keep me busy. Finn is using her contacts to check whether a plot is available - always a good place to start.

2. Helping to carry out an eco-audit on a housing coop to see how it could become more environmentally-friendly.

3. Carrying out voluntary work or finding some kind of graduate scheme.

4. Working on online Geographical Information Systems (GIS) courses as I'd love to do a Masters in GIS. I've found the ideal distance learning course but it is quite expensive so again I'll have to check all my options before I make a decision.

Anyway I've no doubt waffled on enough. I wish you all a very happy, healthy and successful 2007, whether you are in warm and sunny Dubai or Australia (great to hear from you Stephanie) and rather less warm and sunny Switzerland, Belgium/Croatia or the UK. Be good and look after yourselves.