The End is Nigh

I went to Toulouse today to complete my 8th cycle of Chemotherapy. So .... one more cycle starting on the 30th May and the chemo will be finished on 20th June!

Pleasingly, the treatment has worked and the production of the protein, which was going to my heart muscles, has stopped. So we've started looking towards the next phase. What's going to happen next? And, at the moment, the doctors don't know!!!!

My problem is that, even though my heart will now stay 'stable', it is 'fatigued'. I had a long talk with my doctor at the hospital and he told me they don't know what to do. If they do nothing for the heart they are concerned that my quality of life will be reduced, but also, possibly, my quantity of life will be reduced. None of the French doctors believe that the protein in the heart muscles will drain away. So ....... the alternative is to replace my defective heart with a new one!
And the problem here is that I am on the top age limit for a transplant. So if they're going to do it, it has to be done soon.

At one stage they had thought to send me to a top specialist for a second opinion, but their latest thinking is to organise a meeting between us, my own doctor who is controlling my case, a surgeon and a cardiologist. At this moment I'm ambivalent as to which course we take. My view on it is coloured by the fact that, apart from dealing with the effects of the chemo, I don't really feel ill. OK, I know that I am limited in terms of walking up hills or carrying heavy loads but, within these limitations, I'll be able to carry on doing small jobs around the house and in the garden.

Well, as they say, as one door closes, another opens.