Got a date!:-)

So after a bit of to and fro between Alice and the team at Oxford, John Radcliffe I now have a date for the armpit surgery….16th October. 

I met with the surgeon, Andy, a couple of weeks back soon after my last post. I really liked him and his approach. He was incredibly positive and whilst, like me he knows that doing this surgery will not necessarily change the overall prognosis, taking this part of the cancer that remains within my body out can only be a good thing….”it’s all about keeping you going as long as we can, right Tom” is what he said – top man😊 

He did a quick examination when we met and said he could feel a golf ball size node close to the surface which is what the scan is showing as being cancerous. The good news is that unlike some other cancerous growths which can occur in the armpit, mine is very close to the surface which should mean that compared to more invasive surgeries which require a deeper operation, this shouldn’t be the case for me. I had hoped that it would be a day case, however he did explain that it will mean a short stay in hospital of around 3-5 days after the 3-4 hr operation. 

I asked the obvious question which was when he felt I could start running again. He said after a couple of weeks allowing the area to heal, I should be good to go again. Unlike the back surgery where I was able to run the day after, the fact this one is under the arm isn’t very conducive for running I guess!…..unless I try to run without swinging my arms which I can’t quite see working🤣. Anyway, as always, its clearly going to be a case of ‘listen to your body’ and you’ll know when you’re ready to ease back in. Between now and then, I’ll just keep on running every day, so I have some miles ‘in the bank’ for the recovery. 

I really can’t wait and am so grateful that something is being done! 

10 Replies to “Got a date!:-)”

  1. Tom, your positive attitude is so awesome. I would, however, like to see a vid of you trying to run without moving your arms at all! Xx

  2. Thank god for surgeons like Andy! His positivity matches yours and will be helping you through this next part of your journey! Great stuff! Good luck! Xx

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